Our History

Care for the Carers has been supporting and representing unpaid carers in East Sussex since 1989.

Then known as “East Sussex Care for the Carers Council”, we were registered as a charity in 1990. In 1999, the name was simplified to “Care for the Carers”.

Since the charity’s early days, we have offered a range of help and support services to carers, and contributed to strategic planning and awareness raising to improve carers’ lives. In recent years, our 25th and 30th anniversaries were a cause for celebration, and we were delighted to welcome HRH the Princess Royal to open our new Carers Centre in Eastbourne in 2012.

Our key achievements

We celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2019. Here’s a timeline of key highlights and successes from over the years to ensure that there is  No one left to care alone.

1989

• Care for the Carers’ roots are formed – known then as the East Sussex Care for the Carers Council, created to ensure a voice for carers in the joint planning and delivery of council services to carers.

1995

• ‘Emergency Alert Card Scheme’ launched

1997

• Care for the Carers develops the Care Passport.
• We achieve funding for the Young Carers’ Project, launched in 1998.

1999

• We celebrate our 10th anniversary!
• Tony Blair, Prime Minister, writes to the Carers of East Sussex.
• We become “Care for the Carers” and a Charitable Company.

2002

• Hospital Liaison pilot launched.
• Carers Day takes place at Ashburnham Place.
• Comic Relief funds our School Liaison Workers.
• We establish that 80% of local carers have their own health needs (“From Rhetoric to Reality”, Care for the Carers – Dec 2002).

2004

• County Carers Strategy Group is formed – we represent the voice of carers and also support carers to be directly involved.

2006

• Care Passports are relaunched.
• Positive Action for Carer Empowerment (PACE) project takes place.
• We hold a successful Young Carers Festival.

2007

• Young Carers DVD produced
• Befriending Scheme launched.
• Substance Misuse Group launched.

2008

• Strictly Carers Dancing event dazzles the crowd!

2009

• We celebrate our 20th Anniversary!
• We begin offering Counselling for Carers.
• YAC – Young Adult Carers project launches.

2010

• Advocacy Pilot.
• Carers conferences take place.
• The Carers Challenge – local MPs learn about a day in the life of carers.

2011

• We merge the Emergency Alert Card with East Sussex County Council’s Carers’ Respite Emergency Support Service.

2012

• We pilot the Carers Discount Card.
• We have a royal visit when HRH the Princess Royal opens the new Carers Centre.

2014

• We hold our 25th anniversary party.

2015

• Our new Carers Card is launched so that carers don’t have to carry more than one card.

2017

• We are awarded a Carers Trust Quality Award – “Centre of Excellence”

2018

• We are a runner-up at the FSI Small Charity Big Impact Awards.

2019

• We celebrate 30th years and launch our first Grand Raffle raising over £2,600.
• We are chosen to continue providing a Carers Centre after East Sussex County Council and the NHS recommissioned our services.

2020

• Working in collaboration with us and the Time to Shine Project, Young Adult Carers release a song for Young Carers Awareness Day.

How you can help carers

None of these achievements are possible without your support, and we thank everyone who enabled our first 30 years. If you want to help build the next 30 years, whether it be by fundraising, volunteering your time or leaving a gift in your Will, please do get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.