Liberate is pleased to announce the first charities to take advantage of the DIFERA+ Pay It Forward Grant Scheme are Beresford Street Kitchen and Citizens Advice.

The ‘DIFERA+ Pay It Forward’ grant scheme was suggested by Standard Bank, one of the first DIFERA accredited organisations in the Channel Islands. The scheme enables DIFERA accredited companies to ‘pay it forward’ by sponsoring a charity to participate in the scheme. The initiative was launched at Liberate’s CI Equality and Diversity Awards in March this year and charities were invited to submit an application.

The grant scheme received eight excellent applications from a variety of charities working with a range of clients, some with fewer than 25 members of staff and some with close to 100. The judging panel, consisting of representatives from Liberate and Standard Bank, had a tough job selecting the two charities that were chosen to receive the grant.

The chosen charities were Beresford Street Kitchen and Citizens Advice. While Beresford Street Kitchen is a relatively new charity that provides quality training and employment for people with learning disabilities and autism through their Beresford Street cafe, Citizens Advice is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year. They offer free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to all islanders facing problems. The two charities couldn’t be more different and yet they share a desire to be inclusive and to treat everyone with respect.

Tina Monro, Head of Human Capital, Standard Bank Wealth International which connects Africa to international markets, said: “Standard Bank is delighted to be supporting Beresford Street Kitchen and Citizens Advice to participate in the DIFERA accreditation scheme. The applications from both charities demonstrated the work that they are already undertaking in the six DIFERA areas and also an enthusiasm to go through the DIFERA process and gain the accreditation. We are delighted to be making this announcement on Africa Day”.

Vic Tanner Davy, CEO Liberate, said: “We are looking forward to working with Beresford Street Kitchen and Citizens Advice to share our view of the value in diversity and the importance of creating an accepting workplace with two organisations who are already well on the way to delivering those inclusive spaces where people can thrive and be their best.”

To find out more about the DIFERA scheme, please go to: https://liberate.je/difera/