Jane Tewson
Encyclopedia
Jane Tewson CBE
(born 9 January 1958, UK) is the originator of several innovative charitable (non-profit) organisations and ideas for community strengthening, notably in the UK and Australia. She believes in making charity "active, emotional, involving and fun", by building connections between people of different backgrounds, cultures, wealth, and social positions. Her approach argues for "people getting directly involved and giving themselves.....", rather than giving money for charitable works. This "embraces human connection as a vital part of social change".
In 1981, at age 23, she founded Charity Projects in London, with funding from Lord (Tim) Bell and numerous other donations. Its initial focus was tackling homelesness in Soho.
The highly successful Comic Relief concept emerged in 1985, combining 'Red Nose Day' with a BBC
TV telethon featuring Britain's top entertainers and comics. Tewson had worked in a refugee camp in Sudan in 1985, where she was pronounced clinically dead after contracting cerebral malaria. She recounts the sensation of looking down on her own body and but then returning to it and surviving - there were no drugs left in the camp. Her response to the African famine, Comic Relief was launched on Christmas Day 1985 from the refugee camp in Safawa, Sudan, (Helen Fielding
's novel Cause Celeb, 1994, may be partially based on the launch). By 2005 Comic Relief it had raised £337 million for famine relief and community development, notably for Africa and in disadvantaged areas of the UK. Comic Relief distributes much of its aid through partner organisations. In her CBE acceptance Tewson was modest: "It's odd for me to receive this honour as I never see myself as anything special. I'm just lucky to be in touch with crucial issues and to work with exceptional and inspiring people who actually tackle and experience those issues on the ground."
And concepts she pioneered include:
In 2000, she relocated from South-East England to Melbourne
, Australia
, when her husband Charles Lane was appointed as director of project funding at the Myer
Foundation and then the Dept. of Victorian Communities. At the time she was suffering ovarian cancer but survived after operations in Melbourne.
Tewson resides in an eastern suburb of Melbourne
and is the mother of two children. She works on some inner city Melbourne projects, and elsewhere, through Pilotlight Australia. For example in 2005, Pilotlight Australia helped take forward a concept begun in East London, We Are What We Do, which asks people to make small voluntary actions promoting goodwill and sustainability. The book "Change the World for Ten Bucks" was published (price, $10, 200,000 copies sold), and German and British editions have also been released.
The Dying to Know project and book (2009, UK 2010) is about coming to terms with death, and negotiating grief.
She sits on the boards of the Reichstein Foundation and the St James Ethics Centre.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(born 9 January 1958, UK) is the originator of several innovative charitable (non-profit) organisations and ideas for community strengthening, notably in the UK and Australia. She believes in making charity "active, emotional, involving and fun", by building connections between people of different backgrounds, cultures, wealth, and social positions. Her approach argues for "people getting directly involved and giving themselves.....", rather than giving money for charitable works. This "embraces human connection as a vital part of social change".
Background in the UK
She is the daughter of Edward Tewson and Jocelyn (née Johnston), a doctor in rural SE England. With serious dyslexia she left school without qualifications, but later attended lectures at Oxford while working as a cleaner in the city.In 1981, at age 23, she founded Charity Projects in London, with funding from Lord (Tim) Bell and numerous other donations. Its initial focus was tackling homelesness in Soho.
The highly successful Comic Relief concept emerged in 1985, combining 'Red Nose Day' with a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV telethon featuring Britain's top entertainers and comics. Tewson had worked in a refugee camp in Sudan in 1985, where she was pronounced clinically dead after contracting cerebral malaria. She recounts the sensation of looking down on her own body and but then returning to it and surviving - there were no drugs left in the camp. Her response to the African famine, Comic Relief was launched on Christmas Day 1985 from the refugee camp in Safawa, Sudan, (Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, a sequence of novels and films that chronicle the life of a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life and love.Her novels Bridget Jones's...
's novel Cause Celeb, 1994, may be partially based on the launch). By 2005 Comic Relief it had raised £337 million for famine relief and community development, notably for Africa and in disadvantaged areas of the UK. Comic Relief distributes much of its aid through partner organisations. In her CBE acceptance Tewson was modest: "It's odd for me to receive this honour as I never see myself as anything special. I'm just lucky to be in touch with crucial issues and to work with exceptional and inspiring people who actually tackle and experience those issues on the ground."
Organisations and concepts
She has set up the following organisations:- Charity Projects (1984)
- Pilotlight UK (1996)
- Pilotlight Australia (2001)
And concepts she pioneered include:
- Comic Relief (1985). Tewson left to form Pilotlight in 1995.
- Timebank (1999). Otherwise known as ONE20, encourages people from all walks of life to give time to community projects, with beneficiaries 'passing on' a similar dedication of time and effort to others. TimeBank has featured on BBC TV several times, and the 2000 Hollywood movie Pay It ForwardPay It ForwardPay It Forward is a 2000 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It was directed by Mimi Leder and written by Leslie Dixon...
is based on a similar idea (believed unrelated). - The Corporate Responsibility Index in Australia, that benchmarks companies against their corporate responsibility performance.
- Melbourne Cares - promoting corporate support to disadvantaged people (website down).
- Charitable Projects ran the Holborn Great Investment Race - which challenged investment companies in the City of LondonCity of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
to accrue maximum returns (within ethical guidelines) on 'seed money' donated by Prudential Holborn Trust. In two years, over £1.5 million was raised and notated to charity. - Feet First for Homeless People saw central London commuters walking home in the evening, and donate the money saved in fares to help young homeless people living in the West End. This raised £100,000 in 4 weeks.
- Pilotlight undertook further unconventional activities like Real Deal, which brought together homeless and disadvantaged young people with key policy-makers to speak about drugs, health, education and so-on. A "closed doors" workshop took place between young people and Cabinet Ministers at 11 Downing Street.
- With her husband, Tewson organised Whose land?, which funded exchange visits between East African Maasai pastoralists and Aboriginal Australian communities, both fighting hard to regain land rights http://www.whoseland.com/about.html. In October 1999, Pilotlight also helped facilitate an historic meeting between a senior delegation of Aboriginal Australians and Her Majesty the QueenElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
.
In 2000, she relocated from South-East England to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, when her husband Charles Lane was appointed as director of project funding at the Myer
Myer
Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
Foundation and then the Dept. of Victorian Communities. At the time she was suffering ovarian cancer but survived after operations in Melbourne.
Tewson resides in an eastern suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and is the mother of two children. She works on some inner city Melbourne projects, and elsewhere, through Pilotlight Australia. For example in 2005, Pilotlight Australia helped take forward a concept begun in East London, We Are What We Do, which asks people to make small voluntary actions promoting goodwill and sustainability. The book "Change the World for Ten Bucks" was published (price, $10, 200,000 copies sold), and German and British editions have also been released.
The Dying to Know project and book (2009, UK 2010) is about coming to terms with death, and negotiating grief.
She sits on the boards of the Reichstein Foundation and the St James Ethics Centre.
Recognition
- In 1999 she received a CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
from HM Queen Elizabeth II for her foundational work with Charity Projects and other projects. - In March 2000, she was named by The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper as one of the top ten innovators of the 1990s in the UK. - In 2007 she was named Social Entrepreneur of the year for VIC and TAS, by Ernst and Young.
- Beacon Awards Winners 2010, Philanthropy Advocate Award, UK
- Among numerous other roles, she has been Trustee of The Media Trust, The Camelot Foundation, OxfamOxfamOxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, and she served on the Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
Memorial Committee.