The organisation that established the Spring Valley Estate, the Isle of Man Development Company Limited, is to celebrate its fortieth year on the Island by holding a reception on 15th May. In 1973 the company’s present shareholder, John Finlan, was invited by the then Government’s First Minister, Percy Radcliffe, to play a part in a re-organisation of the Island’s infrastructure; and the company’s objectives were, and still are, to ‘support the development objectives of the Manx Government’. Conditions requested at that time were that the Board of Directors should be Manx, as should the company’s bankers, accountants, lawyers and other professionals, and this is still the case today.

The reception will not only mark this notable anniversary, it will also be an opportunity for the company to demonstrate its support for two local charities. John Scott, Chairman of the Isle of Man Development Company Limited, commented: ‘Our investment has produced the Spring Valley Estate you see today and many tenants have made notable contributions to Manx life. With our shareholder’s complete agreement, we celebrate our fortieth anniversary with a donation of ?100,000 to Isle of Man charitable organisations concerned with children and aged persons in need. We thank the Isle of Man Government, the Manx public and the Island’s companies for their ongoing support.’

Crossroads Care and The Children’s Centre will each receive ?50,000 to support their charitable projects.

Crossroads Care will use the donation to develop its newly taken over premises at Masham Court in Douglas, and  will help to support psychological services for elderly carers and those with disabilities or illness. Work has been ongoing at Masham Court over the last few months to make it more accessible and to create a greater social atmosphere. The building houses Crossroads’ Adult Services and provides a Day Centre for individuals with illness, disability or learning difficulties where people can socialise, get involved in activities, undergo work-based training, and plan trips and outings. Most importantly the Centre gives respite to carers, those unpaid family members who look after someone with an illness or disability. Respite gives carers time to be themselves, do a bit of shopping, have a bath, or go to the doctors – small things that we all take for granted that are made almost impossible when you become a carer.

The donation will be used to upgrade the outside facilities at the Centre, to create more space and to make the building more accessible; and it will also be used on a programme of respite and psychological support for carers, helping them to deal with the effect that looking after someone over a long period of time can have on a person’s wellbeing.

The Children’s Centre will use the donation to develop an Island Gap Scheme for young people, giving them a chance to experience work within a sector of their choice for a period of between nine and twelve months. Against a backdrop of rising unemployment on the Island, the scheme will complement work already undertaken by The Children’s Centre to support young people who are Not in Education or Training (often referred to as NEETs).

The Gap Scheme will be modelled on one that has been run successfully in the UK for the last 20 years by The Rank Foundation (www.rankfoundation.com), and which is generally accepted as good practice in supporting young people to investigate and experience a work setting whilst also deciding if they have a long-term commitment to and interest in that field of work. They are paid ‘out-of-pocket expenses’ plus a small living allowance, and work to a pre-planned budget for personal development and training, amounting to approximately ?10,000 during the period of their placement.  As with the UK scheme, the Island Gap Scheme will focus on the community, youth and social care sectors rather than the corporate or commercial world, since the underlying ethos is a social one. Outcomes for the young people who take part in the UK scheme are outstanding – they gain immediate personal development and often long-term full employment.

Further details about the work of both charities can be viewed on their respective websites – www.crossroadsiom.org and www.thechildrenscentre.org.im.