The answers to these questions drove them back to the table again. How could they raise money? What organisations might help them? How could they recruit 'reading tutors'? Slowly the answers began to fall into place. They started an account by contributing one hundred pounds each. Beatrice had began to practice the course systematically. Sheila had many contacts in local schools, and experience of working with parents of children in difficulties. Both of them set out to ask for funds from various trusts. Some of the money was promised to them only if they could find equal funds from donations. They held a party for all the people they knew, most of whom were in education, explained their scheme and asked for help. Several hundred pounds were contributed - the matching funds!
They wrote an article for the local paper after which more requests came in from people who would like to take the training course; Beatrice became the trainer. Soon she had her first 'graduate' tutors. They were sent to schools which had agreed to take part in the scheme by arranging for children to be taught in quiet places near the end of the school day. One tutor, one child, day after day, for six weeks.
Once its effectiveness was demonstrated, news of the scheme spread. Beatrice and Sheila decided to register it as a charity, which meant finding volunteers who would act as Trustees and be responsible for its proper management.
Reading tutors were properly paid, but increasingly Beatrice and Sheila had offers from volunteers who were ready be trained and then provide the special tuition without payment. Many of them were retired people who had a background in education. All the time money had to be found from different sources to keep the whole charity afloat. So, in order to attract more money, Beatrice and Sheila began to develop the idea of 'Happy reading' in the community. Local libraries displayed the books they recommended; the seven-year-olds were encouraged to bring their younger brothers and sisters to the library where they could show off their new skills. Some volunteers worked with the parents of the boys and girls with reading difficulties who, themselves, were often shaky readers. Parents who had no books at home were encouraged to attend the library 'happy reading' days. People around the schools had ideas about how to raise money which they themselves enthusiastically put into practice. More and more children were helped up that reading hill and over the top; and within two years, hundreds of people – tutors and children, parents, children's librarians, other teachers, other children - had been affected by this charity.
This is an example of a charity started by two people, Beatrice and Sheila, which involved a bright idea, special skills, hard work, the support of schools, enthusiasm in the community, participating parents and a lot of organisation. It brought in experienced teachers who were paid for their work and skilled volunteers who worked without payment. It helped children at a crucial stage of their school life. We know who started it. To British people, the reasons for doing so are obvious. The millions of people involved in one charity or another are all around us.
In 2009 there were more than 166000 registered charities in England and Wales. (Scotland keeps a separate register.) Some of these are Funding Charities: a rich man or a wealthy organisation may put some money into a special account with the purpose of donating it to other smaller charities when they make applications for a grant. (For example, there are various funding charities set up 'for the purpose of improving the education of children in Britain'. These are the kind of charities to which Beatrice and Sheila applied for their project to help seven-year-olds with reading. ) The funders have to decide which projects are likely to be the most useful and effective. Not everyone can get the money they would like to have!
Very often people like Beatrice and Sheila are told that they can receive a grant only if they can find 'matching funds'. This means that they have to raise the same amount of money in other ways; it is a method of ensuring that they are serious and committed. You can raise funds by simply asking for money, but usually fund-raisers have to do something. Many marathon runners ask their friends to sponsor them for every kilometre they run, for a particular charity. If you have a lot of friends you can make a lot of money! You can even set up your own sponsored 'I'm giving up eating chocolates for a month' and raise money from friends and neighbours who enjoy tempting you, but who will pay up if you resist temptation. You can set up a stall at a fete or public celebration where you sell things, either second-hand goods or items of craftwork donated by their makers. You can organise a party or dance or concert or other entertainment where you sell tickets and the profit goes to the charity. You can collect recyclable materials which have some value. (For years the British 'Guide Dogs for the Blind' Association made money by getting millions of schoolchildren to collect the tops to glass milk bottles which were made from aluminium foil. Each day the foil tops were removed, washed, brought to school, collected in sacks and eventually sent to the Association which raised its funds by selling the aluminium. The joy of the scheme was that small children could help, and could easily understand that giving a trained dog to a blind man was a Good Idea. Now we have plastic bottles so different schemes and ideas have to be examined.)
Charities do not continue for ever. Some simply achieve their aim and close. Others become out-of-date or no longer relevant. If the local authority takes over the responsibility for keeping Whistlehampton's playground in good order, the Whistlehampton Playground Charity will close - but the villagers will certainly find something else which needs to be done. Some charities change their aims and merge with others. Others close because no-one is prepared to give the time, effort and energy to keeping them going. Beatrice and Sheila have been very active in starting and sustaining their charity. They have tried to make sure that it continues even when they retire. Since most towns have plenty of people who want to help their community somehow or other, their charity will probably continue. But perhaps not. Perhaps enthusiasm will fade. The Charities Register has a huge list of charities which have closed down. Nobody can force you to keep a voluntary activity going, whether it be for the benefit yourselves (as in the last chapter) or for other people (as in this chapter). In fact, as you can deduce, the benefits go in both directions, in both sorts of voluntary activity. Some are charities and others are not, but the impulse behind them is similar. And fortunately there are thousands of people in Britain today who are sitting round their kitchen tables saying, 'Don't you think it would be a good idea if we did this?
Chapter 4. Culture and the Arts
This is a brief chapter. I discuss the place of what some people call 'high art' in our society - painting, music, literature, drama which is either already 'classical' or which aspires to be. The popular arts which touch so many people are better explored in more immediate ways - by listening, looking and enjoying via the latest technology. Many people would consider the distinction I am making to be a false one and I do not want to defend it in this chapter except for practical reasons. While we cannot be sure that the new works of 'high art' which we admire will last, the point is that certain standards are being applied in discussing them - the standards which we apply to works which already have a classical status.
The culture of another country is often, alas, inaccessible. So much of our finest artistic activity takes the form of theatrical productions, concerts, exhibitions of paintings and sculpture, and similar creations which last a limited time and which you will not be able to see or hear. Since there is no point in providing lists which will be quickly out of date, I have chosen to give an overview of the artistic scene and to reflect briefly on our attitude to the arts.