The Charity

So I thought perhaps now is a good time to tell you a bit about the charity that Teresa and I will be raising funds for. They are called Ormiston Children and Families Trust (registered charity 1015716) and are the biggest children's charity in the East of England. That may surprise some of you who perhaps haven't come across them.

Ormiston's strapline is 'making a difference to young lives'.  Particularly they help and support children and young people who are experiencing prejudice and discrimination, those at risk of or experiencing physical harm, emotional or mental health problems, those who are displaying challenging or harmful behaviours, those who are the main carer for a parent or sibling and those who are affected by the imprisonment of a close family member. They work with the whole family to address the difficult situations they face and help them to make positive changes to their lives.

Ormiston currently have 39 services across seven counties and currently there are four main areas of work.

• Children's Centres, where Teresa and I work, which help support parents and carers from all backgrounds, with issues of child development, behaviour support and providing a safe space for children and carers to engage with each other. Children's Centres also work in partnership with health, education and social care to ensure children have the best start in life. 
• Families affected by imprisonment- Ormiston currently work in 11 prisons across the region. Children and families affected by imprisonment may need help in lots of ways, visiting their loved ones in prison, or maintaining contacts. Very often children and young people are upset and have difficulty coping with a range of emotions about their imprisoned relative. Research has shown that prisoners who maintain strong family links while serving their sentence are less likely to reoffend on release.
•  Traveller Initiatives- Ormiston supports families from Gypsy and Travelling communities with a range of issues such as housing and health. Their direct contact has a particular impact on the young people, improving their self-esteem, aiding practical skills such as numeracy and literacy and building their confidence to access services available to them or attend job interviews without the fear of discrimination that is so prevalent in our society. In turn this helps the families as a whole and has gone some way to reducing barriers and misconceptions, although it is hoped this work can continue with increased community cohesion.
• Young carers-Ormiston supports young carers across the Fenland and East Cambs area. Young carers are children or young people who are caring for a parent or sibling for some of the time. They provide a mix of fun activities to give the young carers some free time to enjoy themselves with other young carers who will understand the worries they have, and support through group activities or one to one work which will give them a chance to share concerns about their family or to find extra help with their schooling or home life.
  
  Like all charities at the moment Ormiston are feeling the pinch of funding cuts across the board. As well as continuing the services already on offer, Ormiston would like to increase fundraising to be able to start new projects for which funding or grants are not currently available but are much needed.
  
  I get genuinely excited by the work that Ormiston does and the difference I see it having on individual lives. For more information about them or their work please visit www.ormiston.org