Create better chances for children this Christmas
In England, an estimated 2.3 million children are living with risk because of a vulnerable family background.[1]
Coram, the UK’s first and longest serving children’s charity, supports hundreds of thousands of children and young people every year. Founded in 1739 as the Foundling Hospital, today we are a dynamic group of specialist charities all committed to creating better chances for children.
More children than ever need our support. So this Christmas, we are asking for your help to give them:
A voice that’s heard
Up to 1/3 of young care leavers are at risk of homelessness in the two years after leaving care. [2]
When a young person leaves care without the support they need, they risk losing everything: the place they call home, access to educational and financial assistance, and their support network.
Coram Voice’s one-to-one advocacy service supports thousands of young people in and leaving care each year to access the housing, educational and financial support they are entitled to. Our advocacy helpline works with care leavers who are feeling alone and unable to access the support they need to take their first steps to independence.
With 10,000 young people set to leave care in the coming year, we urgently need your help to be there for them.
Skills for the future
1 in 4 children leaves primary school unable to read at the expected level.[3]
When children have fallen behind in reading by the age of 11, the impact can last for the rest of their lives. Their wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem can be impacted, their opportunities in education are severely diminished and their job prospects can be negatively affected.
Coram’s specialist reading support charity, Coram Beanstalk provides one-to-one reading support by trained reading helpers to help children catch up. Over the last 50 years, Coram Beanstalk has created better chances for 250,000 children by helping them find joy in reading.
An increasing number of children are in need of help to catch up. With your support, we could help to provide them with the skills they need to thrive.
Watch our Christmas appeal video below. If you can’t see it, you will need to amend your marketing cookie settings from the button in the bottom left hand corner or you can watch it on our YouTube channel.
Other ways your support could help Coram to create better chances for children this Christmas:
A loving home
Over 2,000 children in England are currently waiting to be adopted and they are waiting longer than ever to find permanent families.
- As a leading adoption agency, Coram has been finding homes for the most vulnerable children and providing lifelong support to all our adoptive families for over 50 years.
- One in four children who attend a Coram Adoption Activity Day are matched with adoptive parents.
A fair chance
Last year, 6,495 children were permanently excluded and 578,280 were suspended from school. Many lacked the legal support that would have enabled them to understand their rights and challenge unfair exclusions.
- Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) is the country’s leading provider of specialist legal support for children and young people, ensuring children have a fair chance in life.
- For over 40 years, CCLC has promoted the rights of children, enabling them to fight and win cases on issues including school exclusion, discrimination, immigration, asylum, community care and family law.
Skills for the future
Children starting school have seen their development slowed by a fifth since the pandemic, setting back their learning, and social and emotional development.
- Coram Life Education, the UK’s leading charity provider of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education reaches 575,000 children to help them understand, explain and regulate emotions.
- It equips them to navigate risk, stay safe on and offline, and develop healthy relationships, in preparation for adolescence and adulthood.
Donate
With your support, we can create better chances for children this Christmas. Please give today.
Single donation Regular donation[1] The Children’s Commissioner’s 2019 childhood vulnerability report.
[2] Homeless prevention for care leavers, prison leavers and survivors of domestic violence. All-party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness.
[3] Now the whole school is reading: supporting struggling readers in secondary school. Ofsted Report.