Driven by our mission to create positive turning points for people every day, our Innovation Forum presented options suggested by employees and backed by the Operations Board and Action for Children were a standout choice that shared this vision. They’ve already helped 604,885 children, young people and families in 2020/2021 alone.

Families like single father Lee and 7-year-old son Warren. Action for Children worked one-to-one with Lee and Warren for four months providing help with sleeping routines, parenting courses and extra support for Warren’s medical care. They even went on a trip to the zoo. Warren loved this, but Lee wouldn’t have been able to afford it on his own after giving up his job as a carpenter to care for Warren.

And young people like Esther. Esther is now a young ambassador for Action for Children after attending the Action for Children’s Blues Programme at her school. When she was just 15 and taking her GCSE’s she started to feel like she couldn’t cope.

“I was getting really stressed out and I was working myself really hard," Esther tells us. "It got to the point where I was forgetting to eat, and it started to really affect me. It felt like I was in a race to keep up with everyone else and there wasn’t any break from it.” She says.

The Blue’s Programme aims to teach emotional resilience and reduces low mood and anxious thoughts to help young people look after their emotional wellbeing. Crucially, it gets teenagers talking.