Our Covid-19 Response
COVID-19 tested us all in myriad ways. Thanks to the critical support of our generous community of donors and volunteers, we were able to adapt and provide practical and emotional support for vulnerable families and children.
“Every other day I top-up my electricity meter. How can I do this if I have to self-isolate or the shops close?”
Mother of 3 children (March 2020)
THE CHALLENGE
Impacting our work
Before the pandemic hit, our time was dedicated to bringing joy to children’s lives through group trips to exciting places across London. We’d take 30+ children on public transport to a trampoline park and jump amongst 100’s of other children, finishing with a healthy lunch in a park!
Covid-19 changed everything for us. Group trips were cancelled. Children were isolated in overcrowded homes. Carers were struggling to put food on the table and pay for household bills. Some families had no internet access and most of our children did not have the same resources to keep up with school work, as their peers.
In a short space of time, we adapted our services, to meet our families’ changing needs.
WHAT WE DID
We provided immediate relief
To provide our families with immediate relief, it was critical we listened to our families and did not assume what they were struggling with most. Over 90 families responded to our survey, highlighting food insecurity, isolation, limited internet access and loneliness, as the most prevalent issues.
We organised emergency food and hygiene package deliveries, worked with businesses to provide smart phones and laptops for children and distributed over 100 sim cards pre-loaded with data. After linking up with a private gardens in Earls Court, we invited families down a few times a week for exercise and fresh air in a beautiful green space. Practical support complemented our online activities that ranged from cooking, dancing, keep fit classes and a weekly bedtime stories on Zoom!
We joined forces with Dad’s House food bank in West Brompton, which has become our most valuable and cherished partnership, providing thousands of meals to vulnerable people in the community.
OUR BUDDIES
We launched a new initiative
We launched a new buddying initiative to combat the loneliness and isolation felt by our children. Over 60 of our children were matched with their own volunteer buddy. This programme has been running for almost a year and is one of our biggest successes!
OUR PARTNERS
We developed new relationships
The compassion that has been shown towards our charity by the community has been overwhelming. With the news highlighting the struggles low-income families were having with food insecurity, a quiet revolution was sparked in our community. During our school holiday projects, we partnered with a number of restaurants to help feed our children, including: Pho, Neat burger, De Mario, Sally Clarke Bakery, M&S, and Whole Foods.
We also developed new relationships with generous businesses who have supported our families and organisation through laptops, smart phones, food donations, household essentials and even office space!
OUR CHILDREN’S PERSPECTIVE
“What words describe how lockdown has made you feel?”
’Sad and worried’
Girl, Age 6
‘Sad. My grandpa died and I couldn’t go see him when he was sick.’
Boy, Age 10
‘A bit lonely cause I don’t see my friends’
Boy, Age 8
‘Sad because the virus is killing people. You cannot go into other peoples houses’
Girl, Age 7
GET INVOLVED
Join our community
Our Memory Makers are an online community who offer consistent and invaluable support to children suffering from the complex effects of Covid. This ranges from digital deprivation to increased childhood obesity to children needing therapy after losing a relative to Covid.
Find out more about Memory Makers here.
