It feels like just yesterday that there were five team members, one facilitator and a huge mountain of need to climb!
Five years on, the mountain is still huge but we’re making our way up with grit, determination and 85+ facilitators trained to run parenting programmes in their communities. With one in three children living in poverty post-pandemic, our vision, to see every child in need raised in a strong family, is not only alive but necessary. Today, our team has tripled and every single member works with an urgent desire to see society transformed.
As we celebrate five hears of hard work and many, many beautiful stories of hope and wellbeing, we though it the perfect moment for the team to share what Kids Matter means to them:
My favourite Kids Matter memory is holding the first-ever partnership agreement that was signed by a church running Kids Matter; to know that churches wanted to be part of what was being built and see their commitment in writing was a huge encouragement and inspiration to keep pursuing our vision. – Hannah
What I specifically love about Kids Matter is that we focus on parents facing disadvantages. I am really excited to be supporting and working with churches across our country to help them run our parenting programme to see every child in need raised in a strong family. – Catherine
I’ve been working for Kids Matter since January, 2020, and I just love it. I love that we get people together to talk about parenting in such a natural way that makes people make friends and share experiences and just really feel encouraged. – Jude
I have spent my career as a teacher of teenagers and that has been wonderful but so often I’ve felt like I’ve been papering over the cracks in children’s lives. What I love about Kids Matter, as an early intervention parenting programme, is that we are dealing with the root issues – helping parents feel confident and competent, thus helping children to thrive. – Carol
Five years ago, I sat in an office with Eli, Marika, Hannah, Fuzz and Jo, with my baby daughter on my lap, for a chat about doing social media and digital marketing for Kids Matter. That’s right – I brought my baby to a job interview, and it wasn’t the last time that one of my tiny children attended a Kids Matter meeting. I laugh as I remember but what I’ve appreciated from the get-go is that the value placed on parenting is not merely something Kids Matter preaches but practises, too. For me, a mom of five, that has meant an accepted flexibility in my work life, which I have always appreciated. – Andrea
I believe really strongly that life should be lived in community, alongside others, sharing the ups and the downs – and so I love Kids Matter because it gets parents together to talk and to think about their parenting and build a support network at the same time. – Sophie
Thank you to everyone who has supported us with time, prayer and financially for the last five years – we are grateful and would not be here, working alongside children and families, without you.