Manchester's special Challenge in support of special needs charity

Zurich Commercial staff in Manchester have certainly risen to the Challenge with their support for a special educational needs charity. On Thursday 4th September, staff presented two laptops and a printer to The Special Educational Needs Family Support Group (SENFSG) in Urmston.  Kindly donated by Advance Services, these will enable SENFSG to improve their service of providing information and advice to parents, carers and young people where there is a need for special educational support.  This can range from learning difficulties, exclusion and bullying to dyslexia and home education.

Staff first heard about The Special Educational Needs Family Support Group when a grant application came in asking for a £500 donation from the Zurich Community Trust.  Zurich staff were so impressed with what they do and felt that they would be able to do more by using their business network contacts and add some muscle and business skills of their own.  Not only have they provided one laptop but two Pentium 4 wi-fi enabled laptops with state of the art software but also been able to source an office quality printer which will be useful to them given the amount of information they supply to their clients.

And there’s more… Zurich’s Business Analyst, Amanda Openshaw, will set the laptops up and transfer SENFSG’s database onto the laptops.  She will then go on to help them review and refresh the way they store their data.  Area Sales Manager for Zurich Commercial, Neal Lumb, is also going to help The Special Educational Needs Family Support Group to prepare a business plan and give them advice on how to promote themselves.

And finally, a team of ten Manchester staff headed up by Bradley Clerk are on a roll with helping this group and will brush up their decorating skills to give the six offices a much needed lick of paint to make their office environment more welcoming for families, young people and staff alike.   How much paint, precisely, will be decided on 25th September 2009 when planning begins in earnest!

We were so impressed with the work of the Special Educational Needs Group and chose to work alongside them in this way as we felt we would make a practical and tangible difference to some of their clients. 
Janet Brocklehurst, Charity co-ordinator

We are so thrilled to receive all this wonderful support from Zurich staff and these new laptops will enable us to get information to parents much more easily. 
Marsha White, Manager, Special Educational Needs Family Support Group

The Special Educational Needs Family Support Group was established as a charity in 1990 as an independent advice and support network for families, carers and young people. The charity not only aims to provide the information support and quality advice that parents need to support their child / family but also to run a family centre where both young and old can gain access to their valuable services. At the centre you will find a child and adolescent friendly counselling room with access to adequate equipment, a training room and resource library. In 2007 The Special Educational Needs Family Support Group advised and supported over 1,000 parents of children with special educational needs to get an appropriate education for their children.