Big Give Christmas Challenge target exceeded

Wednesday 19th January 2022

Thank you to everyone who donated to our Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign, your generous support means that we have raised an incredible £59,436 including Gift Aid! Whether you donated £10 or £10,000 we are very grateful. The money raised will mean that more vulnerable children can get sustained, personalised support within school from an Eikon Charity practitioner – before their challenges become potentially life-changing problems.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge is an annual week-long match funding campaign, where donations made to a charity’s fundraising campaign can be doubled. For The Big Give 2021, The Eikon Charity set an overall fundraising target of £50,000, and thanks to you we have exceeded that.

Our Big Give campaign focused on supporting vulnerable school children as Covid has hit children’s mental health hard. In every classroom there are young people who are struggling – with depression, anxiety, or abuse. Without support their emotional wellbeing often deteriorates. Some are self-harming or having suicidal thoughts. Donations made to our campaign will enable us to place specialist youth workers in schools to give children the help they need.

We can’t wait for the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022!

Scared woman looking at her mobile phone

How you can support vulnerable children this Christmas

Thursday 2nd December 2021

‘Tis the season of giving! With Christmas just around the corner we have put together our wishlist showing all the different ways you can get involved and support vulnerable children over the festive period.

Donate and give a child someone to turn to this Christmas

If you’re being bullied, are at risk of exclusion from school, suffering online abuse or neglect at home – whatever you’re struggling with, The Eikon Charity is somewhere to talk, to feel safe and get help when you feel really low, from someone reliable and consistent who cares about you.

You can make sure a child has someone to turn to when life threatens to overwhelm them by simply donating here.

Lorraine, Mazz and Katy – a few of our incredible youth workers who have been there for local children throughout the pandemic.

Set up a fundraiser to help a child thrive

All fundraisers can make a big difference. Raising just £150 would pay for a young person to attend a weekly youth club for a year, where they can do something positive and be supported through life’s ups and downs.

Keep an eye on our social media where we will be sharing some fantastic ways you can organise your own festive fundraising events, from bake sales to Secret Santa donations.

You can also easily set up a Facebook or Instagram Fundraiser for The Eikon Charity!

Fancy a bigger challenge?

It is never too early to start your New Year’s resolution – you can now register for our challenge events in 2022!

If you are a keen runner why not sign up for the Surrey Half Marathon or London Marathon and raise money to help Surrey’s most vulnerable young people thrive. Or if cycling is more your thing, register for RideLondon 100 and take part in the iconic road race for The Eikon Charity.

We have a limited number of places available for these challenge events, so register now to secure your place and make a difference to lonely children in Surrey.

Embrace your fears, take the plunge for The Eikon Charity and tick sky diving off your bucket list! You could sky dive for Eikon for free if you can raise enough money in sponsorship. If you are interested, please get in touch with us at fundraising@eikon.org.uk.

Woman who has just finished running the marathon

Donate your last hour of pay in 2021

No child should have to struggle alone, by donating your last hour of pay in 2021 you can help us be there for them. Whatever you can donate will make a huge difference to young people in Surrey who have no one else to turn to.

Give a gift while doing your Christmas shopping

Shopping on AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Eikon at no cost to you! You can find all the same products at the same great prices, all you need to do is select The Eikon Charity as your charitable organisation and AmazonSmile will donate a portion of the purchase price to Eikon. By doing this you can get gifts for your loved ones, while supporting vulnerable children in need of our support. Find more information about AmazonSmile here.

Could you be our Small Business Star this Christmas?

Thanks to Work for Good, your small business can fundraise for The Eikon Charity through the sales of your products or services via their Small Business Star campaign and they will double donations up to £250 per business, until their match funding pot runs out!

By raising much-needed funds through something your small business already does, you will be helping us to support children and young people to become resilient and thrive.

The campaign starts at 9am on Monday 6th December, so get prepared now! You can learn more here and read their T&Cs.

We hope these fundraising ideas give you some inspiration! If you have any questions or want to discuss an idea, please get in touch with us at fundraising@eikon.org.uk.

A note of thanks to our trust and foundation supporters

We are extremely grateful to our trust and foundation supporters who continue to stand by and support us through these uncertain times.

In particular we are grateful to The Garfield Weston Foundation, a national grant maker, who has recognised our need for unrestricted funds to allow us the agility and flexibility to deliver our new strategic priorities and awarded us a significant grant of £25,000.

We continue to look for other opportunities from other grant makers to meet our voluntary income needs so that we can deliver on the demand for our vital services for local children.

Supporting Students with EikOnline

Monday 11th January 2021

The last 10 months have been extremely challenging for teachers and students alike. The recent announcement of another national lockdown has shown that we still have far to go before we see any sense of normality.

Some young people have struggled to adapt to the changes imposed on their everyday lives by the coronavirus pandemic. Long spells confined to their homes, living rooms doubling up as classrooms and playgrounds, no physical interaction with their peers; it’s no wonder that 80% of respondents in a survey carried out by Young Minds (July 2020) said the pandemic had made their mental health worse. The long nights, reduced daylight and colder weather that comes with winter will only make things harder.

This is why youth club services such as EikOnline – The Eikon Charity’s virtual youth club – are needed. More than just a place to hang out, there are many benefits to joining a youth club.

So what are the benefits?

Increased wellbeing : by having an outlet to express their emotions and getting the support needed to manage their concerns, young people will become less anxious. This prevents them from becoming disengaged from the environments they used to frequent (including school), promotes better sleep and allows them to concentrate on school work

Improved confidence and self-esteem: our youth workers have put together an extensive schedule that promotes traits such as confidence, self-love and self-awareness. It also sets them up to be resilient should any further restrictions be imposed
Sparks creativity and introduces new interests: the weekly Instagram challenges and creative workshops will inspire young people and may widen their interests with the introduction of new hobbies
Provides a safe space online: while there are concerns about the amount of screen time young people are now faced with, alongside the general dangers of social media, EikOnline have put measures in place to provide a safe, secure and engaging age-appropriate experience
Supports parents: by providing a modern, innovative, youth-centred provision, parents are provided with a suitable and sustainable activity to engage their children. Drop- in parent hubs are also coming soon as a part of our offer to ensure a holistic, reflective service

So if you’d like to see the young people you work with bask in the benefits mentioned above, tell them about EikOnline! Signing up is easy:

Download and complete the consent form

Return it to eikonline@eikon.org.uk

Wait for the link to the session then join at the scheduled time.

All updates, including our weekly schedule, can be found on our website or Instagram and Facebook pages.

Eikon News – Summer 2020

Tuesday 28th July 2020

In our first full update since September and with the school year ending, we take a look at how the unprecedented events of recent months have affected children and young people and The Eikon Charity’s work with them.

Lockdown has been very hard for children and especially those who were already struggling – with learning, relationships or mental health. Teachers, psychologists and neuroscientists have warned of the risks of young people being isolated from their peers for such a long time.

And although this last month has seen some progress towards a return to life as it was before lockdown, things may yet get harder for children as the full financial and social impact of the crisis hits families and communities. There is also the risk of a second wave of Covid-19.

Group of school children with their teacher

In recent months we’ve seen a spike in referrals of children with worsening mental health. We take this extremely seriously. Not only is this an awful thing for a young person to go through, affecting every area of their life, in some cases it can lead to serious self-harm and suicide attempts.

The number of children and young people presenting at accident and emergency departments of Surrey hospitals following attempted suicide has increased in the last three months. Tragically, suicide is the leading cause of death in children aged 5-19.

How we’re responding

We know that prevention and early intervention are by far the most effective ways to work. That’s why we dedicate so much effort to working with children and young people before – or as soon as concerns arise. But we’re also actively prioritising referrals of children waiting for support from statutory mental health services.

And throughout the crisis we’ve been making every effort to support children and young people remotely with issues relating to their education, family and friends, and their emotional wellbeing – through welfare phone calls, messages and a new virtual youth club.

We now plan to expand our digital delivery and are delighted to announce that we have secured funding for our Surrey Virtual Youthwork project that will enable us to reach out to more children and young people safely. The £100,000 Coronavirus Community Support Fund government grant, distributed by the National Lottery Communities Fund, will also leave a lasting legacy of improved digital capabilities that will benefit children and young people beyond the life of the project.

Last month we started a consultation with schools on how we can best support them through and out of the crisis. The number of schools responding was very encouraging. Results of this analysis of schools’ needs will feed into our plans for the autumn term and beyond.

“Eikon’s Youth Specialist Sarah has continued to provide emotional support via 1:1 phone check-ins and lunch clubs to our most vulnerable children during lockdown. This has been a critical lifeline for some who are very isolated.”

Anna Wallis, Vice Principal, Kings College Guildford

As a founding member of the Surrey Wellbeing Partnership – a group of voluntary sector organisations working together to help improve the wellbeing of Surrey children, young people and families – we’re working to influence the shape of preventative and early intervention support.

We want children and young people to have a choice in the kinds of emotional wellbeing services they can access, and to get access sooner – before a concern can become a crisis.

Powering our response

Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

Eikon’s approach and services are embedded at the heart of the Surrey Wellbeing Partnership’s bid to commissioners of emotional wellbeing and mental health services for children and young people in Surrey. We will know by the autumn how successful we’ve been and what specific preventative and early intervention services Eikon will be delivering on behalf of the NHS and Surrey County Council.

Those services form part of our overall offer to children, young people, their parents & carers, schools and community groups across the county – a lifeline for children that we’re only able to offer thanks to gifts and grants from generous supporters.

Child Mental Health Appeal

We have launched an appeal for funds to help us do even more to support children who are struggling but unable to access services or facing lengthy delays to get help.

Challenge Events

Motivating us all – young or old, to get and stay physically and mentally fit, whilst also supporting children who need us, we had a very successful 2.6 Challenge in the spring, raising over £5,000.

With fundraising events such as RideLondon being cancelled and the London Marathon being postponed, to make up for the lost donations we have now also launched Eikon’s own challenge event: iCan100. Aimed at hikers, runners, cyclists and swimmers, participants can attempt 100 miles solo or as part of a team, raising awareness of Eikon’s work – and much-needed funding.

The impact of lockdown on wellbeing

Friday 12th June 2020

Eleven weeks into lockdown, The Eikon Charity’s Chief Executive, Chris Hickford, explains how we’ve responded to the serious challenges that the Covid-19 crisis has created for us – and how we’re now gearing up to handle a substantial increase in demand as a result of the deterioration in the emotional wellbeing and mental health of many children and young people.

This is the most challenging period in Eikon’s history. Thanks to the commitment of individuals and grant making organisations supporting us – and the dedication of Eikon staff and volunteers, we’re still here, and able to support children and young people through this crisis.

We decided early on to divide our management of the crisis and its impact into three phases – response, recovery and reconstruction, so that we could plan effectively for each.

The Response Phase

Within one week of the start of lockdown, all our services were reconfigured to directly support children and young people remotely by phone and messaging apps and we were busy setting up a virtual youth club.

We also made our resilience resources available to schools digitally free of charge, and are helping them prioritise wellbeing now – and over the next academic year. Students are feeling less anxious about their return to school thanks to the support they’ve received during lockdown.

The Eikon team has shown real passion, dedication, creativity and care as they’ve pursued new ways to connect with children they support, focusing on those children and young people most at risk or in need of our help.

We remain very concerned though for a significant number of children and young people who are isolated in very difficult circumstances. This is reflected in a recent survey by mental health charity YoungMinds, in which 83% of children with mental health needs said that the pandemic had made their conditions worse.

Among those disproportionately affected by Covid-19 are BAME communities. Already fighting racism, discrimination and social and economic inequalities among other things, we are particularly concerned for the emotional wellbeing of children and young people in these families. Other groups at increased risk include LGBT+ young people, children in unsafe environments, and young carers.

We will continue to go the extra mile to reach and support as many children and young people as we can. But as we do so we’re mindful of the impact on our staff of the increase in workloads, complexity and emotional strain. Some Eikon staff are juggling this work with their own childcare challenges as schools have been closed. It has been a tough time for us.

Recovery Phase

There is now light at the end of the tunnel, with some lockdown restrictions easing, but it’s as we start to recover that the impact of the crisis is likely to start to show more fully. Some young people will be experiencing grief, anxiety, fear of failure and concern about their future prospects. Some will have parents separating as a result of the crisis.

Those hardest hit by lockdown and who have had depression or anxiety in the past, are more susceptible to deterioration in their emotional wellbeing and mental health. We are fully expecting a substantial increase in demand as a result.

In response to this we are in talks with a range of partners and are trying to raise an additional £600,000 to recruit new staff to support an additional 2,000 children and young people. We are leading this effort and working closely with the NHS, Surrey County Council (SCC) and our school and community partners to be ready by September.

Grant funding for our existing work has been very hard to secure, despite an outstanding effort by our part-time grant fundraiser. Most grant makers have prioritised physically vulnerable groups and immediate “practical” responses to the crisis, rather than children’s wellbeing and mental health.

The economic crisis has meant that individual donors are concerned about their jobs, savings and investments, and we’re discovering that there is uncertainty around their pledges. Our community fundraising has also suffered with the cancellation or postponement of several events.

We are deeply concerned about the combined impact of all of this on our ability to respond to the needs of a growing number of children who need us. We are working very hard to avoid redundancies, because we know that as we emerge for this crisis, Eikon’s staff will be inundated with requests for help from young people and their families.

We will continue to campaign for more focus on and funding for children and young people. If there is anything at all that you can do to help, please get in touch.

Reconstruction Phase

The longer-term picture will continue to be characterised by scarce resources and lack of finances, but also by new values and new ways of doing things. We believe that greater importance will be put on health and mental health as further evidence of need emerges.

We envisage that there will also be a new appreciation of families and friends, a greater desire for fairness and social justice and more concern for key workers and how they are looked after. We will continue to promote the benefits of volunteering, neighbourliness and community spirit.

I know you care deeply about children and young people facing difficulties and Eikon’s mission to be there for them. I hope this has been a helpful update and thank you once again for all you do to make this possible.

I continue to wish you and your loved ones well, and I look forward to hearing from you or even seeing you again soon.

Chris Hickford, Chief Executive

The 2.6 Challenge – What will your challenge be?

Friday 17th April 2020

Get active, improve your wellbeing and raise funds for Eikon.

The Covid-19 crisis has meant a huge drop in voluntary income for Eikon much of which was expected to be raised through mass participation challenge events. We are hopeful that these events can take place at a later date, however we still need to maintain our services for vulnerable young people who need us now more than ever.

We are so grateful to all those who are combining forces to raise urgent funds for charities and we are thrilled that a collaboration of mass participation sports events across the country have come together to create an exciting new campaign – The 2.6 Challenge!

Run, ride, cycle, hop, lift, step…

The 2.6 Challenge launched on Sunday 26 April – the date the London Marathon would have taken place.

Take part in a challenge, ANY challenge, based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and fundraise or donate to support Eikon via JustGiving.

The 2.6 Challenge is open to anyone of any age and is a simple and fun way for everyone to do their bit whilst also keeping active at home and improving their wellbeing and mental health.

There are just three simple steps to take:

Choose your challenge
Fundraise or make a donation of £26
Complete your challenge

Fundraise or Donate now

Don’t forget to share a photo or video of your challenge on social media using the hashtag #TwoPointSixChallenge and tag Eikon too (@eikoncharity on Facebook and Twitter OR @theeikoncharity on Instagram).

Your challenge could be something as simple as pledging to run 2.6 miles as your daily exercise to doing 26 minutes of yoga, or juggling for 26 minutes (or 2.6 minutes) non-stop. See below for more ideas! And don’t worry if you’re not able to get out of your house or flat for now – you can do your 2.6 challenge anywhere inside too! There are no rules, apart from the Government guidelines on how to exercise safely during this time. Whatever you can do, you can be a part of it. Above all, get active, have fun and pledge whatever you can to help raise funds for Eikon.

For more information and ideas visit the 2.6 Challenge Website or follow the hashtag on social media #TwoPointSixChallenge

Woman dressed in exercise clothes with a drink bottle

Looking for 2.6 Challenge ideas?

The options are endless:

Run or cycle 2.6miles
Do a 2.6 minute plank
Shoot 26 basketball goals or football goals in a row
Do 26 Keepie Uppies with a bat and ball
Run 26 laps of your garden
Climb up and down the stairs 26 times
Do 26 sit ups or press ups every day for 26 days
Run 2.6 10km runs (two 10km runs and one 6km run)
Do 26 skips with a skipping rope without stopping
Jump on your trampoline for 26 minutes non stop
Lift 26kilos 26 times
Star jump for 2.6 minutes

Statement on the Coronavirus Crisis

Tuesday 31st March 2020

Impact of the coronavirus crisis on children and young people

Over 25 years, Eikon has been through a lot, but nothing comes close to the current challenges we face. For many children and young people, support from The Eikon Charity – at school, in their local youth club or with their counsellor, is a lifeline. Covid-19 threatens that lifeline because we have had to take the difficult decision to suspend face to face work.

Caring for the most vulnerable

The public, media and government focus is rightly on protecting people who are physically vulnerable to the virus or who are in need of care and affected by the lockdown. But we are also concerned about the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children who were already struggling to cope before the crisis hit. Their existing challenges are now being compounded by worries created by the pandemic.

Many are deeply concerned about their mental or physical health, their schoolwork and exams, and the finances or health of their parents, carers or family members – older relatives in particular who are often the most stable relationships they have, yet are now most at risk from the virus. For some, home is not a safe place to be or has a negative impact on their wellbeing or mental health, but with schools closed they are there most of the time.

Steps we have had to take to ensure the safety of our volunteers and staff and the young people they support

As of 17^th March, for an initial period of 4 weeks:

All youth clubs have stopped
Face to face work in schools is suspended, including one to one and group work with young people, and our programmes supporting school staff
Face to face sessions delivered by Eikon’s partners are suspended
All Eikon staff and volunteers are working from home.

How we have adapted to the crisis

Eikon’s work is continuing insofar as it can safely without risking anyone’s health. We want to continue to be there for children and young people that need us.

We are doing all that we can to support them remotely via safe and appropriate means of communication. Where obstacles exist, we’re pulling out all the stops to get over or go around them.

We are working closely with schools, community groups, local authorities and health and social care bodies to coordinate our activities and try to ensure that those children most at risk as a result of the crisis are cared for. The whole system is working together in a way I’ve not seen before. Long may it continue!

We have also written and published a Wellbeing at Home resource with ideas for building “5 Ways to Wellbeing” into home life.

How you can support us to be there for children during and after the pandemic

Our voluntary income has been badly affected by this crisis. We had to cancel a major fundraising event in Westminster which would have raised tens of thousands of pounds. Fundraising challenge events such as the London Marathon have been postponed and the pandemic has meant that our staff and volunteers have less time and opportunity to raise funds. So how are we responding?

We are grateful to those that help fund our work who have already said that they will stand by us, continue their support and allow us to adapt how we work. We are contacting other funders and donors and asking them to allow us the same flexibility and to renew their support.

But we have also heard from other funders and donors that they will be unable to support us through this crisis, either because they are redirecting funds to support the physical health of other groups or because their investments have been hit by the crisis, which in turn means they are now unable to give to Eikon.

So we have launched a public appeal to

raise the funds we need to remain strong and available throughout the crisis, and
ensure that when it’s over, we can still deliver the same high-quality support that we do now.

Action

To donate so that our work can continue:

Visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/charity, or
Give at Eikon’s own website: https://www.eikon.org .uk/donate/

If you have questions

about how our support and services will operate during the crisis, please contact: info@eikon.org.uk
about giving: fundraising@eikon.org.uk
for media enquiries: press@eikon.org.uk

Finally, we encourage you to support children in your community during the crisis by helping them to feel that they matter, and that this crisis will pass. Do please also follow government guidance to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.

Chris Hickford, Chief Executive, The Eikon Charity

Eikon Trustees

Monday 3rd February 2020

Eikon is a Surrey based charity that has been working in the local community for almost two decades, providing support to the county’s children, young people and their families.

Eikon is seeking two Trustees, one with general legal and the other health services background, who need not necessarily live in Surrey

To find out more, please see the role description Role Description – Trustees

To apply, please send a formal letter or email referring to the skills and experience required, together with a CV and details of two references.

Applicants will be interviewed by a panel consisting of the Chair, Chief Executive Officer and possibly one other Trustee, on a mutually convenient date.

After the interview, two references will be followed up, as appropriate, and a DBS check undertaken.

Contact information:

Nigel Goddard (Chair of Trustees) nigel.goddard@eikon.org.uk or 07841122721

Chris Hickford (Chief Executive Officer) on Chris.Hickford@eikon.org.uk or 01932 347434

The Eikon Charity, Selsdon Road, New Haw, Surrey KT15 3HP

Spelthorne’s Mayor honours Eikon

Wednesday 18th September 2019

The Mayor of Spelthorne has selected Eikon as one of two charities to benefit from The Mayor’s Charity Fund this year! Throughout the year she will be hosting a number of fundraising events. Coming up is a Jazz night on 5th October at St Peter’s Church, Staines. Then a fun quiz night at The Bells pub in Staines on 27th October. On 1st November she is hosting an evening with the fabulous Rat Pack at the Greeno Centre in Shepperton.

Tickets for all these events and more can be booked online here via Spelthorne Council’s website

Fundraising update

Monday 19th August 2019

Financial gifts and grants are vital to Eikon, enabling us to protect and develop our unique way of working that is so effective in young lives. So we thought you would like an update on how fundraising has been going and what’s coming up in the months ahead.

The Winter Wonderland Ball was a spectacular success and raised a marvellous £15,705! Eikon was also lucky enough to benefit from The Surrey Fashion Show to the tune of £1,465. THANK YOU to everyone involved in both events. We are grateful indeed.

More recently Eikon supporters have been raising funds by running in The London Marathon, raising a stunning total of £11,426. Huge thanks to all of you.

Next year the 2020 London Marathon comes during Eikon’s 25th birthday year. Demand for places is sure to be high. If you are interested in taking one of our 2020 Gold Bond places

Chris, Matt and Jonny having just run the Marathon

Our Glencoe Challenge team led by Chief Executive, Chris Hickford, managed to complete their impressive challenge of walking The Ring of Steall (a 30km mountain trail in the Scottish Highlands) as well as ascend Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK at the end of June. Together they completed the 8,500 feet of ascent, successfully raising just over their target of £50,000 for Eikon’s work.

Well done all of you!

A massive thank you to the Heathrow Community Fund for a wonderful grant of £47,379 towards Eikon’s outreach work with young people in some of Spelthorne’s most deprived communities. This will enable us to help young people across the district to gain new skills, improve their mental health and resilience and raise their aspirations. Projects will include community volunteering activities such as tree planting, boxing sessions & sports clubs, and 1:1 guidance and support for young people who are struggling.

St Faith’s Trust have awarded a second grant to Eikon’s Volunteer Mentoring Programme. Read more here…

If you are a trustee or administrator of a grant making trust and would like to support Eikon’s work with children and young people, please email us to let us know fundraising@eikon.org.uk.

Children and Young People

Helping Parents and Carers

Support and Services for Professionals

Who we are

How you can help us

Related news...

Donate and give a child someone to turn to this Christmas

Set up a fundraiser to help a child thrive

Fancy a bigger challenge?

Donate your last hour of pay in 2021

Give a gift while doing your Christmas shopping

Could you be our Small Business Star this Christmas?

A note of thanks to our trust and foundation supporters

Related news...

So what are the benefits?

Related news...

How we’re responding

Powering our response

Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

Child Mental Health Appeal

Challenge Events

Related news...

The Response Phase

Recovery Phase

Reconstruction Phase

Related news...

Get active, improve your wellbeing and raise funds for Eikon.

Run, ride, cycle, hop, lift, step…

Fundraise or Donate now

Looking for 2.6 Challenge ideas?

The options are endless:

Related news...

Impact of the coronavirus crisis on children and young people

Caring for the most vulnerable

Steps we have had to take to ensure the safety of our volunteers and staff and the young people they support

How we have adapted to the crisis

How you can support us to be there for children during and after the pandemic

Action

To donate so that our work can continue:

If you have questions

Related news...

Related news...

Related news...

Related news...

Share this page