A great turnout for our AGM!

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our AGM on 7 November! It was wonderful to see a record breaking turnout of so many familiar faces, as well as some new ones.

We were joined by many volunteers, past and present, as well as Karen Hazlitt who first joined the charity in 2015 as a Trustee. She progressed to become Chair and led Friends of the Family through many changes, including the pandemic, and there is no doubt that the charity and the community who we support are in a better place due to her leadership. Her dedication and enthusiasm for the work that we do is unparalleled and we are so pleased that she remaining as an Ambassador and still working hard on our behalf. To formally acknowledge Karen’s contribution we were honoured to welcome the Right Worshipful the Mayor of Winchester, Councillor Russell Gordon-Smith to say a few words and present a gift.

As well as the ‘business’ part of the event we shared news about what we have been doing throughout the year and also highlighted the changing landscape of the issues that families are facing and therefore the increased need and complexity for the services that we offer.

The charity sector has been hit hard by a volunteering crisis, with a sharp drop in people stepping forward to offer their time. Our Befriending Service provides trained volunteers to ‘befriend’ children aged 5-13 who need extra support. Manager Sam Hunt said that there’s never been a greater need for volunteers: “With a 50% surge in mental health disorders among young people being reported since 2017, it’s no surprise that we have a waiting list for our services. It’s terrible to know that there are children in our community who want and need our help, but we can’t offer it, because we don’t have enough people.”

Families who have received our services share Sam’s sense of urgency. In one Mum’s words, “My son’s befriender was so patient with him, and by the end of it he was confident and smiling, instead of putting himself down. I don’t know where I’d be without Friends of the Family.”

With recruitment of volunteer Befrienders and Playworkers ongoing, we urge the people of Winchester to get in touch if they have time to give.