President's Message

It has been a real honour to serve as President of The Dolphin Society this year and take my place in a long line of illustrious past presidents.

In a fast-changing world it’s rare to find an organisation that has stuck resolutely to its purpose for over 250 years. That achievement is based on a simple model of raising money from our network of friends and contacts to support people in our community who find themselves in need through old age, infirmity or disability.

The needs and funding of our target group is constantly evolving, whether through policy, technology or national trends and, for some, may only be temporary. Our support is therefore agile, targeted and effective. We often fill short-term funding requirements before initiatives are picked up by long-term core funding. We blazed a trail for pendant alarms many years before they became a standard part of a care package. We also initiated a project to tackle hoarding behaviours which has now been picked up by the Local Authority. We are proud of our successes, stemming as they do from a knowledge and understanding of our target group and a close working relationship with our partner organisations.

One of the joys of being President has been witnessing at first hand the impact of our funding at grass roots level. I have enjoyed visits to the Somali Resource Centre and North Bristol Advice Centre and to see the work of the Independent Living Fund we support. I am proud that a voluntary funded organisation like The Dolphin Society is a clear demonstration that our members and donors really care about everyone in our communities.

I hope you will support this year’s Appeal so we can continue that work.