To think children in need is out of touch?

[Tictocrobot]

It’s the idea that we should all be inspired by the tragic story of disadvantaged children. Sad music, celebrities visiting groups where disabled children are paraded so that all us at home feel thankful for our lot in life. We give £5 then thank our lucky stars and wash our hands of it.

I know that’s a sweeping statement but really? Disabled children aren’t tragic and why is it up to them to be inspiring?

Disabled children are people. They shouldn’t be marginalised. To only have an opportunity to go to an after school club because of a handout that could be removed at any time. The government should be making sure that all people can do all of the things.

I know, I know, budgets. But maybe just tax Amazon a bit more and stop scrimping at every turn.

In my county there is a waiting list of 400+ children to get a place at a SEN school. I have one child who I can sign up for music lessons, Cubs, swimming lessons, football club, drama club etc at the drop of a hat. I have another child who is not able to access any of those things.

I’ve gone off on a tangent. But I guess my main point is. Being disabled isn’t sad. It’s just another way of living. What is sad is the lack of funding and one night of celebrity culture and tear jerking videos isn’t going to solve that.

My dc has special needs and has benefitted from more than one CIN project. His special school raised over£1000 which will be split 50/50 between the school and CIN.

I've seen the money in action. It's necessary and life changing. Shouldn't be needed but there you go.🤷‍♀️

My work receives a grant from Children in Need among others. We couldn't do our work without their money. So thank you to everyone who donates.

It pisses me off that we're scrabbling around applying to these grant trusts for money to fund what are pretty essential services when massive corporates are probably budgeting that for their Christmas lunch.

I really cringe when I see the CVs of young adults on Linkedin whose parents I know to be wealthy. They always virtuously include the section about helping "disadvantaged" kids with something or another. It makes me cringe.

I’ve seen first hand how much the money helps local projects. Whilst we can all sit wringing our hands about how the government should help, they don’t. So if CIN didn’t exist, neither would a lot of groups out there who benefit from the money raised.

For me, I looked at the children coming into school today with their pound coins, and thought about the ones that really needed to keep those pound coins. I thought how backwards it all is. There are children in need right on our doorstep, sitting in our classrooms. The BBC glamourise it too much.

I've always hated it. Virtue signalling at its most insidious and tedious.

I work closely with CiN. I also have a disabled child.
They are a grant giving organisation. Charities apply for funding and decisions are made based on lots of evidence whether to fund them or not. It's very competitive. But they give out a lot of money. What I can tell you is that childrens charities/ social enterprises of all kinds would not survive without CiN funds and funds from other grant giving organisations. Some children's charities are very good at fundraising. Think cancer, hospices etc. But not many people donate to all the ones providing not very cheerful or headline grabbing but hugely essential services such as mental health, knife crime, youth support, children who are carers or are in care and Autistic children. CiN supports so many of them. They just don't show it on the TV but its all available to see. The lists are published.
Yes the TV appeal and the lead up has now got a bit tired. I do wonder what there is to do about that. Most people would be surprised how much is actually not funded by government and local councils.
My DC is disabled and relies on funded services. Its absolutely rubbish and unfair that more things are not open to him and he has to rely on things funded. I would happily pay if they'd have him. Some families are incredibly disadvantaged by their child's disability as it impacts income and the rest of the family. Dusability impacts all the family. Same for other issues. It is very much not just disabled children who get services.
Honestly you are really helping people.
(And yes a few projects are bad or a waste of money etc but that's surely to be expected it would be probably 1 in 100and those people don't get money again). Some of the grants are also quite small. It all goes into a big 'pot' essentially.

Henning Wehn said "We don't do charity in Germany. We pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities." I completely agree with this - it is a government failure that CiN is necessary.

I think it’s a great idea and people should give if they want too. Like others I’ve seen what the money can do to help.
Neither my children’s primary or secondary school do anything for CIN or comic relief. They do direct fundraising (mufti days/cakes sales and the secondary school each house represents a local charity and have to come up with fundraising ideas etc)
The primary focus on the local children’s disabled centre (offers multiple services from afterschool clubs to respite care) and often will choose a local adult community centre to engage with to offer support - a new minibus helped fundraising for or money for buying much needed resources.
It’s a bit strange at first not being caught up in the dressing up etc for CIN or comic relief but parents do like the idea of supporting directly to the community. It’s always the first thing raised at the parents feedback from reception parents but the schools are very clear it’s not that they don’t support the CIN or comic relief they’d rather support local charities.

NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy

You're right OP, it's awful, hypocritical, virtue signalling bullshit. Recipients of charity filmed like some kind of Victorian freak show while some over paid celeb gets paid £££ for doing a sad face at the camera. Makes my blood boil.

None of them gets paid, you made a wrong assumption. The only person who did was Terry Wogan and he always gave his fee to the charity.

@CorrBlimeyGG

It's the (mostly) white saviour complex, "look at us feeling sorry for the poor disableds".

The best way you can help people with disabilities and our carers, is not to vote Tory.

Like Lenny Henry then? You've ticked two boxes for the price of one post, well done!

I have many issues with CIN but I also have issues with "Being disabled isn’t sad. It’s just another way of living." As a disabled person... yes, being disabled IS sad, and not just because of lack of funding.

I donated when Sophie Ellis Bextor finished her 24 hr thing, but the prospect of watching hours of that shite tonight would make me suicidal.

@Soggymarshmellows

I work closely with CiN. I also have a disabled child. They are a grant giving organisation. Charities apply for funding and decisions are made based on lots of evidence whether to fund them or not. It's very competitive. But they give out a lot of money. What I can tell you is that childrens charities/ social enterprises of all kinds would not survive without CiN funds and funds from other grant giving organisations. Some children's charities are very good at fundraising. Think cancer, hospices etc. But not many people donate to all the ones providing not very cheerful or headline grabbing but hugely essential services such as mental health, knife crime, youth support, children who are carers or are in care and Autistic children. CiN supports so many of them. They just don't show it on the TV but its all available to see. The lists are published. Yes the TV appeal and the lead up has now got a bit tired. I do wonder what there is to do about that. Most people would be surprised how much is actually not funded by government and local councils. My DC is disabled and relies on funded services. Its absolutely rubbish and unfair that more things are not open to him and he has to rely on things funded. I would happily pay if they'd have him. Some families are incredibly disadvantaged by their child's disability as it impacts income and the rest of the family. Dusability impacts all the family. Same for other issues. It is very much not just disabled children who get services. Honestly you are really helping people. (And yes a few projects are bad or a waste of money etc but that's surely to be expected it would be probably 1 in 100and those people don't get money again). Some of the grants are also quite small. It all goes into a big 'pot' essentially.

I also have a disabled child and totally agree with this. I don't have the cynical view that its virtue signalling, and believe many of the people are genuinely caring and wishing to help. Its also fun for kids in schools and so on. I do wish the country had enough money to provide all the services and extras we need, but there are too many competing needs for resources, so these extras are a lifeline. I don't personally like any of these big fundraising events but thats just my preference. We would have had so much less help without charities and CiN.

Does anyone know why they have 5 presenters? And all on at the same time. The token BAME woman, token disabled person, token (white)woman, random guy no one knows and Graham Norton. Could they be any more patronising if the tried.

Hate it the whole night is just six hours of crap I refuse to watch and haven’t for years.

Children in need fund a lot of very worthwhile projects. Especially for people who wouldn’t come under the “obviously in need” umbrella.

Their grants to the playscheme I ran, and the uniform bank in our area, were invaluable for children and families and not just those in the situation of being disabled.

I have always disliked CiN and Comic Relief. Even as a young child I thought the celebrities squeezing tears out while cuddling orphans was in poor taste. I was outraged to hear that bloody Terry Wogan banked his 'I've never asked for it but will still take it' £30,000 fee for hosting it for so many years. He was the rent-a-stick-out-like-a-sore-thumb presenter for so long, and would probably still be doing it now. It was tired and past it even in the 90s. They need to come up with a completely new format that stops all the gleefully sad 'celebs' spending a morning with some poor children and patting themselves on the back for their efforts for the rest of the year. I just find it all so fake. It's not something I ever give to as I choose smaller charities, rightly or wrongly, and the BBC can eat shit as far as I'm concerned.

It is the Left-wing saviour complex.
From an organisation that has enabled more child abuse than the Catholic church and the teaching profession combined.

It would be great if government could fund that

I think a slight change to wording is the reality - if govt WOULD fund that

These things shouldn't NEED charity funding

I agree with pp who said that the celebs happy to ask the much less wealthy to donate would do a lot more good if they challenged the govt

Look at what Marcus rashford achieved and IMAGINE how much could be achieved if ALL the celebs participating in cin did the same for food poverty and other issues affecting children in need

I also really HATE when schools do fundraising for these things in such a way as the children HAVE to participate (eg paid non uniform days) and their parents HAVE to pay up or else the kids are pariahs! I raised dd as a single parent and money was very often very tight I hated having to somehow find money for a non uniform donation or to buy a bloody t shirt she'd only end up wearing once when I could ill afford it! It's a horribly discriminatory way for schools to behave especially in deprived areas.

@gogohm why do you think having a LIFE is not essential for disabled people!? Especially children? Why do you think it's unreasonable to help them be a full part of society?

It shouldn’t be happening we shouldn’t have that in uk in 2021

I totally agree! It's an abomination that we even HAVE child carers in this country! Something I've been saying for years (confirmed by todays time hop on fb)

It should be a source of national shame that a child has to give their mum their insulin or look after a disabled sibling.

Hear hear!

Providing white goods for families in crisis, help to young homeless people, teen parents! loads.

All things govt either SHOULD do or even USED to do!

@MajorCarolDanvers what points are false? The only one I can see that MAY need further checking is of financial impropriety but the rest is fact far as I'm aware

CIN have been a massive donator to the Salford Lads Club

Nothing stopping those anti cin donating directly to good charities

I donate when I can to charities I know and trust and have even benefitted from directly myself in the past. Generally speaking smaller local charities tend to get more done per £ donated than the large national ones, several of whom have in recent years been found not only wanting in terms of their charity work but actively involved in highly dubious behaviour

Henning Wehn said "We don't do charity in Germany. We pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities."

He's right! Also I've lived in Germany and it was clear they DO look after their population a lot better than we do generally speaking. Eg I don't think I ever saw a street homeless person the whole time I lived there and I wasn't living in/visiting particularly wealthy places/areas

I do wish the country had enough money to provide all the services and extras we need

It does! But the right wing govts we've had for over 40 years would prefer to give tax breaks to the wealthy and subsidise wealthy conglomerates to keep wages down!

Germany has a bigger homeless population than the uk.

“ Look at what Marcus rashford achieved and IMAGINE how much could be achieved if ALL the celebs participating in cin did the same for food poverty and other issues affecting children in need ”

A lot of celebrities donate, but don’t publicise it.

Heorge Michael

I disagree with the way they handle young carers, having been one for a very long time I certainly wouldn’t describe it as inspiring, or skill building - I spent hours alone, at night, in the dark, aged 8 when my mum was flat on the floor beside me, and I had no one to talk to . I knew an 11 year old, parents dead, granny dying of Alzheimer’s, he didn’t get any support other than the once a fortnight trips to the cinema or beach . Knew many others in the same horrendous boat .

I went to a young carers group from 14-18, it was like a sticking plaster on a broken hip, I remember we said even back then 10 years ago we didn’t need a free cinema trip, we needed long term effective support at home . The money would be better spent on preventing children ever having to become carers in the first place .

It’s not inspirational, it’s fucking dreadful that our government have failed its citizens so badly that children are forced to pick up the pieces .

I read they are sitting on millions of pounds...why not spend it...dont support or give them a penny.