Boost in membership thanks to the Force TWM_Live events
We have welcomed a bumper crop of new members this month, thanks to the TWM_Live Roadshow, hosted by the Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson.
Our Ben Fund team joined stall holders at the four events which kicked off on 4 October at the Coventry Motor Museum, before moving to Police Headquarters for a two-day-event and finally concluding at the Molineux Ground, Wolverhampton on 15 October.
Chairman John Williams said; “It’s hard to believe that the last roadshow was back in 2017! Obviously, we were keen to attend this year’s event, with our display stand and take full advantage of speaking to as many police officers, PCSO’s and support staff as possible about the many benefits of joining the Benevolent Fund.
“So much has happened in the past four years since the last roadshow. We have become a registered charity, welcomed the Chief as our Patron and have introduced even more membership benefits – all for as little as a £2.00 per month subscription fee!”, added John.
It’s estimated around 3,000 West Midlands Police colleagues attended the four events and the Benevolent Fund Team spoken to hundreds of people about its charity work and how it offers welfare support to members.
This year, the Fund saw a shift in the make-up of its membership. For the first time in a long while, the charity now has a greater proportion of serving officers than retired members. However, membership amongst police staff and PCSO’s still remains low.
“One of the biggest objectives for the year was to encourage more police staff and PCSO’s to join the Fund”, explains Ben Fund General Manager, Steve Newbury.
“Events like the TWM_Live are great opportunities to really engage with police staff. Not only to explain the many benefits of joining, but to highlight how the Benevolent Fund can provide help and support throughout a member’s police service and well into their retirement too!
“I’m delighted to say we welcomed 160 new members to the Ben Fund this month and a large proportion of those were police staff which is fantastic news. We’re now in touching distance of celebrating 8,000 members which is a tremendous achievement”, added Steve.
“The Fund plays a vital role in supporting the whole of the West Midlands Police family and I look forward to working closely with various Force Departments to further raise awareness of our police charity.”
For more details about the work of West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund and how to join visit www.wmpben.co.uk