Donations Summer 2026

Donations Summer 2026

Give it Away has been active in the first half of 2026 as you will see from the pictures and all manner of “give aways” have taken place in all sorts of weather and in all sorts of places.  These pink envelope moments are very precious – sometimes the Charities know they are coming – sometimes they don’t.

Sometimes they know what the cheque inside includes – sometimes they don’t.  This is what makes these moments fun and special.

Every donation is carefully discussed and followed up. I need to know where it will be used and I really appreciate being able to see it in action. I have a lot of history with a lot of them and along the way in the last 15 years many have become my friends.  I have included some new Charities recently some of whom contacted me and some of whom I found along the way and I hope they will become long standing beneficiaries of Give it Away.

I continue to be extremely impressed by the dedication these Charites show to their causes. In some cases they are involving themselves with people who are non-verbal, with severe physical and learning difficulties but they take everything in their stride and offer continual help, support, kindness, and non-judgemental, unwavering care.  They strive to make a positive difference and they do – I am more than happy to support them.

The two flats I have rented out in Putney and Hampton Court continue to provide a steady income although a change of tenant in Hampton this year caused a temporary blip in revenue.  So I will persevere and I look forward to many more pink envelope moments!

AMBITIOUS ABOUT AUTISM

Charlotte visited Treehouse School in North London which she actually saw being built some 15 years ago and which has been refurbished and expanded since then. Sensory rooms and music are very important in the world of Autism as is art and crafts so a visit to the school included both. Charlotte spent time in the multi coloured calming sensory room and then had a beautiful butterfly painted onto her hand!  This donation will be used to help create an outdoor music facility where pupils can play on weatherproof instruments all year round.

BACK UP TRUST

Their Annual City Dinner was held again in 2026 at The Savoy Hotel London providing a wonderfully glamourous venue for the occasion.  It was extremely well attended, extremely enjoyable and thanks to a wonderful Auction, extremely successful for Back Up. Charlotte met Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent who is a long-term supporter of Back Up together with Elisabeth Rezzini (providing an evening of fair weather!) who opened the cheque alongside Sean McCallion and Abigail Lock.

This donation will be used to help volunteers provide vital support to those who suddenly find their life immeasurably changed by a spinal cord injury and who face major challenges in their lifestyle as a result.

CHOIRBLAST AND MEATH

Another merged event with The Meath Epilepsy Charity and Phoebe Grayson’s ChoirBLAST during a weekend music festival down in Surrey This amazing event which is Phoebe’s brainchildbrings together almost 100 choirs of all types, singing all styles from all over the world in the parks and green spaces of Godalming on what was a glorious sunny weekend.  Give it Away presented a cheque to the Meath on stage whose choir had been led by Phoebe and they will use this donation to fund extra gym equipment at their residential home nearby.

Charlotte has been visiting Meath, the dedicated Epilepsy residential facility in Godalming for a few years now and the donations have been used for various activities, including many new gym machines, vital for the physical wellbeing of the residents, run by the dedicated Luke who also trains the Give it Away Meath football team.  She also supports the choir which is led by Phoebe Grayson of ChoirBLAST. Phoebe is a dedicated music professional who sings and plays keyboard and also teaches all the sign language for those who are nonverbal. She brings a lot of joy to a lot of people as a result and Give it Awayis supporting her musical activities with disadvantaged children.

We all met up at Meath and had a sing song with actions with the Choir!

EIKON

Give it Away has supported Eikon for many years now and on a recent visit they charted the donations they have received over time. See photo attached. As the statistics in lovely, green, leafy, Surrey continue to concern people with high levels of child abuse, teenage isolation and loneliness, education disruption, addiction issues and parenting problems, Eikon continues its intense level of support where most needed. Through mentoring at crucial stages in young people’s development, they are able to control and deflect issues for the future at the right time – as they say “we want to be the rescue party at the top of the cliff, not the ambulance at the bottom”.

This donation will support their “High Five”  initiative which isan early intervention programme delivered in schools in Surrey for children in year 4 and year 5 (ages 8-10) to support their wellbeing. The course runs for six weeks and supports children who are identified by the school as having low emotional resilience and who would benefit from learning a range of techniques to better cope with difficulties such as unhelpful thoughts and low self-esteem. Each child receives a booklet which has helpful exercises to complete and strategies to support what they learn in the six week course.

Charlotte and Chris (CEO) took time out to open a pink envelope over a cool glass in high summer, the contents of which will support their ongoing mentoring programmes.

STRIPEY STORK

 This is a new Charity that Give it Away visited this year based in Reigate, Surrey who approached us for support. Their mission is to support children ages from 0 to 17 years by collecting and redistributing baby and children’s items to families in Surrey and Croydon who are experiencing financial hardship, ensuring they have the essentials they need.  This ranges from baby packs for the newborns containing everything a new Mum wants but cannot afford to buy, up to items of clothing and shoes including school uniforms for young teens.

They also refurbish items like cots, prams, bikes, pushchairs to make them safe for a new user who cannot afford such things, all beautifully prepared, checked for safety and tagged up for delivery. Charlotte was very impressed with the size and stock in the warehouse, the branded delivery van and the team of dedicated volunteers sorting and packing all the items for distribution.

GASP

This motor mechanic Charity for young people down in Albury near Guildford, is continuing their out of term time work alongside Surrey police who identify young people needing help and engagement in a project, by spending 4 days during school holidays at their workshop at the Sandpit. This is the second session funded by Give it Away and Charlotte visited them to watch them in action. The youngsters are totally engaged in the work they are doing, restoring, renovating and mending bikes, quad bikes and old motors.

The GASP project provides much more than just tangible, practical mechanical skills, the pupils are able to forge positive, trusting relationships with adults outside their classroom environment which is a valuable life skill. Aside from the practical skills, they benefit from spending time with adults who are mentoring and training them plus they learn the importance of turning up on time, completing a day’s work, achieving a certificate of competence outlining the positive practical skills they have learned. For many of them, this is a springboard for their future.

Our donations will continue to help them with a course planned in the Summer Holidays as you can see from their recent Newsletter.

SUNNYBANKS

 This was Charlotte’s second visit to Sunnybank Trust – an amazing Charity in Epsom, Surrey who support adults with severe learning difficulties, and physical disabilities some of who have been living most of their lives in institutions. Sunnybank provides a wonderful understanding, safe haven where fun is on offer together with advocacy in life in general for those who do not feel they are being heard and who may be non-verbal and struggling.  Through activities and clubs they offer a place of Community and caring for sometimes marginalised people.

On this day, they had worked extremely hard to produce a theatre play involving many of their clients who love to act and dance. The play’s plot was a “theft” on a Wimbledon train but sadly it turned out that Charlotte was guilty and she was handcuffed and arrested! Thankfully, she pleaded not guilty and someone found the key to release her! It was a fun event!

This donation will provide dance and DJ events for their clients who love to party!

HOME START WANDSWORTH

 Charlotte met up with Home Start Wandsworth in Putney to deliver another pink envelope to help their ongoing work with deprived families and children in the local area. They provide, through an amazing network of dedicated volunteers, help, advice and practical guidance to mothers and children, who are often single parents alone, isolated and maybe in financial difficulty.  They run a number of meeting sessions to get the Mums and toddlers together and Charlotte will be attending the next Connect coffee morning in Tooting to meet them all.

We enjoyed our meeting in a sunny pub!

Give it Away continues to support UK Youth and in particular their project down in the New Forest, Avon Tyrell where our donations fund families with a disabled child to enjoy loads of outdoor activities under the watchful and patient guidance of the highly trained staff there.  Charlotte has met families on site, staying for 2 or 3 nights, experiencing time together, all being able to take part in abseiling, rock climbing, zip wiring, woody nature trails, archery, kayaking and outdoor BBQ’s in a safe environment.  They find having such time out together in the beautiful extensive outdoors of Avon Tyrell, restorative and invigorating.

Charlotte and Vicky met up for the donation and thanks to the BIG GIVE, were able to double the donation!

A message from UK Youth:

Thank you for your generous donation! Your gift will be matched by The Big Give, doubling its impact. With your support, UK Youth can continue providing vital services to help all young people thrive. You’re making a real difference. Thank you for believing in our mission!