It has been a frustrating start of the year for Little Lives UK. Lockdown across the UK meant that our stores were closed for just under four months, and our projects put on hold. Unsurprisingly, this has meant that we have been unable to function as we would ideally like. Nonetheless, as a charity, we were determined not to do nothing throughout this time. Therefore, we set out to identify how we can not only help children through lockdown, but also how we can help the organisations that work with them. No doubt they too would have found these times tough, so we sought to help them in order for them to continue the amazing work they do with children once restrictions eased.
Tablet donations
At the start of the year, with schools being required to close, children and young people began learning from home. However, there were many in London who would have found this difficult, due to a lack of online resources available to them. Thanks to our amazing doners, we received an overwhelming number of electronic items that we were able to donate to hundreds of children in London. We donated nearly 500 electronic devices throughout lockdown: all to schools, councils, hospitals and other charities. Despite there being many young people who still don’t have access to such devices, we were extremely proud as a charity to have contributed this many items to children, helping to tackle this growing issue. Through the electronic items we donated, many children were then able to attend online classes and gain access to more information. We received a number of highly positive responses from the organisations we provided to, explaining how the devices was hugely helping the children with their education, whilst also contributing towards their well-being by being able to interact more with their friends online.
‘Someone To Talk To’
The effects of the pandemic on children’s mental health cannot be understated. Lockdown has been challenging for everyone, most notably children though. Being away from school and their friends has meant that more children than ever are seeking support services for their mental health. Our ‘Someone To Talk To’ project is aiming to address this, as we’re making sure that children in London can access vital support regarding their mental well-being. We certainly are eager to get this project up and running soon, so we can offer much needed therapy sessions to any child that feels they need them. If you want to help tackle this, then please consider donating towards the project.
Children’s Community Support Programme
There are so many important services provided by children’s organisations that have been unable to operate in the manner they would like. Many groups have been placed under huge financial strain as a result of the pandemic. In order to guarantee that children’s organisations can continue to provide their services for children, Little Lives UK launched our ‘Children’s Community Support Programme’. We are offering donations of up to £1,500 to organisations that work with children in London, to support the much-needed work they do helping young people. We aim to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support valuable projects that will help our communities. The programme is catering for organisations and groups that are looking to launch or are continuing to run vital projects, such as play groups or sports classes. Each month we will be selecting one or two applicants to whom we will offer support. Keep an eye on the deadline in order to submit an application in time. We sincerely hope this programme will make a difference to a number of groups that need financial support this year.
Little Lives UK are very proud with what we’ve accomplished over lockdown. Despite the challenges we have overcome, as a charity we feel we’ve used the past few months effectively. We are delighted that our stores have reopened, and we can now welcome you back. We are excited about working with and supporting many more children and organisations throughout the rest of this year. If you want to contribute and support the work we do, then please donate. Every donation will make a meaningful difference to the lives of children across London.
