´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need 2007
Where the money goes
The following are examples of grants allocated by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need in 2007.
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Action Force Africa
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A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need grant of £48,866 will help Action Force Africa deliver a community arts project in the Norris Green and Croxteth areas of Liverpool.
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The tragic shooting of Rhys Jones in August has thrown a spotlight on this area, which is affected by drug dealing, vandalism, gun crime and gang culture.
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Action Force Africa discovered through their work with disengaged young people that they responded particularly well to bike repair and arts activities and this three-year grant will allow them to expand their graffiti-style arts project.
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A taster session in Walton Park, and other outreach work, enable youth workers to engage with local children and encourage them to contribute to art projects in the evening or at the weekend.
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The process of planning murals around a theme such as The World In One City – artwork for Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture which will depict how different cultures can live and work together – allows contributors to tackle issues like discrimination and gun crime and express themselves through their art.
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Involving young people in creating art work that regenerates the area can help them to gain respect for themselves and their community, whilst also equipping them with the confidence to resist pressure to join gangs.
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Caldecott Foundation
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The Caldecott Foundation cares for children who have suffered extremes of abuse and neglect. Based in the Kent countryside, near Ashford, they provide year-round residential care for around 50 children aged 5-16.
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Their charitable objective is to provide the children that are referred to them with the care and education most suited to their needs. Caldecott offers a secure environment, on-site schooling, and therapeutic care which all help children look back at their traumatic experiences, deal with their feelings and begin to heal.
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With support, they are encouraged to move forward, establish personal relationships, rebuild trust in adults and eventually take their place in society with confidence and courage.
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Many of the children will have experienced multiple breakdowns and may subsequently attempt to disrupt their placement on arrival at Caldecott.
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A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need grant of £25,744 will pay for tough furniture in their bedrooms. This practical measure ensures that a distressed child cannot damage furniture, or themselves, if they feel the need to vent anger or pain.
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Tough furniture is a positive means to provide safety, security and a degree of permanency for children who desperately need stability.
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Pauline Winlow, Head of Children's Services, says that the support of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need is very important. Without tough furniture, the only safe outcome would be to take away furniture until the child was calm enough to be able to cope with it.
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"The children at Caldecott are fantastic – they have the most amazing resilience. None of the children would ask to be here; they are here because of what was done to them. The referral stories are quite terrible but this project aims to rebuild trust, to show the children that there are different ways to behave and that they can have a good life."
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For more information visit: .
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Children and Young People's Kidney Unit
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The Children and Young People's Kidney Unit at Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust is one of 13 paediatric nephrology centres in the UK, which serves a large area stretching from South Yorkshire to Cambridge.
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A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need grant of £2,800 funded a week-long residential holiday for young people aged 14-18 in the summer. Acute and chronic renal failure in young children is relatively uncommon and the children who benefited from this holiday may have been visiting the unit since birth or spent a large part of their lives in hospital.
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The opportunity to get away to Center Parcs with specialist medical staff, allows these children to take part in different activities and build friendships with others in similar circumstances. One parent said of their son's experience:
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"It was really good to get away and spend quality time as a family and still be able to continue dialysis treatment. The whole holiday was very enjoyable as we thought we would never be able to have a holiday again. It was full of fun, excitement and it was a delight to see the children enjoying themselves."
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The holiday also aims to build confidence and, by teaching young people to manage their renal condition, prepare them for a future when they will have to move from the familiar surroundings of the children's unit to an adult ward.
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For more information visit: .
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Empire Community Association
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The Empire Community Association, on the Donegall Road in Belfast, provides a range of informal educational programmes and diversionary activities for young members of the local community.
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The areas near the peace lines have been identified as some of the most underprivileged, run down and deprived in Belfast. This club offers over 70 disadvantaged young people a safe and welcoming venue to have fun and develop cross-community friendships, while practical support gives them greater confidence and self-esteem.
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A small team of dedicated volunteers ensure that the club is open seven days a week. Some of these volunteers were previously club members and, having benefited from the experience as children, now contribute to the running of the project.
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The range of activities on offer includes trips, swimming, dancing, pool and table tennis. There are also computing facilities and a school teacher is available two nights a week to help with homework.
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A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need grant of £3,500 will pay for internet access, a table tennis table, pool table repairs, judo and Scottish dancing classes.
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Greatwood
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Greatwood is a charity that rehabilitates, retrains and re-homes ex-racehorses at Rainscombe Hill Farm in Marlborough, Wiltshire. One day a young girl with autism – an elective mute, threatened with exclusion from school – was taken by her parents to Greatwood. Quite unexpectedly, the girl developed a close bond with a horse in a vulnerable state and within weeks she was talking again.
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The founders of Greatwood were amazed by this response and decided to pilot a project where children with autistic spectrum disorders, emotional and behavioural disorders and related conditions such as Asperger's syndrome had the opportunity to develop life skills through interaction with horses.
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One child with Asperger's Syndrome who became calmer and focused at school as result of taking part in the Horse Power pilot, has now secured a place at the local agricultural college.
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A grant of £33,340 from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need will fund a life skills teacher for three years and enable this unique project to reach more children with special needs in Wiltshire and Berkshire.
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Over the course of six weekly sessions, or one-to-one sessions tailored to an individual's needs, participants will explore topics such as relationship-building, body language and non-verbal communication.
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A typical game involves pretending to be horses and directing others in the herd to carry out a task through non-verbal communication.
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These stimulating and interactive sessions will provide a very special experience for children and if they take away new life skills, these could impact upon relationships at school and home.
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For more information visit: .
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Islington Boat Club
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´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need has funded Islington Boat Club since 2004 and an additional grant of £19,190 in April will contribute to the costs of canoe instructors and other activities.
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This charity was set up to provide water-based activities for young people aged 9-18, as well as certified training in sailing, canoeing, power boating, first aid, and disability awareness training.
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A lot of children who use the club's facilities come from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds and have little access to these kinds of activities or public open spaces. Some are at risk of anti-social behaviour, find formal educational setting challenging and unrewarding, or have low levels of motivation to seek employment.
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The activities on offer, the informal setting of the club, and the enthusiasm of the staff running the project, all help provide a positive and supportive environment for the club members.
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They can learn new skills which improve their sense of self-worth; work as a team organising their own residential trips; and eventually act as peer mentors to new club members, or help children with disabilities or learning difficulties enjoy water-based activities.
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Several graduates have returned as adults or gone on to work for other outdoor activity providers.
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The current youth club manager, Dave Harvey, first became involved with Islington Boat Club as a child – when he enjoyed his first ever trip abroad: "With my upbringing I felt that I was poorest kid on the block and suffered often by not having enough money ... I know through experience that we are offering our members experiences of a lifetime!"
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For more information visit: .
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Ryedale Counselling Service
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´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need first funded the Ryedale Counselling Service in Malton, North Yorkshire, in 2003. This year's grant of £73,060 will continue to fund a part-time counsellor for three years.
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The counsellor will support children aged 13-18 who may be experiencing low self-esteem, depression, bereavement, bullying, abuse, difficult family relationships, or may even be self-harming or having suicidal feelings.
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Ryedale is a rural district where young people don't have access to the same facilities and support groups as urban areas.
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Research conducted among GPs in the area found that they value an independent, non-statutory service that deals with young people's needs. The alternative would be to point young patients in the direction of a medical psychiatric service with a long waiting list.
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Ryedale Counselling provide a service that is tailored to suit an individual's circumstances, offering telephone counselling where this is more convenient. The counselling sessions enable young people to overcome psychologically damaging experiences in their lives, empowering them to make changes and break patterns of negative behaviour.
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Counselling provides a safe, confidential space to explore concerns, pressures, worries and fears and young people really value the service: "I still have sad times but things have improved and I can express myself and my feelings better. Thank you for helping me!"
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For more information visit: .
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Transplant Sport UK
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A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need grant of £18,000 enabled children who have had organ transplants and their siblings to attend the British Transplant Games – an annual event which was held in Edinburgh this year and saw 200 young athletes triumph over life-threatening conditions.
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Many transplant children have lived with illness for years prior to their surgery and feel unable to compete with their peers on a level playing field. Participation in the British Transplant Games offers an opportunity for the competitors to participate in numerous sporting events including swimming, cycling and sprinting; and achieve in a supportive atmosphere.
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Some children come to win medals, training well in advance of the event – and with an eye to being chosen for the World Games – others come do their sport at their own pace and generally enjoy a few days of fun with people who understand the demands of medication and hospital visits. Siblings are included in the social activities and all children benefit from the ability to make new friends and renew old friendships.
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One 14-year-old athlete from Sheffield wrote to Transplant Sport UK to share his story: "I had a kidney transplant when I was three. I love coming to the Transplant Games because I've made so many great friends and met countless amazing and inspirational people – and we all share our experiences and enjoy competing against each other. Thank you to Children in Need for providing the means for this to continue."
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For more information visit:
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Tros Gynnal Hawliau Plant
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Tros Gynnal Hawliau Plant is a children's rights charity in Wales which supports and represents vulnerable children and young people through a range of projects.
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A three-year grant of £108,414 will fund a full-time specialist advocate to support young people on the Isle of Anglesey with communication and language difficulties, ensuring that they have a more streamlined access to services and that their opinions, wishes and feelings are considered in the decisions that affect their lives.
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Previously, only children and young people with an allocated social worker have had access to an independent advocate. This ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need funding will enable more children to receive help with speech and communication difficulties.
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The specialist advocate will work alongside the children to produce a communications passport – which will detail their preferred method of communication, for example sign language or makaton – which they can carry with them and use as a quick and empowering tool in communicating with others.
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For more information visit:
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TYKES – The Young Karers East Sutherland
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TYKES provide support, advocacy and respite packages for young carers in Sutherland, Scotland. The children supported by this project are disadvantaged because they are unable to enjoy a full and happy childhood because of caring responsibilities. Whether helping care for parents or siblings, their lives revolve around others.
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A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need grant of £7,450 will pay for 69 young carers, from as young as 5 up to 17 years of age, to enjoy a residential break.
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The residential trips are an important element within the range of services offered by TYKES because they allow young carers to have a relatively prolonged break from their responsibilities, enjoy time just being children and learn to cope better through interaction with peers and staff.
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The children return from their break less stressed while new friends provide an empathetic support network for the future.
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For more information visit: .
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