Tom’s Trust, the UK’s leading charity providing psychological support to children with brain tumours and their families, launches its brand new ‘Brighter Futures’ campaign.
The campaign aims to raise a total of £5 million over the next five years.
Why it matters?
500 children each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour, changing their lives and those of their families in an instant. Brain tumours are the leading cause of childhood cancer death, and of the children that survive, 62% face lasting cognitive, emotional and physical challenges. Many struggle to return to school and make friends, and long-term outcomes and quality of life can be poor.
Tom’s Trust provides essential in-hospital psychological support for children, alongside nationally accessible guidance and support through its online resource hub.
One mother described how frightening the diagnosis and treatment process was before receiving the help from Tom’s Trust.
She said: “When my son was first diagnosed with his tumour, my fear of the unknown was so great. I was so worried that I didn’t understand anything about brain tumours, even with a medical team standing in front of me.
“Once I had the support of Tom’s Trust, I knew I had found something really special. Our clinical psychologist saved us in so many ways.”
Today, the charity can only reach one in five of those families through its in-hospital services. Because of this, thousands of children and young people are unable to access the specialist psychological support they desperately need.
Big aims for Brighter Futures
Tom’s Trust is aiming to change those statistics through its new campaign.
The vision is simple but ambitious: every child and family will be offered at least a minimum level of expert psychological support, aiding recovery and quality of life or helping families facing the devastation of the death of a child.
Through the Brighter Futures Campaign, the charity needs to raise £5 million between 2026 and 2031 to:
- Launch two new in-hospital Tom’s Trust psychology services.
- Build upon their expert clinical teams.
- Invest in training to strengthen psychological care across the UK.
- Ensure no child or parent is left behind, wherever they live or whatever the outcome after diagnosis.
Tom’s Trust’s ambitions don’t stop there, though – it also plans to build a full national recourse hub containing expert online guidance, tools, and even training for professionals so that everyone can feel fully equipped. To rebuild confidence, connection and resilience for families, the charity will develop residential camps, activity days and provide several peer support groups too.
Helping children and families to create their brightest possible future beyond diagnosis costs £3,335 per year at one of the Tom’s Trust in-hospital services.
Every £1 invested will build a stronger and more resilient family, reduce NHS strain and provide vital care at the hardest of times.
Rebecca Wood, CEO of Tom’s Trust, says: “By expanding in-hospital psychological support to navigate challenges after the tumour and its treatment, as well as creating a national online resource hub, we’re making sure every family across the UK can access expert care, guidance, and support at every stage of the journey, whatever the outcome.
“Our goal is to reduce trauma, strengthen resilience, and give families the tools to navigate one of the hardest experiences of their lives, ensuring they have brighter futures.”
Deborah Mitchell, Tom’s Trust Co-Founder, who watched the strategy come to life over the past year, realises the incredible impact Brighter Futures can have for hundreds of families and institutions across the UK.
She says: “Creating Tom’s Trust after losing Tom, and as a team reaching 23 percent of UK families now is a huge achievement.
“But knowing that so many families still do not have access to even the minimum level of support after my own personal journey, where we desperately needed support just to get through each day and to help us process each new moment in Tom’s journey, means that this needs to change for families, and the Brighter Futures campaign will deliver this.
“It’s a vital campaign that will improve lives and I’m proud to be a part of it.’’
To find out more about supporting Tom’s Trust’s new campaign, visit their website: https://www.tomstrust.org.uk/brighter-futures/