Members News
School Children Donate to Environmental Fund
Children from St Andrew's School in Rochester have donated £440 to the Kent Community Foundation Fund for the Environment
In May St Andrews School in Rochester celebrated 'Earth Day' and enthused by the lessons they had learnt, raised money through a series of ecological activities to donate to the Kent Community Foundation Fund for the Environment which supports projects across Kent. Prudence Sanderson, Teacher, St Andrews School in Rochester, said “The children in my class, had a fantastic day, learning about how to look after our planet through lots of engaging, practical-based sessions, including a ‘Recycle Against the Clock’ challenge,
where they collected and sorted litter into the correct recycling sacks, using litter pickers.” Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said, “We were delighted to hear that children from St Andrews, Rochester had chosen to donate the money they raised as part of their ‘Earth Day’ celebration, to our Fund for the Environment. One area that our Fund supports is community projects which educate children about environmental issues so we could not be more pleased that the children who learnt about the planet in class wanted to do something positive to effect change.”
UK couples turning to ‘pet-nups’ to help resolve disagreements over pets when relationships break down
With around 60% of UK households owning a pet, it is no surprise that who gets custody of any animals can be a key area of negotiation when relationships break down.
Megan Bennie, a solicitor specialising in divorce and family law at Kent law firm Furley Page, said: “For many people a pet is not just an animal, it is a fullyfledged member of the family, so it is no wonder that pets can be a particularly emotive topic for clients when relationships end. Unfortunately, a pet’s treatment by the law has not kept up with the way they are generally viewed by their owners.”
In the UK, the law treats pets as possessions, meaning in a divorce case, a beloved pet would, in theory, be treated by a Court as no different from an armchair or television. In reality, the Courts rarely deal with cases regarding pets for a variety of reasons, notably the cost of bringing legal action. When the Court does deal with animal matters, its focus is generally on who is the legal owner or provides the majority of the animal’s care. Megan continued: “For most people, cases are settled away from the Courtroom through direct discussions between the adults involved, with the needs of the pet and the wishes of any children in the family ideally being a consideration too. “Some couples are also using ‘petnups’ to pre-empt or avoid difficult
The Kent Community Foundation Fund for the Environment awards grants towards the planting of trees and hedging regeneration, restoration of local habitats, organised litter picking, and beach cleans, community garden projects, projects focused on educating children about local wildlife and nature, on learning about growing and cooking your own food or projects using solar panels or insulation to make community buildings greener. To find out more about the Fund for the Environment visit www.kentcf.org.uk/funding issues that could arise should a relationship break down. Although not legally binding, the pet-nup can be an essential tool in avoiding stressful and expensive disputes at a later date and keeping the matter out of the Courtroom and could be taken into consideration if the matter were to end up in Court. “Where issues cannot be resolved directly or there is no pre-existing agreement, a lawyer can help by negotiating on a client’s behalf to try to ensure they achieve what they want for their pet, whether that is continued ownership, visitation, or just to know the pet will be well cared for. “Mediation is another option, whereby an independent third party can help a former couple to work their way through the issues around pet ownership in much the same way they would with issues relating to children or finances.” If you’re experiencing a relationship breakdown and are worried about your pet, or if you think a pet-nup might make things easier if a relationship comes to an end please email Megan Bennie at meb@furleypage.co.uk
Staff Financial Wellbeing – the hot topic for employers
At a time of inflation at 9%, when 1.08million people are estimated to be using loan sharks, and 17% of people in the South East often use a credit card to buy food or pay bills, financial stress is having a huge impact on staff. The good news is employers are aware of this and are actively working to improve their staff’s financial resilience. Amongst the staff benefits schemes available, it is the partnerships with credit unions offering payroll deductions schemes that are seeing a surge in popularity and are championed by the Money and Pensions Service. These schemes give workers the opportunity to save and repay loans with their local not-for-profit credit union straight from their wages. Wave Community Bank – the credit union for Kent, Medway, and East Sussex - runs the Chorus scheme with employers and they can see the true benefits. Martin Harris, Managing Director of Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus said: “We have been working in partnership for many years as part of our commitment to encouraging local financial resilience and adding value for our staff. WCB offers something different to high street banks and many borrowers and savers are attracted by their ethical credentials and the work they do in our community. “ WCB offers savings accounts including PrizeSaver with a monthly draw to win £5000 as well as affordable credit to staff who benefit from lower interest rates on loans when repaying through payroll. Plus, WCB loans all have a savings element to repayments, so staff build a savings pot as they repay loans. Visit www.savewithchorus.org.uk or www.wavecb.org.uk Thinking Business
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