Above all, CARESCO is about people. Our projects are all aimed at serving the people of our local communities, but just as important are all those who contribute to our work - in many different ways.
Our volunteers are central to CARESCO; without them we would not exist. The organisation was started by volunteers and is run by trustees who are volunteers. The original staff were 'paid volunteers' who received an honorarium for their work. All of the activities are dependent on teams of volunteers, without whom we could not function.
Volunteering works both ways. It is what makes CARESCO the success it is, but it also gives something back to the people who do it. Volunteering can provide an occupation to fill spare time, an introduction back into work, or just the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile and being part of a team.
The Story of CARESCO
In 1982, both clubs came under threat as decisions were made to move the founders on. A number of local individuals decided to form a committee to save the projects and the 'Sawtry & District Care and Resource Organisation' (more commonly known as CARESCO) was born. In November 1983 this new organisation was registered as charity number 288202 with the Charity Commission.
In 1986 CARESCO also took over the Manpower Services Print Shop which occupied the other half of the old building and thus the Homecraft Centre became the headquarters with office space for the charity's first Organiser,
The CARESCO Centre
In 2000 CARESCO was successful in getting a lottery grant from the Community Fund for just under £120,000 to pay for a replacement modular building. Purpose built, the new CARESCO Centre is on land leased from Sawtry Community College and adjoining the car park behind the Parish Council-owned Old School Hall on Green End Road. The site is about 100 yards from where the old Homecraft Centre stood.
The CARESCO Centre was opened in April 2001 and is used by all the current activities with the exception of the
It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of the CARESCO founder and President, Marjorie Dybeck back in October 2011 at her home in Cumbria, following a long illness. Although she moved away from Sawtry some 16 years before, Marjorie never lost interest in CARESCO or Sawtry and maintained contact until the end. She was a remarkable woman, achieving more in her lifetime than many would not begin to manage in two.
The Story of CARESCO – A Successful Voluntary/Statutory Partnership in a Rural Area
which she hoped would aid other groups into setting up similar organisations in their own locality. The book states about its author: “Marjorie Dybeck was the founder and first organiser of CARESCO in 1982. After a career spanning 20+ years in education, Marjorie became Deputy Head of a large Comprehensive School. On her marriage [to Maurice Dybeck, then warden at the village college] she moved to Sawtry in 1973 and became Parish Clerk of a very active Parish Council, Deputy County Organiser of Cambridgeshire WRVS and Vice-Chair of the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service, and is [in 1998] the Chairman of the Council from Voluntary Action – South Lakeland.”. Copies of the book are still available from the CARESCO office.
Even today, there are many people still involved in CARESCO who ‘blame’ Marjorie for getting them involved in the first place. She had an amazing ability to spot people’s potential and was able to persuade folk to get involved even when they had no intention of doing so. The present Secretary thought he had been invited for pre-Christmas drinks only to discover that Marjorie had him lined up as the next chairman of CARESCO, a position he has held twice since thanks to her persuasive charm.
Like all good parents, another of Marjorie’s major strengths was to be able to step away and leave CARESCO to fend for itself when the time came. Marjorie and Maurice moved away from Sawtry in the mid-90s yet CARESCO continued to thrive under the people she had recruited. Marjorie however, never left completely and always received the CARESCO management papers as well as the
December 2011 CARESCO played host for a Celebration of Marjorie’s life, attended by over 40 people who came together to remember her. They heard tributes from family and friends recorded at the Celebration held in Cumbria, as well as a personal account by Kathy Jones of working with Marjorie in the early days of CARESCO. There were also other local contributions from people who had known her well and she was remembered with affection and respect.
The best tribute of all to Marjorie is that 30 years on, CARESCO is still thriving, caring for people from the local community.
Since the early years, CARESCO has received the majority of its funding from Cambridgeshire County Council's Social Services Department. We have also been supported by local Parish Councils with grants. In addition we have organised a wide range of fundraising events over the years to help provide enough income to maintain our services to the community.
In 2000 CARESCO was awarded a Lottery grant to pay for a new modular building, now the
CARESCO Centre
in Sawtry in a bid to secure a reliable source of funding while providing a valuable service for the local community. This has proved a wonderful success and this new income stream is proving vital to the ongoing success of CARESCO as we develop new services and expand our support for the local community.
Should you wish to support the work of CARESCO please
CARESCO Ltd is a registered charitable company, number 1140728, registered company number 7513432
Registered address: The CARESCO Centre, Green End Road, Sawtry, Cambs PE28 5UX
CARESCO employs a small team of people, all on a part-time basis, to oversee and manage our various activities along with a team of volunteers, or to facilitate those who do. From time to time one of these posts becomes vacant when they will be advertised here.
