Your donation can help us be there for vulnerable children.

Will isn’t looking forward to Christmas. It’s the last thing on his mind.

Please donate this Christmas so he can receive the support he desperately needs. You can make his Christmas and change his story.

Will is just 10 years old. He wakes up tired, worried about his Mam, his Dad, and his little sisters, Leah and Claire. There’s no milk for breakfast, and the cupboards are bare. Mam is struggling with depression. Dad is away for work, mam says. Will knows that isn’t true. They had an argument again and Dad left. It’s been days now.

School is no escape. Will dreads going. His uniform is wrong, his shoes are too small, and other kids laugh at his dirty hair and smelly clothes. He wishes he could disappear.

Families like Will’s face layers of adversity especially at Christmas. But Barnardos is here. Through our Family Support services, Will and his sisters are learning to cope. Their project worker Lynn, helps them understand what’s happening at home and gives Will a safe space to share feelings of sadness, fear, and shame. His parents are getting help too, support with routines, homework, and budgeting so life can start to improve.

Will’s family is making progress, but they still have a long way to go. And there are so many more families just like theirs who need us. You can change not only a child’s Christmas, but their future. Please donate today.

Because childhood lasts a lifetime. (Names and details have been changed to protect identities. Photos are models.)