In the UK, 6 million people (that's 1 in 8 adults) are carers. They provide unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner. The reality is that at some point in your life time you will need to care for or be cared by somebody else. In fact, it's estimated that 6,000 people take on caring responsibilities every day - that's 2 million people per year. Incredible.

The value carers play in the lives of the people they care for and society at large is immeasureable.  In fact, carers save the UK economy £87 billion per year. If carers suddenly stopped caring, the UK Government and you - yes you the tax payer - would need to plug that gap. Over 3 million people juggle care with work, however the significant demands of caring mean that 1 in 5 carers are forced to give up work altogether. And carer's benefits leave a great deal to be desired.  Their main benefit is equivalent to £1.52 per hour - far short of the national minimum wage of £5.73 per hour. 

Carers pay a heavy price - no money, no breaks, no life of their own and a constant battle for support.  As a conseuqence of caring, many experience ill health, poverty and discrimination. That's where Carers UK and all of us can help.

Carers UK is a national charity that has been tirelessly campaigning for the rights and benefits of carers for over 50 years. Their work, particularly over the last decade, has secured siginficant improvements for carers and society at large.  However, clearly more is needed. Carers UK is the designated charity partner of Ruby Red Coaching & Communications. Ruby Red Managing Director, Anne-Marie Rodriguez de Killeen is a Non-Executive Director and Trustee of Carers UK. She explains:

"As a society we expect our families and friends to be there to care for us as we get older.  We also expect that all those years of hard work and loyalty we showed our employers and our country will guarentee us a respectable level of state supported care. The reality is far from this utopia. Employment for life is a distant memory yet we all have to work longer and harder leaving little time or money to care for others, pensions are laughable and Government funding is stretched and growing thinner as we get older. Something needs to be done to secure our future. Carers UK is the voice of carers. They have the wealth of experience of thousands of members, the research, insights and vision to help our Government overhall health and social care services, as well as the tax, benefit and pension systems which will support carers and those they care for in the future. We're delighted to support Carers UK and we thank everyone for helping us toward acheiving our £5,000 fundraising target this year."

Ruby Red Coaching & Consulting will be organising fundraising events throughout the year.  Please come back to our page for updates on how you can get involved. You can also find information on our website www.rubyredcoaching.com.  But don't feel you have to wait, feel free to make a donation at any time and as often as you want.

Many thanks,

Everyone at Ruby Red Coaching & Consulting