Cash for Kids - Thank You - The Difference You've Made in the West Midlands!
Cash for Kids is Free Radio's charity which aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children across the West Midlands. Whether they are living in poverty, with an illness or disability or have additional needs, we want to help them live life to the full.
Thanks to YOU Cash for Kids has been making a difference to the lives of hundreds of local children this year. Here's some of the projects we've been able to help;
free@last
free@last provide the young people and their families of Nechells in Birmingham the opportunity to succeed. This is done by providing youth support work, debt and benefit advice, an entrepreneur programme, sports and youth clubs and more.
Only 1 in 3 people of working age have a job in the area, with qualifications achieved some of the lowest in the city. On top of this, the average household income is nearly 50% of the national average and jobs in the locality are extremely hard to come by.
The services free@last often provide the lifeline families need to help break the poverty cycle and achieve their personal aspirations. With support services a scarcity in the area, the work they've done over the 20+ years of its existence have been vital and has seen multiple generations of families use the charity.
Cash for Kids is funding a project teaching young people video journalism to help promote good news stories within the local area. This is designed to portray Nechells in a more positive light, helping to break the stigmas which plague the area.
Small groups will be taught how to interview, video and capture the interviews and surroundings to create interesting and positive news topics from in and around Nechells. The project will not just educate those involved and provide different skills, but also provide something for the wider community to get involved in and provide their own stories; all to make Nechells a more positive community.
Plus the teaching of interview techniques, video recording and video editing are transferable skills which can be used in multiple different jobs.
Wallace House Community Centre
Wallace House in Evesham was purpose built to provide social, leisure and educational activities for the people in the local community with a special emphasis on young people. They are home to a diverse range of community groups but the main focus is currently on our youth provision which includes youth clubs, mentoring projects, mental health sessions and physical wellbeing sessions.
Cash for Kids is funding their Moodbusters project. A high proportion of the children come from very low income families, a situation made far worse by the impact of the current pandemic. Most young people are struggling badly with their wellbeing and need to regain some balance. With the MoodBusters project they will update an outdoor area and run practical activities that will encourage frank and open discussion amongst young people and workers, while also supporting them to improve both their physical and mental health.
Shropshire Epilepsy Support
Shropshire Epilepsy Support raises awareness and educates people of all ages about this common neurological condition. They run monthly 'family' epilepsy support meetings which are specifically designed for children affected by the disability to provide a free, fun break, away from the stresses, strains and isolation that epilepsy can often bring to peoples lives.
These meetings happen at a variety of different locations and involve different activities each time. Cash for Kids is funding a variety of sessions including to a climbing wall centre, trampoline park, wildlife centre, pottery painting and a santa canal trip!
Insight
Insight is a counselling service specialising in domestic violence/domestic abuse, which offers family therapeutic intervention including specialist children's counselling.
There are many overwhelming disadvantages for children/young people witnessing/experiencing domestic violence/domestic abuse. It happens in secret, living with fear/uncertainty, guilt, blaming themselves, often feeling stigmatised, distressed/worried & too ashamed to talk about their experience. This can result in severe bouts of anxiety/depression, sleep deprivation, eating disorders and may lead to anti-social behaviour, drug/alcohol abuse & distrupts school attendance.
Cash for Kids funding will enable Insight to provide 15 sessions of counselling to 10 children. These session will help the children/young people have better control managing their feelings/reactions/behaviours. This will improve their self-esteem/emotional well-being/confidence, encouraging them to believe that they can live a life free from abuse.
Dudley Young Carers
Dudley Young Carers supports children and young people caring for a parent, grandparent or sibling on a daily basis. Whilst many children and young people will do jobs around the home, young carers do things and take on a level of responsibility well beyond that of their peers. This can range from doing the shopping, cleaning & looking after siblings to providing personal care to a parent.
Dudley Young Carers support the emotional and social needs of the children by offering activities after school and during holidays, so no child misses out on the childhood they deserve whilst they're caring for another. The activities also allow them to meet and share experiences with other young carers like them.
Cash for Kids have provided a range of indoor & outdoor play equipment to support their after school and holiday clubs. This includes a table football game, pool table, swingball, craft activities and cooking items to teach basic cookery skills.
New Heights Warren Farm Community Project
New Heights is a small community charity in Kingstanding, North Birmingham.
Warren Farm estate is ranked within the 2% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. Families have been impacted by increased poverty as an impact of Covid-19 â with food poverty increasingly impacting children.
Cash for Kids Day funding is supporting 115 children in need by providing additional food ingredients for family food parcels during the school holidays and for a Breakfast & Brunch club for families in need.
In addition our funding will provide activity & well-being packs for 50 children attending the âHoliday Breakfast / Brunch Clubâ comprising of books, art & craft materials & toiletries.
This project will help local young people to be positively engaged and encourage them to interact with peers and family members. Activity packs will include art & craft materials to encourage young people to develop / enhance skills and be positive about their lives.
Spurgeons
Spurgeonâs aim is to help children, young people and families who are in need of care and protection, by providing support services, social care and financial assistance.
Cash for Kids Day funding will support families in Birmingham and Wolverhampton via Birmingham Young Carers, Wolverhampton Young Carers and Children's Centres in Erdington, Sutton Coldfield, Perry Barr and Hodge Hill.
The families they support have been extremely disadvantaged through the pandemic and are struggling with debts that have been amassed over the past year. Unless their basic needs are being met, it is very difficult for children to focus on learning. By providing school uniform support (which is what Cash for Kids Day funds will be used for) children will feel more like âother kidsâ, giving them more pride & confidence for starting / returning to school, contributing to more positive outcomes for them. 180 children will be supported thanks to Cash for Kids Day funding.
Ourside Youth Association
Ourside Youth Association are dedicated to helping support young people in Evesham.
Over 70% of the young people they work with are from low income and social housing backgrounds, of which the pandemic has only exasperated.
Cash for Kids Day funding will enable them to distribute vouchers aimed at providing struggling families with money towards food, stationary, sanitary products and basic essentials.
Cash for Kids in the Midlands has also been helping children in the East Midlands and Staffordshire & Cheshire.
BUT we can only continue to help more children with your help - so click here to find out more about Cash for Kids and the ways you can help.