Today is BBC Children in Need day, and for us it's the perfect excuse to say thank you to a funder that has been part of the Friends and Families story for 15 years.
Earlier this week our founder and Chair of Trustees, Kay O'Shaughnessy, and our Operations Director, Alfie Roberts, found themselves on the other side of the microphone. A team of young reporters from Laira Green Primary School interviewed them for BBC Radio Devon, asking about the families we support and why Children in Need matters so much to a charity like ours. The pupils came prepared and didn't let Kay or Alfie off lightly.
A huge thank you to the pupils and staff at Laira Green and to the team at BBC Radio Devon.
Kay was invited to take part in the #BearFaced campaign in 2014 alongside familiar faces including Olivia Colman, Lorraine Kelly and Sophie-Ellis Bextor.
We've been fortunate to receive Children in Need funding several times over the years. What makes that support so valuable is the way it's given. Out founder Kay, shared what makes funding from Children in Need so special.
“The reality is we get funding for three years from Children in Need, which is really helpful. For three years it really means you can plan, you can really get projects underway and really have a huge, huge impact, and make that project sustainable beyond the funding from Children in Need.
When a lot of the kids come to us first of all they’re very shy, very low self esteem, very anxious and very isolated. And it’s amazing over the time they build their confidence, they build their self-awareness, they become chatty - and that wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t a sustainable and a long-term project.”
For a small charity, that kind of breathing space is rare. It lets us focus on families rather than on where the next short-term grant is coming from.
Harry and the Rickshaw Challenge
Some of our proudest Children in Need moments belong to the families we support. Harry Parker, whose family have been part of Friends and Families for many years, was selected for the BBC Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge team in 2018.
Harry was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and Worster-Drought syndrome when he was one. He took on the challenge to show the world he could do anything, and back home in Plympton his friends and teachers at Hele's School climbed onto static bikes to try to keep pace with him. Kay summed up how we all felt at the time: “we were so proud of Harry, and he really is an inspiration.”
Photo credit: BBC Children in Need and the Parker Family
If you’re taking part in Children in Need today…
a huge thank you from all of us at Friends & Families, some of what you’ve raised may find its way to Plymouth, helping local families pend time together and to get the support they need.