In common with all City Livery Companies, the Carmen have a long tradition of helping those in need. Originally intended 'for the relief of necessitous Carmen and their dependants' Carmen's charity now reaches outside the Company to help those in greatest need.
Individual need has always been a high priority.
In partnership with the Armed Forces' charities
SSAFA and
RBL, the Carmen are proud of the many ways they have been able to assist former servicemen and their dependants - whether for assistance with the purchase of personal mobility vehicles; the fitting of a stair-lift; the provision of wet-room facilities or other, sometimes heart-rending needs, the Carmen have responded.
Carers, in their many guises, either as individuals or organisations are one of the most undervalued sectors in the arena of voluntary assistance. The Trust makes regular grants to organisations such as
'Jumbulance' to assist with the provision of specially adapted vehicles, essential for the safety of the less able, young and old alike;
The vital support provided by hospices, particularly those for children, is much appreciated by the Carmen. This is recognised by regular grants to several including;
The Carmen's relationship with
Christ's Hospital stretches back over 500 years. In 1582, when
Christ's was less than 30 years old the Carmen, when '
marking carrs' (licensing) and collecting dues, provided income to the School.
In the decades following the Carmen’s Royal Charter of 1946, Carmen generously revived their ancient connection with the School and through the Carmen's Benevolent Trust have been pleased, once again, to support the education of pupils there.
In April 2010, following the remarkable generosity of Carmen, the Carmen's Benevolent Trust was in the enviable position of being able, for the first time, to provide consecutive support for a second pupil. It was a special moment when India Hogan (below left, receiving her Carmen's Badge from Chairman Trustee, Telfer Saywell) joined fellow Carmen's presentee, Kemi Skeete (below right, in school dress wearing her Carmen's Badge) to begin her studies.
King Edward’s School Witley is also supported by the Trust with an annual grant to support three students through their VIth-form studies.
The school was founded on 26 June 1553 when King Edward VI gave Bridewell Royal Palace to the Lord Mayor and communality of the City of London to be a place ‘to lodge Christ in’.
The City of London Guilds and Livery Companies were asked to provide the funding needed to feed and clothe the inhabitants and to this day KES, long since relocated to the Surrey countryside, continues to approach these institutions and charities for financial assistance to enable proven needy children to enter the school.
The other school to receive regular grants is the
City of London Freemen's School, founded in Ferndate Road Brixton in 1854 by Alderman Warren Stormes-Hale, who induced the City Corporation to use the London Workhouse funds to found a school for 'the maintenance and the religious and virtuous education of orphans of Freemen of the City of London'.
The Carmen's Benevolent Trust provides an annual bursary and funding for prizes in Music, Psychology, Arts, Science and Mathematics. These are presented at Prize Day by the Lord Mayor of London
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This is but a brief résumé of the work of the Carmen's Benevolent Trust. There is so much more to tell. Whether it is grants for medical research, City charities or helping to provide a 'special' experience for the disadvantaged or less-able, the Carmen are proud of the help they give, particularly when they have 'given a little where a little means a lot'.
If you want to read more on the work of the Trust please click on the links below.
Click the wheel for the 2010 Carmen's Benevolent Trust Newsletter (pdf)Click the wheel for the 2009 Carmen's Benevolent Trust Newsletter (pdf)Click the wheel for the 2008 Carmen's Benevolent Trust Newsletter (pdf) Click the wheel for the 2010 Carmen's Benevolent Trust Newsletter (pdf)Click the wheel for the 2009 Carmen's Benevolent Trust Newsletter (pdf)Click the wheel for the 2008 Carmen's Benevolent Trust Newsletter (pdf)