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The Scarman Trust - Can Do!


The Scarman Trust is a national charity founded by Lord Scarman in response to the widespread social and civil disturbances that took place in many of the most deprived parts of the country in the early eighties.

Created primarily to bring about positive social changes that will be welcomed by local communities, the Trust promotes ‘active citizenship’ which encourages individuals and groups to contribute their own project ideas and skills in return for practical assistance and funding.

This holistic approach helps unite marginalised communities by giving them a voice that can be heard by the countries key decision makers and ensures that all projects undertaken in the community are actually needed and wanted by the local people.

The result is a healthier social and economic environment in which to live and more fundamental life chances available for everyone.

The Scarman Trust currently operates in ten regions across the country and helps more and more people with vision, commitment and a ‘can do’ attitude to create opportunities that have long-term, positive benefits for everyone in their community.

www.thescarmantrust.org

Who We Are

We are a charitable organisation of like-minded individuals - based in ten regional offices throughout the length and breadth of the country - who are dedicated to helping marginalised people bring about positive social change in their communities.

With funding and practical assistance we help individuals with a 'can do' attitude to not only attain their declared goals but also to mobilise many thousands of others within their own communities and across the major institutions of society along the way.

Along with supporting local community ‘can do-ers’ we also work hard towards:

  • Delivering our four core services on an increased scale, namely:
    - Can Do Community franchises
    - Start-up Support
    - Enterprise Support
    - Coaching-led support services for change agents.
  • Developing the Scarman Institute as a means of influencing policy and practice on a national and international basis and developing presence and collaborations internationally by building on existing strengths and relationships
  • Building the asset base of the Trust in terms of both physical and financial assets to create a platform of financial security for growth.
  • Becoming a world leader in Central & Regional excellence through investment in professional development and organisational learning and consolidating the development of internal systems and services within the Scarman Trust to support the scaling up of our work in the UK and overseas.

OUR ROOTS

The summer of 1981 saw a period of rioting and civil disturbances in some of the most deprived inner city areas of London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds. When the flames were eventually quelled an uneasy peace descended upon the areas, although tensions still ran high.

The government of the time, perplexed as to the fundamental reasons for the rioting, instigated a public enquiry headed by Lord Leslie Scarman to get to the root cause of the disturbances.

The Scarman Enquiry findings when published focused on discrimination, unemployment, poverty and years of anger and frustration at powerlessness as the primary underlying causes of the riots.

In response to these findings an organisation, originally known as the Charter 88 Trust, was created by Lord Scarman and played a key role in making the government sit up and listen to its citizens.

In 1991 the Scarman Trust was set up to continue this 'bottom up' approach to democracy and was firmly rooted in the constitutional reform movement.

Lord Scarman was its first chair and guiding inspiration.

What We Do

The Trust’s primary objective is to facilitate positive change – starting from the bottom and working upwards - in marginalised communities and give hope, opportunities and empowerment to the people living there.

By linking ‘ can do-ers’ in communities with ‘can do-ers’ in government and other institutions we help build new, local initiatives that put people, their potential and their creativity first and make their projects become reality.

These projects can take the form of enterprise development, partnerships for public service delivery or advocacy with government at all levels and include planting up derelict sites, drop-in centres for stress-sufferers, handyman help for disabled people, community bus services, organic food distribution, credit unions, community nurseries, lone parent support groups or electronic village halls linked to the internet to name but a few.

What they all have in common however is they are focused upon expanding access to opportunities for people who currently miss out, are aided by people who actually live in the area and have the local people at their heart.

NATIONAL PROGRAMMES

All communities are wealthy - rich in assets such as skills, knowledge, land, buildings, networks, organizational resources and spending power that often go to waste. The Scarman Trust invests in can do-ers - people who act as a catalyst - to mobilise these assets for positive and concrete change. The Scarman Trust undertakes regeneration programmes and solutions on a national basis through their regional offices. Because these solutions are owned and implemented by the local community, local people gain skills and knowledge from their setbacks as well as their successes. This bottom up approach makes a valuable contribution to the long-term health of communities and provides real solutions for local needs.

Please visit the current Scarman Trust site to find out more www.thescarmantrust.org

[Contemporary Urban Centres , Social Enterprise, Community Development, Community Support, Pathways to Employment]

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