10 Charities Supporting Children And Young People.
From providing care when a child is ill in hospital, to mental health workshops in schools to programs that ensure children always have a nutritious breakfast, there are nonprofits that are essential to the health and wellbeing of children and young people throughout the UK.
These nonprofits offer opportunities and support for young people by protecting them, giving them a voice, and helping them to work towards a more positive future.
Help young people. Help small guys. Because small guys will be big. Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up, they will change the world."
- Jack Ma Yun, Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist
Read on to learn about 10 charities that support children and young people that businesses can fundraise for through their sales.
Centrepoint
Since 1969, Centrepoint has supported over 125,000 16 - 25-year-olds impacted by homelessness.
The charity supports vulnerable young people in London, Manchester, Bradford, Barnsley and Sunderland alongside their partnering network. Whilst the Centrepoint Helpline, supports over 14,000 young people every year.
Centrepoint's support model goes beyond providing a warm bed, the charity offers a fully rounded approach to help young people achieve their full potential. From mental health and wellbeing support to a pathway back into education and training. The charity shows vulnerable young people the opportunities to inspire and engage them.
When I was 19 I got diagnosed with anxiety and depression and it became a circle. I found YoungMinds and it made me feel I wasn’t alone in the struggle." - Young Minds Activist
YoungMinds
YoungMinds has been fighting for the mental health of children for 25 years by:
- Offering advice and support to young people
- Giving help to parents and carers
- Assisting in schools
- Campaigning for change.
One of the charity’s fantastic achievements is the empowering activist programme. It gives young people the tools to help others and campaign for better youth mental health support. 97% of the programme’s activists said it gave them better knowledge of mental health.
YoungMinds also has a crisis messaging service, which has helped thousands of texters and actively rescued several hundred of them. Additionally, a recent government campaign reached millions of people and achieved 70,000 signatures!
GOSH
The hard work put in by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Children’s Charity provides the necessary support children need at the hospital, beyond what the NHS is able to give. It funds four key areas:
- Support services to boost children’s spirits and ease the burden for families
- Research into children’s health, treatments and future cures
- Life-saving medical equipment
- Rebuilding and refurbishing facilities.
Through generous donations from the public and businesses of all sizes, GOSH is able to fund the production of specialist cells to use in therapy treatments, pay for performers and artists to distract patients, and fund spiritual care. Additionally, it has added more beds and modern facilities to the hospital, such as operating theatres and MRI scanning equipment.
GOSH’s work really has saved lives – for instance, pioneering research helped a baby girl who was born in the hospital without an immune
Doctors tell us that having a wish for their patients to look forward to, helps them to do their job. Volunteers, fundraisers, and staff tell us that seeing the joy on a child’s face when their wish is granted, and knowing you’ve made a difference, is absolutely priceless. " Make A Wish
Make-A-Wish
The Make A Wish foundation grants life-changing wishes to seriously ill children. It’s driven by the belief that a wish lets children forget about their illnesses, enjoy time with their families and create happy memories.
The charity funds personalised, unforgettable and exciting experiences, such as meeting celebrity heroes, having bedrooms redesigned, feeding tigers or starring in movies. The impact that wishes have on a child’s wellbeing is priceless – it helps distract them and gives them opportunities to revel in joy, wonder and hope.
The benefits aren’t just for children. Wishes give families the courage to face difficult challenges. Doctors say that when a patient is looking forward to having a wish granted, it helps them to do their job. In addition, it inspires staff, volunteers and fundraisers, when they see the happiness of a child enjoying their wish.
Farms for City Children
Farms for City Children was founded by children’s author Sir Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare and exists to ensure children from urban environments that are contending with multiple levels of disadvantage can experience the joy, adventure and benefits of nature and the environment - helping them to grow ambition and dream bigger and brighter futures.
The charity works with children aged 8 to 11 and 99% are from densely populated urban areas of the country and 75% are in areas of high deprivation. Typically, around 62% of beneficiaries are entitled to free school meals and are in receipt of pupil premium funding. A high proportion of the children come from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Magic Breakfast
Magic Breakfast exists to tackle morning hunger in children. It supports a network of over 1,000 schools by providing more than 167,000 vulnerable children with nutritious breakfasts each morning.
For 20 years, the charity has been working with schools in disadvantaged areas, where these breakfasts ensure children feel nourished and ready to learn. This leads to better educational outcomes for children across the UK.
Magic Breakfast has been working even harder during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide the growing number of disadvantaged children with food. It also campaigns to end hunger in the classroom with a permanent school breakfast programme, as well as helping children at risk of hunger during school holidays.
Donations are crucial to Magic Breakfast, and they make a huge difference. Just 34p can supply a child with a healthy breakfast and wrap-around support.
Girlguiding
Girlguiding is one of the biggest charities in the UK for girls and young women. Their aim is to build girls' confidence and raise their aspirations, and encourage them to be a powerful force for good.
The charity has a network of 80,000 incredible volunteers who give their time because they care about enriching the lives of girls. They do this in many different ways.
- -run weekly
- meetings, arrange special trips, carry out group administration
- and attend regular local meetings and training events.
Place2Be
The school mental health charity, Place2Be, works to ensure no child has to go through any mental health problems on their own. It supports young people through a range of services and also provides mental health training for school staff.
The charity gives teachers tools to recognise issues and direct children to the right support. It runs Place2Talk, where students can speak privately with trained counsellors about their worries. Other support sessions include:
- Creative work and play
- Group meetings that explore friendship and bullying
- Parent counselling to help families facing difficult challenges.
Thanks to the work of Place2Be, schools are becoming safer and more inclusive spaces. In one survey, 80% of students who needed a high level of support showed an improvement in their wellbeing after counselling, according to parents. And according to teachers, 68% now cause fewer problems that impact the classroom.
The number of children in poverty is set to reach five million this year. This means young people around you are going to school hungry, getting bullied for wearing an old uniform, or missing out on activities with friends.” - The Children's Society
The Children’s Society
The Children’s Society fights for the wellbeing of children who are facing abuse, exploitation or neglect. This is through counselling, supporting and campaigning for young people for as long as it’s needed.
Some of the charity’s achievements include:
- Giving 530,000 people time off from interest fees and repayments so they can overcome their debts
- Helping 15,000 alone migrant children with free legal advice
- Providing 11,500 children in the last year with tailored and specialist support
- Campaigning for the rights of 4.4 million young people, including a lift in the benefits freeze.
The charity lobbies both local and national governments on issues that affect children. Day to day, they are there for young people by feeding them, giving them therapy, finding them safe homes, and being a friendly face to talk to.
Kidscape
The effects of bullying can stay with children well into their adult lives. Kidscape works hard to counteract this through support, training and advice for children and their families. They challenge bullying and protect young people.
Some of the charity’s work includes providing impartial and friendly advice to anyone concerned about a child, and workshops in schools and communities that build awareness and resilience. Just in the past year, Kidscape has:
- Helped over 4,000 children
- Trained more than 2,000 professionals in areas such as safeguarding and bullying awareness
- Run a programme for adults who work with kids, where 100% of participants felt equipped with strategies to handle bullying.
Anti-Bullying Week takes place this year from 14th to 18th November, the theme is 'Reach Out'.
