Sandie Keene says farewell

After working in Social Care for over 40 years, seven of which serving Leeds City Council as Director of Adult Social Care, I will soon be retiring. I'd like to request that no retirement gifts should be bought, but if you would like to mark my retirement in any way, a contribution to my chosen charity, Carers Leeds, would be greatly welcomed. "Carers Leeds is the third sector service delivering information, advice and support to unpaid carers in Leeds. Carers Leeds heads up an organisation comprising of generic and specialist support work brought together as one service through a Single Point of Access – the Carers Advice Line. The service brings together LYPFT, Touchstone BME Carer Support and Alzheimer's Society Carer Support Service to deliver creative, vibrant and dynamic support services for the diverse community of carers in Leeds. The role of an unpaid carer (family member, friend, neighbour) is essential to our community. Carers enable people with an illness or disability to remain well, to stay in their own homes and engaged with the community. Carers, however, also need support for themselves and Carers Leeds is able to provide this. Through our information, advice and support, carers are helped to deal with problems that might arise, and are supported in looking after their own health and emotional needs. It is more than likely that all of us will take on some caring responsibilities in our lives and Carers Leeds believes every carer should be valued, recognised and supported in that caring role. Carers Leeds have always enjoyed an excellent and supportive working relationship with Adult Social Care and we are delighted and privileged that Sandie has chosen us to mark her retirement. We wish her all the best for the future and are extremely grateful for any donations that will help us continue the work we do supporting some of the 72,000 carers in Leeds today." As of 14th Oct - LocalGiving will match all donations up to £10!