Yorkshire Children’s Charity expects to support more than 3,000 children this year as winter demand soars

Yorkshire Children’s Charity is expecting to support more than 3,000 children this winter as demand for its Winter Support Campaign continues to rise.

This year, the scale of the need is remarkably bleak.

The Yorkshire Children’s Charity (YCC) has already received more than 2,500 applications from teachers across the region, just one week into its Winter Support Campaign.

The charity is now anticipating around 3,000 children will need their help this year- an increase of approximately 25% since last year.

Charlotte Farrington, Chief Executive Officer and founder of YCC, said schools are continuing to report “incredibly high” levels of need among families.

“We are not seeing an improvement in the numbers we have coming in, they are only going up,” she told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The charity provides essential items to families and children struggling during the winter months, including warm clothing and other basic necessities.

Farrington said the support could make a significant difference to children’s lives, with the charity seeing improvements in school attendance and safeguarding as a result.

She told us: “When children arrive at school warm, dry and ready to learn, we know that we have done our job, and they are safe and cared for.”

She urged families who are struggling to ask their school about the support available.

“We are here, we want to do what we can to try and make life that little bit brighter for the thousands of children across Yorkshire that are experiencing difficulties,” she added.

Last year, an independent evaluation of the campaign found that 98% of key workers surveyed said it helped them identify and support vulnerable families, while 82% described its impact as significant.

The charity says it needs to raise £142,000 to provide support to every child who has applied this winter.

Farrington said the scale of the applications showed just how important the campaign has become to some families' lives.

She said: “These children are not asking for a lot, they are just asking for a fair chance at life.”

“I think that’s something that we as Yorkshire can collectively get behind, and respond to their cry for help.”

A £50 donation can provide a child with a winter bundle, including a warm coat, bedding, and other essential items.