News Chris Ramsey Gets Crafty with Young Carers for Children in Need A Surprise Guest Presenter at our Online Craft Session Our young carers were surprised to find a familiar face joining their online session last week when Chris Ramsey dropped in for a bit of craft. The activity had been secretly organised as part of Children in Need's annual TV celebration and fundraiser event, co-hosted by Chris himself. Children in Need's Support has Been so Important for Young Carers Over the last three years, Children in Need have funded our work supporting the emotional wellbeing of primary school-age young carers. This has enabled us to provide group programmes, peer and one-to-one support, family activities and wellbeing resource packs for young carers age 5-11. This year, Covid-19 forced us to change how we support young carers' emotional health. The team has been busy sending out packs of useful activities and resources, calling families to check in and chat, and running online groups so that young carers don't feel isolated in lockdown. You can watch Chris meeting the staff and children here. If you live in the North East, you'll also see it feature on the main Children in Need show on Friday 13th November. No Stranger to Young Carers This isn't the first time that Chris has got involved. He first met us as part of his work with Comic Relief when he was a rising comedy star and was so impressed by our young carers that he became a Patron. Since then, he's found time between touring, tv appearances and co-hosting one of the world's most popular podcasts with his wife, Rosie, to offer his support. He's met with our groups, donated toys and equipment for our centre, and fundraised through his game show appearances. Kicking off his online visit, Chris chatted to Andrea and Christine from the Young Carer Team to learn more about the changes they’ve made to move the service online, and how children have benefited from joining the online sessions. After the arts and crafts activity, Chris spent time talking with the children about the project, as well as his time as a competitor on last year’s Strictly Come Dancing. We were thrilled to welcome Chris to our online session and introduce him to the young people taking part. It was great to discuss the project more in depth and provide a clear view of how we’re supporting young people during Covid-19. The children enjoyed their time with Chris and the arts and crafts session was great fun! The young people were also delighted to find out more about Chris’s time on Strictly Come Dancing. Andrea Overton, Young Carer Support Worker You can help us to support young carers' health and wellbeing! Please select a donation amount (required) £5 £10 £20 Other Set up a regular payment Donate Manage Cookie Preferences