Now it is quite something to be invited to be part of the
150th birthday bash of a children’s charity which began in
Manchester in 1870.
In just three years time the Together Trust will be a 150
which deserves a special celebration.*
It had begun as a rescue operation offering destitute boys
from Manchester and Salford a bed and a meal for the night quickly extended its
work to include girls as well as boys, and provide more permanent homes
offering training for future careers along with holiday homes.
Emma before admission |
It also campaigned against some of the worst cases of child
exploitation taking negligent parents to court and arguing against the practise
of employing young children to sell matches on the streets of the twin cities.
Back then it was known as the Manchester & Salford Boys’
and Girls’ Refuges and Shelters and in 1920 changed its name to the Together
Trust and moved out to Cheadle.
And today it continues to help young people and their
families.
I first came across the Trust five years ago and have been
writing about its work ever since.
As a historian my interest has been with its history and
here I have had tremendous help from the Trust’s archivist who as well as maintaining
the charity’s extensive archive also produces a blog and works with families
who have been helped passed through the care of the Together Trust.**
Emma after admission |
This I know because some of those families have expressed to
me their appreciation of the work done by Liz Sykes in locating a relative and
supplying details of the care they received.
So I have long wanted to be involved in writing the history
of the Manchester & Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Shelters and its
story since 1920.
And this week we have confirmation that the project will go
ahead with a planned publication date of 2019.
Next month Liz and I will begin the detailed preparations
for the book and already we have had some exciting ideas about how the book
will not only celebrate the work of the Trust but will be a practical guide as
to how people can begin the journey of searching for a family member who stayed in one of the charity’s homes, was helped with industrial training
and in some cases were assisted to move to Canada.
Thomas Bowers a success story |
It will go a long way to describing the charity’s work but
also reflect the history of how vulnerable young people and their families have
been helped in the course of a century and a half.
Now all that has just got to be exciting.
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust
*The Together Trust, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-together-trust.html
**Getting Down and Dusty, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/
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