Nepacs wins £10,000 Movement for Good award

Nepacs has won a £10,000 Movement for Good award from Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.

Nepacs is one of 30 charities chosen by a panel of judges to receive £10,000 as part of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good awards, which is giving £1million to good causes this year.

The funding will enable Nepacs to build on the digital art projects and support it currently offers to children aged 8 to 17 years negatively impacted by the imprisonment of a parent or loved one. The award will enable children involved in the Nepacs youth project to undertake innovative, guided, digital art-work projects, telling their stories and exploring their emotions through learning, and producing creative content highlighting their personal experience of having a parent in prison. Guided by Digital Voice experts, the digital artworks describe how this experience has impacted and shaped their lives, particularly in terms of loss and stigma, alongside their hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future. Children will also take part in a number of online group and therapeutic sessions to generate discussions around shared experiences.

The awards are designed to help charities make a real difference in their communities. More than 1,000 charities applied for the funding and the winning projects were selected against four criteria: impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.

The funding will support Nepacs over the next three years.

Amanda Lacey, Nepacs chief executive said:

“Our youth project and ‘Digital Me’ gives a ‘voice’ to children who are traditionally ‘stigmatised’ amongst their peers and who suffer the hidden harm of prison sentences that are no fault of their own. Many of these children live in poverty, and may therefore not have access to digital learning and technologies.

“We are excited that the Digital Me project will continue to bring these children together with others in a similar situation in a safe and exciting learning environment. They’ll be encouraged to explore the full spectrum of their talents, developing art, story-telling, directing and inter-personal skills to produce pieces of expressive art that are deeply meaningful to them. They’ll be listened to and their stories will be showcased, building confidence and self-esteem. The process will also help the young people build peer support networks that will last long into the future.”

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive at Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, said: “At Ecclesiastical we believe business should be a force for good. Charitable causes need sustained support and a sense of financial stability. Through the second phase of our Movement for Good awards we are actively championing innovation, giving charities the backing they need to propel their plans forward and turn creative ideas into practical solutions that benefit society. We know that £10,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”

“Ecclesiastical, the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK, is a unique financial services group. We are owned by a charity which means all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to our customers. As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business.”

For more information visit: www.ecclesiastical.com/movementforgood