Mediation charity AGM celebrates successful year and Children in Need Support

Community mediation charity Mediation Plus celebrated the news that BBC Children in Need have agreed to fund their Time2Talk mediation service for young people for another three years at their Annual General Meeting held in Hailsham last week.

Presenting her report to the meeting, Chair of Trustees Barbara Molog said “This has been a successful year thanks to the dedication and continuing commitment of our office team, my fellow Trustees and our volunteer mediators who deliver our services all-year-round across Eastbourne, Wealden and Lewes. We all work closely to identify and develop new opportunities that support the principles and objectives that underpin the charity - such as the development of our new workplace mediation service – and helps make us more financially resilient.”

Service Manager Clive Gross added “When I joined Mediation Plus in 2011 at a point our service was suspended and with only a small reserve in our bank account to try to put in place a rescue plan, the prospect of presenting an annual report some four years later showing the service in such a positive position would have seemed unreal. We have achieved this by being able to adapt to changing circumstances, develop new services, build new relationships, and make sure our services stay relevant and appropriate to our local communities and funders.”

Growing from offering their initial neighbour mediation service in Eastbourne and Wealden, Mediation Plus now offer intergenerational, workplace, commercial, and health and social care mediation. Established in 2003, the Time2Talk intergenerational mediation service has helped hundreds of young people and their families living in Eastbourne, Wealden and Lewes over the last 12 years and, with the renewed funding support announced last week, secured the future of the service for another three years.

Time2Talk Service Manager Joan Eades commented “We are delighted that Children in Need have agreed to extend their support for our service once again. With so many other local services for young people being cut or under threat, having the knowledge that we will be able to keep operating until 2018 is fantastic news. Without their support there would be no service.”

Central to the success of the charity over recent years has been becoming an accredited training provider with Open College Network London, which has given the charity the opportunity to develop its successful in-house mediation training into a nationally recognised and accredited qualification. Apart from training its own volunteer mediators, Mediation Plus have delivered training courses for other mediation organisations, local agencies and community groups.

Their next training course for new volunteer mediators starts on Saturday January 16th and runs each Saturday until February 13th. There are still a limited number of places available on the course, so if you are interested in helping Mediation Plus continue to deliver and grow their services by becoming a mediator, call Joan Eades now on 01323 442781 or email her for an information pack.