Who we are
We started our mission to help families of seriously ill children back in 2004. By offering tailored care to every child referred to us, we’ve been able to support hundreds of families through the hardest of times, so that they can keep moving forward.
Making a difference
Our story started with our Founder, Bianca, and a freezer full of lollies.
Whilst working as a receptionist at Kingston Hospital paediatrics, she noticed that small touches make a huge difference to families whose children are seriously ill – small touches like organising a freezer for the ward, so that children could have ice lollies close by to help soothe painful mouth ulcers caused by chemotherapy.
With that freezer, and the determination of Bianca and Co-Founders Alison Trigg and Jacqui Coppellotti, Momentum Children’s Charity was born.
This small gesture paved the way for our personal approach when it comes to supporting seriously ill children and their families. Today we do so much more, but our commitment to the unique needs of each and every family, remains at the heart of everything we do.
Our work in a nutshell
We support families across Surrey, Sussex and London whose child has cancer, a life-challenging condition, or has sadly died. Through our hospital partnerships, our Family Support Workers provide practical and emotional support tailored to the needs of the whole family, both in hospital and at home.
Our support can include counselling, creative therapies, social work support, family experiences and respite breaks. For bereaved families, our specialist Echoes service provides ongoing support to parents, siblings and grandparents.
We also work with our hospital partners to transform children’s wards, turning bare, clinical areas into brighter, more welcoming spaces for children and their families.
We remain alongside each family for as long as they need us, so no family has to cope alone.
Where we work
We support families across Surrey, Sussex and London, with a growing reach across the wider South East. Families are referred to us through our eight partner hospitals, including an increasing number from Kent.
Our support does not stop at the hospital doors. We support families in hospital, at home and in their local community. Families from Kent and other parts of the South East receive a tailored mix of remote and hospital-based support, shaped around their needs and circumstances.
Our team
We’re a tight knit team, and whether we’re heading up fundraising activities, organising respite breaks or talking to a newly diagnosed family, we all share the same purpose and drive – to make sure that no family with a seriously ill child faces the path ahead alone.
We’re committed to giving the right amount of support, at the right time, to every single family referred to us and we’re lucky enough to work with an incredible team of talented and experienced service providers who help us do just that.
We’re always on the lookout for brilliant and talented people to join our team. Take a look at current opportunities to work with us.
Funding our support
We rely entirely on donations to fund our work. As we don’t receive any government or statutory funding, our passionate fundraising team build great relationships with our supporters, corporates, schools, and trusts and foundations to make our services possible. Together, they help us provide practical and emotional support, specialist therapies, respite breaks and memorable experiences that help families make the most of the time they have together.
Mo is a gentle, reassuring friend, offering comfort, strength and encouragement when families need it most. When Mo is around, no family is alone.
Mo the Owl has always been more than a mascot.
He’s a long-term resident of our respite cabin in the New Forest, making children and families feel that little bit more at ease. Like Charlie, one of the first to experience the fun and wonder of the cabin, whose favourite part of the whole trip was the sound of the friendly owl hooting close by.
Mo is a symbol of the three things we try to carry into every family’s life: wisdom, protection and strength. You’ll find him painted on the walls of hospital rooms, cheering at fun runs, and lighting the way at our respite cabins where, on still evenings, you just might hear him hooting softly through the trees.
Our Family Support Workers have dressed up as Mo and spent time with children in hospital. Years later, one child still calls their Family Support Worker “the owl lady.” A falconer who volunteered with us even named one of his owls after Mo.
Help support our work today.
Registered charity number 1195373 (formerly 1106677)
The support we have had from Momentum has been amazing. They are a charity with experience. They know what you need before you know. A hard journey is made a bit easier because of Momentum.
A supported mum