Award-winning voluntary organisation, The Sleep Charity and 25-year-old, not for profit organisation, The Sleep Council have joined forces as part of an ambitious five-year plan.
The newly-enlarged organisation will retain The Sleep Charity name and Vicki Dawson will continue to lead the charity as CEO, with Lisa Artis previously head of The Sleep Council taking the position as Deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity. Its new mission is to empower the nation to sleep better and this work will encompass the wide range of work the charity will do – from research, campaigning and education to information, support and services for everyone.
The two organisations have worked closely together for more than five years and earlier this year launched a joint sleep manifesto ‘The Wake Up Call’ at Westminster to call on the government to recognise and act upon the importance of sleep as part of a healthy balanced lifestyle and to call for improvements in the support available.
Said Vicki Dawson, CEO of The Sleep Charity:
“Both organisations have worked hard individually, over the years, to achieve change and support to those affected by lack of sleep. By joining forces, we are strengthening our complementary services to drive forward our ambition to empower the nation to sleep better and to raise the profile of sleep as a major factor for health and wellbeing.
“The charity offers evidence-based training to professionals and parents as well as commissioned sleep services with local clinical commissioning groups. Complementing our services with The Sleep Council’s practical consumer information and advice, we will now be able to give everyone, from cradle to grave, a place to turn to for advice, support and help around sleep.”
Added Lisa Artis, Deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity:
“We were two organisations operating across the same landscape, albeit with a slightly different focus. Merging together was the obvious decision as a more joined up approach means we can speak with one voice and remove unnecessary duplication, work more effectively and powerfully, and improve the impact of our work by delivering more to the nation together than we do by working separately. It’s an exciting time.”
The National Bed Federation, who previously funded The Sleep Council, will continue to support the work of the new The Sleep Charity with a yearly benevolent donation that will help the charity to achieve its aims. The NBF is the trade association for British and Irish bed manufacturers and their suppliers and has been established since 1912.
To find out more please visit www.thesleepcharity.org.uk Established in 2012, The Sleep Charity supports 30,000 families a year – through its team of trained practitioners and volunteers – with its behavioural approach to sleep issues. It has contracts with local NHS clinical commissioning groups and has also won a host of accolades including the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, FSI Small Charity, Big Impact Award and the GSK Impact Award and Third Sector Award.