In a nasty world, just be kind… especially to those harder to love
With more reports published this month highlighting the discrimination against children in care, and more failures to protect them from harm, our Chief Executive, Ross Hendry, reminds us of God’s expectations that His family does not forget these children in…
Christmas story can inspire new vision of power
On the morning after the Election night before, Spurgeons Chief Executive Ross Hendry reflects on where true power lies. By the time you read this it’s likely we’ll know the result of the General Election and who will be in…
How Poppy can now go fly a kite, thanks to our Craig
Spurgeons works with around 600 young carers in the West Midlands. One of them, Poppy, has lived through domestic abuse, homelessness and isolation. Now she’s set to appear in her school production of Mary Poppins. Craig, one of our Young…
Young carer Mya ‘graduates’ from Spurgeons with distinction
Spurgeons’ Birmingham Young Carers group received national recognition as a finalist at this year’s Children & Young People Awards, in London. Spurgeons works with nearly 600 young carers across the West Midlands. These are young people with a maturity beyond…
How an award-winning project gave city’s young carers a break… till the money ran out
Timing, they say, is everything but it didn’t quite work out recently for Spurgeons’ Birmingham Young Carers group. Just before it was made a double finalist in the 2019 Children & Young People Now Awards, for an initiative targeted at…
Hope – the surprising result of Remembrance
In the days leading up to Remembrance Sunday two contrasting pieces in the media stopped me in my tracks because of how differently they interpreted the annual Remembrance commemorations, writes Spurgeons Chief Executive Ross Hendry. At the heart of both…
In praise of ‘angels’ in dark places
On the eve of Prisons Week (13-19 October), Spurgeons Chief Executive Ross Hendry invokes the compassion, hope and inclusiveness brought by those ‘angel’ volunteers in our prisons Prisons are not nice places. That may seem an obvious statement, but one…
Working with girls to BeLeave in better
Jag Basra heads Spurgeons’ BeLeave programme, supporting girls and young women impacted by gang affiliation and child criminal exploitation. Jag is about to meet up in Cape Town with all the projects established under the international Comic Relief I Define…
Are you sitting comfortably?
For the last two years or more Spurgeons family services worker Diane Sparkes has run a reading scheme that enables dads in Norwich prison to share bedtime stories with their children. The StoryBook Dads scheme is another example of Spurgeons’…