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For every £1 we spend, 84p helps children and families
No child should struggle with their mental health alone. Your gift help a child get the mental health support they need.
Emily's story
When 15-year-old Emily lost her mum, the grief was overwhelming. Her mental health deteriorated and she felt lost and alone.
Action for Children family support practitioners, who supported the family when Emily was little, recognised she was struggling with her mental health and suggested fortnightly equine therapy sessions.
"A few times I had given up. I couldn't talk to anyone. The horses helped boost my confidence. They helped bring me back.”
Emily, young person supported by Action for Children
Spending time with therapy horses and donkeys helped Emily process her grief, rebuild her confidence and reconnect with herself. Emily is now happy to open up about her feelings to those she trusts and feels more positive about the future.
Your donation could provide a lifeline: counselling, safe spaces to talk, and vital support to let young people know they’re not alone.
Children across the UK are facing rising levels of anxiety, stress, and poor mental health, often linked to child poverty and instability at home.
Children in the lowest-income families are 4.5 times more likely to face severe mental health problems according to the Mental Health Foundation. Worryingly, 42% of children now say they are concerned about their mental health, up from 29% just a few years ago.
Where your donation goes
Your donation helps provide practical mental health services, including:
Counselling
Safe spaces to talk
Toolkits and guided support to build coping skills
Early support for stress, anxiety, and poor mental health
With your support, more children could feel like themselves again.
I used to overthink things. Then my anxiety would take over. Now I know to remind myself it's OK to feel that emotion and how to move past it
Harvey Sparrow, young person on the Blues Programme
83% of young people who access our mental health support can now talk about their mental health and wellbeing.
One in ten children in the UK experience mental health problems. Of those we work with, 74% show an improvement in their mental health.
Most lifelong mental health issues begin in childhood. But talking about wellbeing early on can help us all cope better with life's challenges
We should all be talking more about how we’re feeling - not waiting until there’s a serious problem.
Most public funding focuses on dealing with crisis. But early intervention gives more families the confidence to care for their wellbeing and get help when they need it.
Our work helps equip young people and their parents with skills to cope with life. One in six children and young people in England aged eight to 25 had a ‘probable mental health disorder’ in 2023. Of those we work with, 74% show an improvement in their mental health.
The Blues Programme gets young people talking about mental wellbeing. Funded by Royal Mail, it’s aimed at those who have or are at risk of developing mental health issues.
Over six weeks, students aged 13-19 get comfortable talking about mental health. They learn how to manage and improve low mood, and anxious thoughts and feelings.
We reached almost 8,000 young people through The Blues in 2023/24. 75% said they had increased confidence, 73% increased self-esteem, and 81% were now able to talk about their mental health and wellbeing. 98% would recommend the service to a friend.
Parent Talk is our online hub for down-to-earth parenting advice. Mental and emotional wellbeing is a key part of the support we offer. Parents can browse our advice articles, all created or curated by our parenting coaches. Or they can speak directly to a coach through our one-to-one live chat.
Last year, we supported 484,650 parents online. This includes online advice and one-to-one conversations. 99% of responders in 2023/24 rating Parent Talk as 'good' or 'amazing'.
Writing things down has a positive effect on wellbeing. It helps children and young people express what they’re feeling. It allows them to make sense of what’s happening in their lives. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Royal Mail and The Prince’s Trust to create toolkits to help young people get writing.
We protect and support children and young people. We do this by providing practical and emotional care and support. We make sure their voices are heard. And we campaign to bring lasting improvements to their lives.
Today, we run 342 services in local communities across the UK, in schools and online.
In our nurseries and children's centres, staff make sure children get the best start in life. Our foster, adoptive and modern residential services find children and young people safe and loving homes.
We step in to protect children from neglect and abuse and help those who care for others or are at risk of homelessness. Innovative projects like The Blues Programme give young people the help they need to look after their mental health.
We're also here for parents, through projects like Parent Talk, our online support service.
We’ve been helping children for more than 150 years. In 2024/25 we helped 551,400 children, young people and families. This was only possible with your support.
Since 1869 we’ve helped more than two million children and young people.
50,869: the number of children reached with mental health support in 2024/25.
484,650: the number of people reached by our online parenting advice service, Parent Talk, in 2024/25.
Your donations help us to support vulnerable children, young people and their families in the UK.
84p of every £1* we spend goes directly towards helping children, young people and their families. Your support is so important right now because levels of financial hardship, abuse and neglect have been rising. We’ve seen a huge surge in demand for our services. Your donations help us to run these essential services, which give vulnerable children and families a vital lifeline.
We make sure that every penny you donate goes where it will have the greatest impact on children’s lives.
Most of the donations we receive from our campaigns are unrestricted. This means they’re not spent on one project or one specific area of the UK, but where the need is greatest. We wouldn’t be able to operate as a charity without this type of income. Unrestricted funds help us reach the children and young people who need us most. Funds raised from this appeal will be unrestricted and used by Action for Children for its general charitable purposes. Please see the Our Work and Impact for examples of the work we do to help children and young people and their families.
Donating a small amount every month by direct debit helps us give vulnerable children the stability they need. Our regular supporters help us carry out long-term work and keep vital projects running.
