Players of People’s Postcode Lottery support Buttle UK to fund the forgotten children of poverty

Buttle UK is pleased to announce that they have been awarded £100,000 by players of People’s Postcode Lottery through the Postcode Children Trust.

The award was made to Buttle UK because of its proven record in helping children and young people who are in crisis reach their potential, through small but targeted interventions.  They do this by making grants direct to families and young people of up to £2,000, which are proven to have a disproportionately positive impact on the lives of children compared to their monetary value.

The funding will go directly to individual families and young people locally across England, Scotland and Wales. The funds will allow the charity to target grants to areas with high levels of need, but where the current level of applications for support are lower than expected. In this way, they aim to reach some of the most vulnerable children in the UK who are receiving little support from other services.  

One hundred percent of the award will be used for grants, and go directly to children and young people in need. This is because Buttle UK has an endowment, created by the legacy left to us by their founder, Frank Buttle. This allows the charity to fund its own administration costs, and so all other funds can go to those that need them most. 

Overall, the support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery will fund grants for over 200 children over the course of the next year.  

There are 4.1m children living in poverty in the UK currently (1). Families on very low incomes cannot afford even small capital spends for essential household items, and many are faced with a choice of more debt or simply going without, adding stress to already difficult circumstances.

These factors impact on a child’s development. It has long been established that children growing up in poverty and disadvantage are less likely to do well at school, and that low income is a strong predictor of low educational achievement. This creates a cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Buttle UK’s response is to provide funding in the form of targeted grants, direct to families and young people. By paying for costs and items that cannot be afforded, they remove key barriers to a child’s development and ultimately their educational outcomes. For example, adverse experiences such as domestic abuse, can cause disruption, forcing children to miss time off school, impacting their learning while at home or resulting in them regularly moving and changing schools. In such circumstances, Buttle UK might fund extra tuition to help a child catch up on schooling, and/or extracurricular activities to help them with learning, self-esteem and settling into a new community.

Joseph Howes: “We are delighted to be supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.  We look forward to being able to tell the stories of how this funding has really helped struggling families in communities across the UK. This award means that as many as 200 children will be given a chance for change in their lives.

Hazel Johnstone, Senior Programmes Manager at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “I am thrilled that players of People’s Postcode Lottery have been able to make a funding award of £100,000 through Postcode Children Trust to this fantastic charity. Buttle make a huge difference to the lives of so many families up and down the country and I am proud that players are now supporting their mission.”

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