Hi readers,

I wanted to give it some time before I wrote another #MaketheMostofMonday, as I believe black lives must always matter, and I didn’t want to take up the space of valuable educational resources that have been filling my timeline for the past few weeks. As I have, I hope we have all been listening, educating and supporting.

And speaking of supporting, this week it is Small Charities Week! A whole week dedicated to championing the great work of small charities. In the testing period of coronavirus, small charities are #NeverMoreNeeded, and this is truly time to raise awareness, reflect and celebrate.

Kicking off the week is ‘I love small charities’ day. As a membership body, Children England simply wouldn’t exist without small charities. Which is why this week’s edition is focussed on why we can’t help but love our members, through championing some of them below.

So without further ado, here are some positive thoughts to start your week as you mean to go on, making the most of Monday:

Children England loves small charities because they’re able to focus on local issues. Children England as a national charity recognises that we alone aren’t able to truly understand the need of each person, and that’s why we support the work that local charities do and how they're able to connect to their communities. We appreciate their work as we know they are close to the issues that they address and are able to make a real impact.

Streatham Youth Community Trust (SYCT) provides high quality youth services and facilities to the young people of Streatham and their families, and Sir Kenneth Olisa recently wrote to Chief Executive Angie thanking her and the team at SYCT for the great work that they’ve been doing during lockdown.

Middlesborough Voluntary Development Agency (MVDA) has all hands-on-deck when it comes to their local support and development organisations. Through regularly supporting and promoting local action, Middlesborough have been able to really call for what its area needs and assist in the provision of it too – most recently in the creation of a dedicated page for anyone volunteering in response to COVID-19!

Children England loves small charities because they’re able to really target specific issues. As a charity that campaigns for all things related to children, families and charities, we recognise the need to be more specific sometimes. That’s why we love our members that are able to recognise an issue and move quickly to resolve it. 

Kingston Bereavement Service supports children, young people, adults and families who have been bereaved and are committed to support those trying to come to terms with the impact that death can have on their lives. Although they have not been able to see clients face-to-face during lockdown, they have been working hard to provide support and still offer their services.

The Association of Child Protection Professionals have been driving improvement in child protection by working with those in the field. They exist to help children by supporting the professionals who work with them. They are the only organisation specifically devoted to supporting child protection professionals and researchers in the field, so we recognise that their work is extremely valuable!

Children England love small charities because we agree that it’s the little things that make a difference. As a small team of 7 ourselves, we really understand that the smallest of things can have the biggest impact. That’s why we champion the great work of our members that have unique and amazing techniques that really benefit its users.

Toyhouse supports the wellbeing of families through the medium of play. Through fostering the attachment between parents and children, Toyhouse empowers families to develop early support for a better future! Although their facilities are currently closed, their team are still supporting families and sharing resources

Grooveschool promotes social inclusion through the power of music. They make musical skills accessible and create an enjoyable environment where creativity can flow, nurturing young people’s abilities. Although they usually provide live performance opportunities, during lockdown, they have transformed their services to be available online, such as music production and DJ-ing.

To all our small charity members: Children England wouldn’t be the same without you. We’d love to hear from you and what makes you special, whether it’s the services you provide, the way you’ve adapted to lockdown or the things you’re able to do that big charities can’t. Share by tweeting @childrenengland and we’ll include some of these in next week’s Email News bulletin.

That’s it from me, I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of #MaketheMostofMonday. If you enjoyed reading this blog and want to share something for future editions, please drop me a line at [email protected] or tweet/DM. In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely rest of your week, stay safe, and stay positive 😊