Don’t jump! Don’t jump!
Have you been asked to sponsor someone for a charity parachute jump? Do you want to get out of it?
If so, help is at hand. Just cite this highly entertaining study into parachuting injuries in Tayside, which found that 11 per cent of charity parachutists get injured, and 7 per cent end up in hospital, at an average cost to the NHS of £3,750.
On average, charity parachutists in the survey raised £30. Meaning that for every £1 they raised for charity, the government spends £14 on patching them up afterwards.
Today, PAs; tomorrow, the world
Hot on the heels of the news that Leanne Graham, PA to the mighty Sir Stephen Bubb, has been appointed to the board of the Association of Celebrity Assistants, we now learn she is also running a network for charity PAs, called, well, the Charity PA Network.
If Graham continues to acquire titles at this rate she will shortly wield more authority than many of the chief executives who are members of her organisation.
Forget us again next year, please
Last week, the Charity Tax Group convened a panel of top tax bods to discuss the issues emerging from the Budget. One expert kicked off proceedings by addressing whether charities were the “forgotten sector” in the Budget, as suggested last week by Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change.
“Normally it’s a good thing if we’ve been forgotten,” he said. “If we’re talking about the sector after the Budget it’s normally because the government has created some new problem for us.”
There are lots of days
Once, long ago, in the mists of time, the term Big Society was popular in government. Everything was named after the Big Society – expensive awards, social lenders, social action campaigns.
In May 2010, David Cameron told us there was going to be a day to celebrate all this wonderful bigness and socialness. So far, it hasn't happened.
Nick Hurd, minister for civil society, was ambushed with a question about this by Martha Kearney on the World at One on BBC Radio 4, earlier this week.
Lots of people have chucked stones at the Big Society, Hurd said, but it had done some good things.
But was there going to be a specific Big Society Day, Kearney asked again.
“Arguably every day is a Big Society day,” Hurd said.
But was there going to be a specific Big Society Day, Kearney asked again.
“There are lots of different days through the calendar when people come together and support one another,” Hurd said.
But was there going to be a specific Big Society Day, Kearney asked again.
“We looked in the calendar and saw there were lots of days,” Hurd said.
Society Diary is confidently predicting that we will not be hearing about a new Big Society Day in the near future.
