Tell us about Alzheimer’s Society and what your role is.

Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity. We campaign for change, fund research to find a cure and support people living with dementia today. Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer – someone develops it every three minutes and there are currently 850,000 people living with the condition in the UK.

My role is within the Legacies Team, we work to promote the importance of gifts in Wills to the charity. These incredibly special and personal gifts fund over a quarter of our work so they are absolutely vital for us to continue to help people affected by dementia.

What challenges have Alzheimer’s Society faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges have your supporters faced as a result? How have you overcome these challenges?

Living with dementia at any time brings challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic is making daily life much harder for many people living with dementia, their carers and their families. People with dementia have been the worst hit, accounting for more than a quarter of deaths, and many have been isolated from their communities and the networks they usually rely on. And of course many people are deeply concerned for their loved ones who may be particularly vulnerable to the virus itself, especially within care homes, with 70% of care home residents having dementia.

As a charity we have had to make changes to a number of our face to face services that support people affected by dementia in local communities. Our teams have worked hard to find innovative ways to reach those people most in need despite lockdown and social distancing  – conducting virtual sessions including our virtual “Singing for the brain” sing along, online meetings and delivering our Dementia Connect support service over the phone. Our frontline staff have made over 100,000 welfare calls to those in desperate need of support and we’ve also compiled the most up to date information on our website to give clear advice to those affected by dementia.

In terms of fundraising – many events such the London Marathon have been cancelled or postponed, which has affected our ability to raise money in the short term, however teams have also found new ways to raise these vital funds. For example, instead of hosting walks, our flagship Memory Walks will look a little different – we are asking people to complete their own walk wherever and whenever they choose in memory or celebration of a loved one. Cupcake Day has also become a virtual event that people can take part in at a time to suit them. We have also launched an emergency appeal which is helping to fund our vital support services.

In Legacies specifically, legacy gifts have become even more important than usual in these difficult times. As they are a stable stream of income to the charity and account for over a quarter of our income. They have been vital in allowing us to continue to support some of the most vulnerable in our society. But of course the Legacies team have also had to adapt to working virtually, as have our solicitor partners who have been finding innovative ways to support people in writing their Wills.

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could help?

For people affected by dementia, the challenges of the pandemic are far from over. Of course none of us know exactly what will happen, but people with dementia are likely to continue to be seriously affected both by the direct and indirect effects of this pandemic. At the time of writing this, it’s also still unclear when face to face services will be able to resume safely for both our staff and service users.  However as a charity we are determined to raise awareness of the continued needs of people living with dementia in this pandemic – including holding the government to account on their decisions.

What message would you pass on to others?

Now more than ever is the time to support those causes most close to your heart – and we want to ensure Alzheimer’s Society can continue its vital work both in the short and long term. So whether it’s donating to our emergency appeal, taking on a virtual fundraising challenge, signing up to be a volunteer, or considering leaving a gift in your Will – people living with dementia need your help right now.

Jenny Platten, Legacy Marketing & Development Manager at Alzheimer’s Society | T: 07541 764855 | E: Jenny.Platten@alzheimers.org.uk

Tell us about Care Advice Centre and what you do.

Care Advice Centre is a friendly, approachable team of independent social workers with vast experience of working within Adult Social Care. This gives our assessors a good understanding of the care and support system which can be complex and difficult to navigate. Some of our services include completing Mental Capacity Assessments, Benefits Advice, Needs assessments in line with the Care Act 2014, to mention a few. More of the services we provide can be seen on our website.

What challenges have you / your clients faced during the COVID-19 pandemic?

As social work is involved with helping people live better lives, this is usually carried out in discussion with the person and pre-COVID this has always been in their specific living environment. During this pandemic it has not always been possible to visit people in their own homes or in care homes therefore a need to be creative with arranging assessments has been the new way of working.

Remote working has been a valued method of carrying out assessments. The virtual assessments have not always been appropriate for some people due to different reasons and therefore this has meant work needed to be postponed until such a time that access to the different environments can be gained.

Some of the care homes or family representatives have not always been able to facilitate virtual meetings, however for those that have been completed virtually this has been a useful tool.

How have you helped your clients overcome these challenges?

One of the biggest aids during this time has been the ability to have virtual meetings with those that are able. Some care home have been able to facilitate this with appointments arranged days in advance.

For some people it has been possible to meet in their back yard or socially distanced within the home environment.

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could you offer?

Initially there might be a reluctance by people to meet in their homes and care homes might still be wary of having visitors in their care environments.

Support could be provided to people by reassuring them that as a professionals we consider other people’s health as well as our own and will continue to follow government guidelines.

What have been your highs and lows during the last 3 months?

The highs have been the willingness of some people trying to facilitate meetings even when they have not worked out as anticipated.

People appear to have been more tolerant during this time as they realise that everyone is in the same position.

There has been good joint working with professionals and family members.

There has also been a lot of phone advice with people calling back and requesting further support from Care Advice Centre.

There have been a lot of people realising they need to plan for the future and a surge in the number of people making contact for these different services.

Tell us about MacIntyre and what your role is.

My name is Lorraine Devereux and I am Corporate and Events Fundraiser for MacIntyre, a national charity that provides care, support and education for more than 1,200 children, young people and adults with a learning disability and/or autism.

What challenges have MacIntyre faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges have your supporters faced as a result?

There have been many challenges for MacIntyre over the last 3 months and we continue to face them.  Many people we support have been in lockdown and shielded and continue to be at the present time, missing regular contact with friends and family and adjusting to a total change of life overnight.  For the majority of the adults we support daily routine offers stability, a sense of feeling safe and happy so the impact on lives has been huge.

For those supported through our day services and outreach, learners have missed regular sessions and routine and we have worked hard to try to support them and their families remotely. 

At MacIntyre School, children who are supported term time have also not seen friends and family, for those children who went home before lockdown, we have continued to provide support to them and their families.

Technology for all of these services and the people we support has proved invaluable – sadly not all services have enough of that technology available, so fundraising has been working hard to secure additional funding and equipment to keep people connected with friends and loved ones.

On top of all of this, operational struggles in sourcing hand sanitiser, PPE and ensuring our staff stay safe and well has been truly challenging and we are not yet the other side of this.

How have you overcome these challenges?

Our Senior Management team have held weekly meetings to ensure a co-ordinated response to the changing situation.  For the Fundraising team, our immediate response was to support the organisation in sourcing vital equipment which at that time was in short supply. From hand sanitiser from a local distillery to masks from a local school whilst at the same time, looking at the impact on fundraising and what we could do, moving cancelled events online and exploring new ways for people to stay connected with us and fundraise.  Support from our local communities and local businesses has never been more needed.

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could help?

As lockdown gradually lifts, the emphasis shifts slightly to helping people we support with feeling confident about resuming day to day life, when many have not been out for months.  We are working with people we support on social distancing and what that means when out and continuing to adapt how we offer the best support we can alongside government guidelines.

Support from community, business and local authorities remains critical for us as we enter the next phase – fundraising remains a challenge, events are unlikely to resume in the way that we know them for some time so we continue to look at all we do and be creative in what we can do to engage our communities and their support.  

What message would you pass on to others?

Firstly our thanks to all those who have supported us over the last few months – from coming along to our virtual quizzes to Moving with Macintyre during May, to donating iPads and tablets and also Community Foundations and COVID response organisations who have supported and granted us with funds to buy technology etc. that we needed to keep people feeling connected.

A huge thanks also goes to those people who joined us on a temporary basis by working for MacIntyre when their own situation changed.

We hope that people will continue to support all that we are doing at MacIntyre and people can do this in so many ways – from supporting and fundraising for us as a business or as an individual, joining us at one of our online events, buying something we need from our Amazon Wish List, to sharing our stories and posts on social media, it all helps.

Lorraine Devereux, Corporate and Events Fundraiser at MacIntyre | T: 01908 230100 | E: lorraine.devereux@macintyrecharity.org

Tell us about Cynthia Spencer Hospice and what your role is.

Cynthia Spencer is a hospice for the care of adults suffering from a life-limiting illness and provides inpatient and community care and a wellbeing service. I am the Fundraising Manager for the charity that raises money to fund and expand the hospice’s services.

What challenges have the hospice faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges have your supporters faced as a result?

Our main challenge has been how we generate income when many events throughout the year, both those generated by our charity, nationally run challenges and activities taking place in the community, have been cancelled and our shops have been closed.

How have you overcome these challenges?

Where we are able, we have adapted our events so they can take place virtually and we have encouraged our supporters to raise money virtually at home, by giving them suggestions of fundraising activities or we have asked them to pledge support at a time when they are able.

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could help?

Our main difficulty will be keeping our volunteers, customers and supporters safe while we begin to interact with them again to encourage fundraising.

What message would you pass on to others?

When you work as a team, communicate well and consider the needs and priorities of your stakeholders you can overcome the most challenging circumstances.

John Helm, Fundraising Manager at Cynthia Spencer Hospice| T: 01604 973342 | E: john@cynthiaspencer.co.uk

Tell us about your business and what you do.

Cave & Sons is a wealth management firm offering services that range from stockbroking to discretionary investment management, inter-generational planning and independent financial advice. We manage money on behalf of private individuals, companies, pensions, Trusts and charities.

What challenges have you/your clients faced during the COVID-19 pandemic?

As a business, apart from the virus-induced stock market volatility (which has certainly kept us busy), not being able to hold face-to-face meetings with clients has been the most significant challenge we have faced.

For clients, those that have been invested in the stock market for many years understand that (occasionally extreme) volatility is to be expected, whereas for those relatively new to investing, the recent market crash (which saw the FTSE100 fall 35% peak-to-trough) has been a rather uncomfortable experience.

How have you helped your clients overcome these challenges?

We have ensured client communications are frequent and relevant. During times such as these, clients are understandably unsettled and often speaking to them to explain what we are doing on their behalf and why we are doing it provides them with a degree of comfort. It’s also been important to remain on the front foot, making efforts where possible to contact clients first, whether it be via telephone call, email, or video call for those more accepting of technology!

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could you offer?

It will take months, maybe years, to understand the full impact of closing down the economy for over a quarter of a year. A sharp rise in unemployment does, however, look inevitable. For those unlucky enough to lose their jobs but coming to end of their career, who were possibly considering retirement anyway, our team of financial planners can discuss and explore whether their current retirement provisions are sufficient to support their lifestyles and, if not, how this could be made possible. For those that were considering establishing an investment portfolio, but have perhaps been unsettled by recent developments, we can provide re-assurance and structure an appropriate plan.

What have been your highs and lows during the last 3 months?

The last three months have been the most challenging of my career, managing client portfolios through the extreme market volatility has been difficult, and at times felt like there has been no place to hide! Without my colleagues, though, it would’ve been far tougher. I now appreciate, more than ever before, being part of a hardworking and collaborative team, where experience, expertise and good humour are all required in equal measure and have been essential to navigating the current crisis.

Ed Caswell, Chartered FCSI & Associate Director at Cave & Sons | T: 01604 621421 | E: ecaswell@caves.co.uk

Tell us about your business and what you do.

Innova Technology Services Limited is a technology service provider. We deliver infrastructure and desktop support, consultancy, cloud services, software licensing, hardware procurement and compliance solutions. We have a proactive attitude to the services we provide and foster long term Trusted relationships with our customers. We provide dedicated account management, regular service review, recommendations and advice, all as part of the service.

What challenges are you/your customers currently facing following the COVID-19 pandemic?

For Innova the main challenge was to continue to deliver our services to the same standard in the lockdown. For our customers the challenge was to enable employees to continue working and communicating effectively while in lockdown. We also need to be mindful of the effect on cashflow and budgets for ourselves and our customers and help where we can with financial challenges.

How are these challenges being overcome?

We had a disaster recovery process in place in case we had a significant issue. We were able to implement this quickly and effectively with no impact on customers.

For the customers it meant implementing or improving the remote working technologies and training staff who would not normally work remotely on how to use them. The key goal was to maintain effective communication and access to data for the customer. Video conferencing technologies have come to the fore and entered daily life both for work and play.

We maintain regular contact with our customers to capture any issues quickly and effectively.

Working with customers and discussing payment terms where necessary.

What difficulties do you foresee coming out of lockdown and what support would help?

During the lockdown we have only delivered remote services. The challenge will be to build up our onsite services with customers and maintain resourcing capabilities.

We have customers across many business areas so it is difficult to gauge what coming out of lockdown will look like. The difficulties for leisure industries will probably be significant for some time and we will have to work closely with them to help as much as we can. It may be some customers buy into remote working moving forward, in which case we will help them refine their technical capabilities accordingly.

What message would you pass onto others?

Stay safe. Be careful in how we ramp up to whatever ‘normal’ is after the virus. Work together, it is to everyone’s benefit that companies survive and the country gets on with recovery together.

Jim Captainino, Director at Innova Technology Services | Telephone: 0203 474 5445 | Email: sales@innovauk.com

Tell us about your business and what you do.

SMS commercial cleaning has been proudly working in the private sector for 20+ years providing contract cleaning, high level specialist cleaning and we have a specialist team that specialises in all methods of disease control.

What challenges are you/your customers currently facing following the COVID-19 pandemic?

SMS cleaning recently featured on BBC News. We as a company recognise, as do many, the support and confidence people need to have to get back into the workplace; in particular the Disease Control Program as a solution to help UK businesses get back to work. Speaking to Hazel Scanlon, Director at SMS cleaning, the TV report demonstrated the steps taken which help support employers and employees in building confidence to get back into the workplace and help promote lowering the risk.

How are these challenges being overcome?

With movement restrictions being lifted, the BBC also discussed the safety processes firms are using to prepare their workplaces. Hazel Scanlon, Director at SMS cleaning, explained how premises are fogged with antiviral products which help to eliminate the virus in the air and on surfaces, this method is the best method to cover all areas of your building to give additional protection and to safeguard staff in their working environment. Additional precautions can also be taken. SMS cleaning can erect sneeze screens, provide facemasks, sanitiser stations and signage for extra protection.

What difficulties do you foresee coming out of lockdown and what support would help?

We need to be mindful that staff members are worried for their families, friends, colleagues and members of the public and that our priority as individuals is to avoid further spread of the virus and taking the necessary measures to lower the risk. We must focus on building our staff’s confidence and assuring them that their work environment is a safe place to work.

Any UK organisation can sign up to the free COVID-19 Health Assessment app and use this tool as part of their strategy to return to the workplace. SMS cleaning can support businesses with signing up to the app. The Disease Control Program is crucial for organisations who have staff who are unable to work from home and are emerging from lockdown.

What message would you pass onto others?

SMS cleaning are already using the Health Assessment app to help keep the SMS workforce safe during their front-line activities. The app allows SMS to see what percentage of their workforce each day is fit and well and who needs support. We are aware, as responsible employers, that our staff safety is paramount as are a number of the sites we are responsible for. We must work together to find solutions to keep our families, friends, colleagues and our nation safe.

Hazel Scanlon, Director at Support Maintenance Services Ltd (SMS Ltd) | T: 01908 319494 | E: info@smscleaning.co.uk

Tell us about your business and what you do.

My business is imaginatively titled “O’Sullivan Financial Planning”. We help individuals and business owners make informed decisions around their financial plans to achieve and maintain the lifestyle they desire.

What challenges are you/your customers currently facing following the COVID-19 pandemic?

My wife works for the NHS and her role is significantly more important than mine! As a result, I am spending most of the time looking after our 6 and 3-year-old children.

Despite the recent stock market falls my clients are not too concerned about this. They all have sufficient cash reserves that they can afford to leave their money invested for the long term and although short-term price movements are disappointing they are not too much of a concern for them achieving their long term plans.

How are these challenges being overcome?

For myself I’ve had to learn to juggle! I’ve changed my working pattern to a massively condensed working week. All my meetings are on a Monday or Tuesday and I fit work around everything else during the rest of the week – I’m writing this as I cook dinner!

For my clients I had been managing expectations for some time that markets will drop. I had no crystal ball and couldn’t predict COVID-19 but the longest bull market in history was always going to end at some point so I had been talking about this for a while. Having managed their expectations going into this, I have tried to be in much more regular contact than usual with them to ensure that any questions they have are answered and provide reassurance as needed.

I already had a fully functioning remote office, so apart from getting more comfortable with video calling, I am still able go service my clients in the same way I always have. In anything, I’m using a lot less paper, so I’ve probably saved a couple of trees.

What difficulties do you foresee coming out of lockdown and what support would help?

Life won’t return to normal for some time. There will be a second wave, and the more the curve can be flattened to try and prolong when this will happen the better prepared our health service will be and hopefully, we will be much closer to a vaccine at that time.

In my opinion the on-off switch what is furlough won’t help many businesses as they try to open their doors again. I think a scheme similar to Germany or Ireland where it’s not so much the individual which is furloughed but maybe a portion of their hours would massively help businesses start operating again and give individuals the ability to return to work.

I’d like to see the schools begin to open sooner rather than later (not just for my personal sanity) as the economy is losing a lot of productivity with parents balancing childcare. Our schools will need support as this will be a much harder task to deliver.

What message would you pass onto others?

We shouldn’t underestimate human ingenuity. This too shall pass.

Conor O’Sullivan, FPFS, Chartered Financial Planner Director & Independent Financial Adviser at O’Sullivan Financial Planning | T: 01536 639 007 | E: conor@osullivanfp.co.uk