RELATE SCOOPS UP CHARITY TIMES AWARD
Charity Wins Best Use of Technology Award

Relate for Parents and Families has won the Charity Times award for Best use of Technology for its pioneering use of the web and digital technologies.
 
The award, presented to CEO Claire Tyler on the 1 September 2010, recognises the innovative way in which the charity has used the internet to reach out and help more people looking for support in their relationships on its website
www.relateforparents.org.uk

The website, which went live in January 2010, combines a range of technology and online tools, reflecting the different levels of support that parents may need. The award winning site includes the following:

Support for ‘armchair researchers’ - including articles, videos, podcasts, blogs and forums across a range of topics

Family Mapping - Interactive web based tool mirroring a stone exercise used in the counselling room to help people identify issues with their relationships 

Live Chat – Real time text based chat with a Relate trained therapist.

Since January 2010 the website has seen a steady increase in visitors, over 1 million so far this year, and over 2,500 Live Chats held with counsellors.

The Relate for Parents website was set up in response to the shift in the way we now source our information. The concept was to provide a resource that would enable people to find support and advice 24 hours a day. Using the internet has also helped to reduce the charity’s costs on a per person basis, meaning the organisation is now able to reach out to more people in search of help for their family and parenting dilemmas.

(For the full press release by Kim Atkins, click on the download button below)