It was a tightly fought category with Momentum up against three other organisations, all doing great work to support children and young people; The Hub @FSN, SNAP, and St Christopher’s.

Founder and CEO, Bianca Effemey OBE, and Emma Searle, Family Support Manager, represented Momentum at the exciting event on Thursday 28 November.

Momentum Children’s Charity Founder and CEO Bianca Effemey OBE, said: “I am extremely proud that the work of our Family Support team has been recognised by winning this prestigious award. The ceremony was incredibly emotional because it highlighted the immense effort the team puts in to support families facing the unimaginable. Over the last year, we have supported more than 580 families across London, Surrey and Sussex, and as we look to the future, I hope we can continue to be there for more and more families in need.”

Momentum has a team of 11 Family Support Workers who support families with children who have been diagnosed with cancer or another life-challenging condition. The team includes two people who are dedicated to supporting families through our bereavement service, Echoes. Covering Surrey, Sussex and London, our Family Support team works in partnership with nine hospitals to offer emotional and practical support to families, helping to guide them through incredibly difficult times.

The awards ceremony took place at the Novotel London West, Hammersmith and was attended by 500 individuals from the not-for-profit sector. The evening was hosted by popular TV Presenter, Naomi Wilkinson, star of Channel 5’s Milkshake!.

The Children and Young People Now Awards showcase innovation and outstanding practice across the children’s services sector, providing an opportunity to champion the vital work of services supporting children, young people and families across the UK. The 24 award winners and six highly commended entries were chosen from a shortlist of 116 finalists.

Help Momentum Children’s Charity change a child’s life this Christmas by making a donation on their website www.momentumcharity.org

Notes to Editors:

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families across London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. We partner with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to the entire family through our family support workers, both in hospital and at home. Our services include counselling, creative therapies, special experiences, and respite breaks. If the unthinkable happens, and a child dies, we offer specialist bereavement support. The charity receives no government funding and is reliant entirely on voluntary support. 

Founded in 2004, Momentum Children’s Charity was started when Bianca Effemey OBE was working as a receptionist on the Paediatrics Ward at Kingston Hospital. Side effects of chemotherapy treatment can be very painful and she became aware of the impact they were having on young cancer patients. It became her mission to get white goods donated to the hospital which could be kept full of refreshments, providing some relief to children suffering with mouth ulcers caused by chemotherapy. Momentum has grown from a very small charity to now supporting over 2,000 individuals across 583 families in 2023/24. This includes 419 families with children in active treatment and 164 bereaved families.

If you are interested in learning more about the work Momentum does, seeing the roles they are currently recruiting for or would like to get involved by attending an event, volunteering or making a donation please visit www.momentumcharity.org

www.momentumcharity.org Registered charity number: 1195373

For more information about Momentum and future press opportunities, please contact:  Claire Smith, PR and Communications Officer: clairesmith@momentumcharity.org  /  0208 974 5931