Charity reflects on changing needs over 25 years

Key points

• Help a Guernsey Child marks 25 years of providing essential items to local children.
• The charity has given over £1.2m in support since its creation in 2001.
• It now focuses more on individual cases, citing rising living costs and demand.

A Guernsey charity that provides children with essential items is marking its 25th anniversary. Help a Guernsey Child, created in 2001, said it has supplied more than £1.2m worth of essential items, equipment, services and support to local children and young people.

The charity said its early years included financial support for larger community projects benefiting children, but it now places increasing emphasis on helping individual children and families.

How the charity works

Help a Guernsey Child said it works through professional referrers who know the children and families involved. Applications for grants come from social workers, health visitors, teachers, doctors, nurses and other frontline professionals, and the charity's Directors consider each one individually.

The charity said its growing focus on individual cases means providing items such as a bed, flooring, white goods, clothing, safety equipment or a heating appliance, as well as specialist disability equipment and educational opportunities.

A relatively small grant at exactly the right time can make a profound difference to a child's safety, wellbeing, education or independence.

— Alex Jenner

Changing pressures on families

The charity said its work reflects the changing pressures faced by local families. It cited the rising cost of living and increased demand for essential household items and practical support.

Alex Jenner, from Help a Guernsey Child, said the charity's purpose has stayed the same despite changes in needs, to ensure children in the Bailiwick are not disadvantaged because they lack essentials every child deserves.