Niharika Noakes, Director, Championing Social Care
The past few years, though challenging, witnessed the social care sector achieve its highest profile in years. As we celebrate the sector overcoming the challenges of the aftermath of COVID, we are getting better at building a positive voice for champions of the social care sector.
At Championing Social Care, we endeavour to celebrate the diversity of the social care sector by providing a unique platform through various impactful initiatives to share the talents, accomplishments, profiles of care homes, fundraising opportunities and myriad successes of individuals providing and receiving care, that come from the common goal of the sector’s population.
Our greatest contribution to the sector lies in highlighting the success stories of individuals working in and supported by the care sector, made possible by the diverse talents of our Ambassadors and supporters who come from all parts of the sector.
Even through the hardships faced by the care sector during COVID, we are proud to have been able to sparkle the social care sector with memorable experiences since founding Championing Social Care in 2020. Through our flagship programmes that have touched thousands of care workers and those for whom they care, we have:
- raised over £750,000 at the Care Sector Fundraising Ball to support two charities;
- reached over 50 million people through Care Home Open Week, with 2,815 care homes participating and visited by over 100 MPs;
- hosted Care Sector’s Got Talent that was streamed live to nearly 500 people and the final was watched over 1,000 times on YouTube; and,
- recently hosted our new Christmas Lunch, which was attended by some 160 guests to celebrate the success stories of many in the care sector.
Care Sector’s Got Talent is a showcase of diverse talent from across the care sector. It is often uncommon for care staff or those who receive care to have the opportunity to showcase their talent through such memorable experiences. The show has been a fantastic outlet to support the mental health of people in the care sector. Last year’s CSGT winner, Sarabdeep Singh, said “From childhood at the age of nine, I used to perform; it’s always been my hobby and it makes me happy”. You can read more about his experience here.
Through Care Home Open Week, we aim to enrich the lives of the UK’s care home staff, by engaging communities to meet residents and the exceptional care workers that care for them, to show people that the vast majority of care homes provide excellent care and connect well with their local communities.
2022’s Week demonstrated the huge positives of the care home sector. 100% of participants said that inclusion has helped their wellbeing, and career opportunities were showcased across the 2,400 participating care homes.
Showcasing the brilliant work of care workers is something we try to do as openly and often as we can. The Care Sector Fundraising Ball provides us with the perfect opportunity to show our appreciation to all the professionals within the sector and shine a positive light on the milestones, innovations, and achievements of some of the incredible people in the sector.
So far, over £750,000 has been raised for The Care Workers’ Charity and Alzheimer’s Society across three events. The ball includes entertainment and good food, and many stakeholders, beneficiaries, and key members from the sector share success stories and lived experiences.
Charities need our support more than ever as we band together under the cost of living crisis, and they continue to provide essential services to vulnerable people. Following the success and the impact of the previous years’ events, we have the ambition to deliver an even greater, socially conscious event that is considerate of our environmental impact, and support wider charities and social enterprises wherever we can.
#Sparkle for Social Care is a social media campaign that started during COVID to share positive stories and celebrate the contributions from the social care sector. The initial launch reached over 20,000 people, and bringing this campaign back year on year allows us to continue to highlight the incredible work of the social care sector.
The key to optimising the potential of diverse skillsets lies in celebrating differences, not glossing over them. Championing Social Care is proud of the diversity of its team and aspires to promote this impact to the wider care community by sharing our success story of demonstrating and establishing diversity in the workplace, and celebrate the strengths of our Organising Committee and Ambassadors and the novel work they do. Embracing differences and enhancing representation makes for a more equitable society and a better world of social care.
