The Paul Hamlyn Foundation is a long standing supporter of organisations that provide support and assistance to children and young people, particularly those experiencing the most challenging circumstances, having made its first grant to Coram in 1997.
Coram has been working to secure a better future for vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, charities across the Coram Group work directly with over 100,000 children families and professionals every year, and benefit over one million others through specialist information and advice relevant to children and young people.
In addition to service provision, Coram also acts as an advocate on the issues paramount to the wellbeing of children and young people. Activities led by Coram to advance children’s rights during 2019 have included:
- A landmark report setting out the risk of a ‘2nd Windrush’ generation of EU national children and young people as an unintended consequence of the government’s EU settlement scheme, published by Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) and reported on worldwide;
- Advocacy on behalf of children waiting to be adopted as the government suspended the Adoption Register for England in March, while continuing to work to match children with loving homes around the country;
- Giving children in care and care leavers a voice, both through publishing the first study of care leavers’ wellbeing in March (‘Our Lives Beyond Care’) and also running Voices, the first national creative writing competition for children in care and young care leavers.
The PHF endowment will enable Coram to scale up its work on delivering children’s rights as well as ensuring their voices are heard by policy makers and society more widely. It will enable Coram to work with hundreds more young people and build their ability to act as advocates for children and young people, and directly benefit thousands more through building the charity’s capacity to provide legal advice to children and families who struggle for representation.
Dr Carol Homden CBE, Chief Executive Officer of Coram said:
We are creating the space to bring together people from all walks of life to champion a better world where all children have the chance and the resources they need to live a fulfilling life. Sadly, today, still too many children and young people in the UK do not get the help and support they need, and this generous gift from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation will enable us to advance the Coram children’s rights centre and to realise our ambitious plans for the future.
This landmark gift is a reflection of the outstanding commitment of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to those who are marginalised and to their strong and continuing leadership role in philanthropy at a critical time. The Hamlyn Endowment will enable Coram to work with hundreds more young people and build their own ability to act as advocates and directly benefit thousands more through building the charity’s capacity to provide legal advice to children and families who struggle for representation.
Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, said:
Coram offers direct, practical help and emotional support to vulnerable children, young people and their families – a service they have been offering for hundreds of years, and one that speaks to many of our areas of interest, including giving young people voice, supporting migrants, social justice, arts and access to education.
We know just how valuable long term, consistent and flexible funding can be to organisations. At a time when civil society is under financial stress, and the world around us feels increasingly fractured, we feel the need to act, to show our backing for some key organisations, ones that we see as critical to and influential in the sectors we support, and it is for this reason that we have made this decision to endow Coram.
About Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Paul Hamlyn Foundation is an independent charitable foundation, working to help people overcome disadvantage and lack of opportunity, so that they can realise their potential and enjoy fulfilling and creative lives. For more details of the Foundation’s work, please visit www.phf.org.uk