A huge ”Thank You!” to Spurgeons supporters from our Young Carers

Through the amazing generosity of Spurgeons supporters, in July we were able to take 37 Spurgeons Young Carers to the annual Young Carers Festival

- and what a time they had, as you can see from the event video their and messages of thanks!

‘Young Carers are never really free from their caring role,’ says Angie Jones, Children’s Services Lead for Spurgeons Wolverhampton and Birmingham Young Carers who escorted them. ‘When they are at school, they can be worrying about parents or siblings. They often have to cancel plans or go home early.

‘Going to the Young Carers Festival gave them the time and space to be young people first, to have fun, and most importantly a little freedom from their caring responsibilities.

‘Pop star Ortisse (himself a former young carer) from band JLS interviewed one of our Young Carers who shared some of his challenges; how he worries about his mum when he is at school and what he might find when he gets home; how he is showing his younger sister how to do all the things he does so she can take over when he leaves home; how he feels guilty even thinking about having a future.

‘It reminded me that while our Young Carers are strong and resilient, they hide so much.

The Children’s Society, which organises the festival every year, put together a video that captured the spirit of this year’s festival!

‘We asked our Young Carers if they would be able to share through creative art how going to the Festival made them feel. As you can see from the images, it had an enormously positive impact. Thank you so much to all of our supporters who donated to make this possible, from them and from me for making this possible. You’ve helped them make happy memories that they’ll hold on to for years to come!’

Further Reading:

Karaoke, rides and silent discos: How one festival provides life-changing freedom for Young Carers

About Spurgeons Young Carers Services:

Spurgeons delivers support to young people up to the age of 18 who are caring for a family member with an illness or disability in the West Midlands through our Birmingham Young Carers and Wolverhampton Young Carers services. 

The Birmingham Young Carers service was a finalist in two categories at the 2019 Children and Young People Now Awards in the PSHE Education Award and the Young Carers Award for its particular focus on supporting young carers looking after a parent with a drug or alcohol dependency. 

Learn more about our work with Young Carers

Help more families in need at no extra cost!

If you’re planning to do your Christmas shop online this Black Friday (25 November), here’s a way to help even more families at no extra cost to you:

1. Visit Easy Fundraising and search for Spurgeons Children’s Charity.
2. Click ‘support this cause’ and create an account.
3. Download the Donation Reminder to help you remember to use easyfundraising! If you shop via smartphone, there’s also an easyfundraising app available.
4. Do your usual shopping via easyfundraising – there are over 7000 participating retailers including big names like Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Argos, Uswitch and eBay.
5. The retailers will give Spurgeons a donation each time you buy from them at no extra cost to you or us! Plus when you raise your first £5 in donations, easyfundraising will double it to £10, again at no extra cost to you!