Who are we?

Give a Child a Chance is a local charity based in Plymouth. Our aim is to support Children and Adolescents with emotional, behavioural, and mental health difficulties. We support the Child and Adolescent Mental Health  (CAMHS) teams at Mount Gould Hospital as well as those out in the community. We also award grants to families, community groups, schools and organisations for equipment, transport, building work and activities – anything, in fact, that can help make a positive difference to children’s lives.

Our history

In 2005, The Plymouth Herald and The Plymouth and South West Co-operative Society Ltd teamed up to raise funds for Happy Hospitals for children in the Plymouth area. The appeal was called ‘Give a Child a Chance’ and was to raise funds for children in community services at The Child Development Centre and The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. The name immediately struck a chord with the public and the cause proved extremely popular.

What else we offer

We also offer a completely FREE fortnightly, family friendly activity club, called ‘BUD Club’. BUD CLUB was set up in January 2015 to help the whole family, where a child is  affected by mental health or neurodevelopmental difficulties.

It operates on a drop-in basis at Hamoaze House, Mount Wise on alternate Thursdays from 6-8pm and has always been well supported by the staff and volunteers.

The house, gardens, hall, kitchen, dining room and sensory room offer a safe place for families to come and just do things  together. Parents and carers are able to spend time doing art, games, sporting and outdoor activities in a low key, non-judgmental way. There is always food on offer for children to make and eat as well as plenty of opportunity for chat.

We started with just 4 families but after just a few weeks, word spread and we had 20 families dropping in. We have probably had more than 100 families involved over the 6 years. The most satisfying part of the project has been the number of mums and dads who have felt supported by other families in the same position and have formed long lasting friendships.

We make no charge for attending, so fundraising has always been important to ensure we can continue to offer this safe haven for those attending. We do not have a booking in system although that may need to be reviewed in the future. We are enormously proud of our BUD Club and look forward to welcoming new families in the future.