Friday the 18th November marks a very special annual occasion that is close to the hearts of Carers Plus Yorkshire. The Children in Need Great SPOTacular Appeal Night is an evening to raise awareness, plus raise much needed funds to help children and young people all over the UK who need it most.
We are incredibly grateful to Pudsey, Blush and The Children In Need team, as they have been providing Carers Plus with funding for our Young Carers Service for a number of years. Children in Need allows our project to provide Young Carers with 1:1 support and a range of targeted group interactions as they look to balance their education, friendships, interests alongside their caring role. The project focuses on reducing the impact of care, whilst empowering young carers to become more resilient, build self-confidence and in time share their voice so to raise awareness of unpaid carers.
Bringing young carers together is a wonderful way to allow young carers to see that they are not alone, it offers them an opportunity to share, learn and laugh with other like-minded young people and often gives them some respite from their daily routines.
Ryan one of our Young Carer Advisers, whose role is funded by Children in Need, highlights the true impact that Children In Need funded projects have on Young People:
“We often work with very isolated Young Carers, several of which, support people in their homes with mental ill health. This recurringly prevents these young people from going out of the house other than for school. Opportunities for social connectivity with peers is very limited due their caring responsibilities - most often evenings, weekends and school holidays will be spent caring, with very little opportunity for respite. The result of continued impact of such a significant caring role, often results in young people becoming increasingly lonely and isolated, an in turn this can affect their own emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Alongside the individual work that we do with young carers, the funding received from Children in Need allows us to offer these young people new experiences outside of their caring world. This year as a result of the funding we have been able to take groups on two residential trips, one being a self-care retreat, and the other a 3 day sailing trip! Additionally we host a monthly ‘Children in Need Chill Club', where likeminded young carer can come together for fun, laughter and togetherness, something that often they are not able to freely do. All of the experiences that Children in Need provides are underpinned by building relationships, self-confidence, developing life skills and offering the opportunity for ‘time for self’.
Most importantly we recognise the value of the Young Carers Voice. It is imperative that young people shape their own support, therefore young people are integral to raising the profile of Young Carers in Schools, Colleges and the Community, all thanks to Pudsey & the Children in Need Team.”
Ahead of Children in Need day on the 18th November, we are delighted to share this year’s promotional video put together by the national Children in Need team, in the hope of raising awareness of the invaluable work CiN do around for Young Carer Projects like ours across the UK. A huge thank you from our Carers Plus team and everyone who support Children in Need in one way or another.
