Posted on: 8 November 2021
The Seafarers’ Charity, the largest grant-awarding maritime charity, has unveiled its new website, making it easier to apply for grants and explaining the complete network of support provided.
The Seafarers’ Charity works with delivery partners to support seafarers across the world, reflecting the global nature of seafaring. Their diverse work over the last year has included the COVID-19 focused Seafarers International Relief Fund, as well as their continued role supporting work with 39 charities, such as the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network, Sailors’ Society, The Mission to Seafarers and new work with Befrienders International and Safer Waves offering a complete range of support and care for seafarers.
In March 2021, the charity released its new, results-driven strategy ‘Thrive’, that aims to identify and tackle root causes of hardship and disadvantage to seafarers.
The charity’s website has been re-engineered and re-designed to reflect on the charity’s new look and feel and will provide a one-stop place where other maritime charities and not-for-profit organisations in the UK and internationally can apply for funding to deliver a wide range of welfare services to seafarers and their families in need. The new website will allow the charity to celebrate its many loyal supporters, while providing new fundraisers with information about how they can get involved and make a donation.
The website also provides information on the charity’s latest grants, impact achieved and its influence across the maritime sector, fundraising and challenge events, as well as publications and campaigns, and highlights key moments from over 100 years of the charity’s history and its welfare work. There are also dedicated Seafarers International Relief Fund and Merchant Navy Fund sections that highlight the charity’s collaborative work in supporting seafarers and their families devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic in India, and UK Merchant Navy working and retired seafarers, respectively.
Catherine Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of The Seafarers’ Charity, said: ‘We’re delighted to have launched our new website, which gives us a fantastic platform to showcase our grant funding, research, advocacy and collaboration work with our delivery partners to achieve better outcomes for seafarers in respect of their financial resilience, health and well-being, better working lives, safety and social justice. It will also provide us with an opportunity to celebrate all the wonderful contributions our supporters make to help us to provide long-term aid and inspire more people to show their support for seafarers in need and their families. We hope this website will demonstrate how together we are making a difference to the lives of thousands of seafarers in need every year.’
Paul Butterworth MNI, Partner and Head of the Maritime & Shipping Practice at Odgers Berndtson, and Chair of the Charity’s General Council, said: ‘The Seafarers’ Charity plays a leading national – and increasingly international – role supporting seafarers and their families in need. We must ensure that we can attract fundraising, to support the maritime welfare sector and work faster to address the root causes of disadvantage. The charity’s new website will enable its supporters and the wider maritime sector to better understand the scope of our work and the impact we achieve in improving outcomes for seafarers, which are so often out-of-sight and therefore out-of-mind.’
The charity encourages all its supporters and the wider maritime community to visit www.theseafarerscharity.org to find out more about how the charity supports seafarers in need and their families across the UK and internationally.
