Our 2025 volunteer round‑up: Supporting children’s mental health across Essex and Suffolk
In 2025, over 7,800 hours were gifted by more than 500 volunteers at Kids Inspire. This incredible generosity made a real difference to the mental health and wellbeing of thousands of children, young people and families across Essex and Suffolk.
To celebrate our volunteers, we’re sharing just a few of the many moments that shaped this year of support, connection and community.
Our volunteer highlights for 2025
1. Mentoring programme
Our volunteer mentor team has continued to expand in 2025. We prepared 25 individuals for mentoring through our latest training programme in October, held over two in‑person days in Colchester - a change that helped everyone feel more connected.
Mentoring is a big part of what we do. Across Essex, volunteer mentors gift an hour each week, spending time with a child or young person. Volunteer mentors offer something simple but powerful: a steady, supportive presence. Last year, more than 74 young people were supported through mentoring.
You can hear more about mentoring from three of our volunteers on our blog - Adam, Aly and David.
2. Christmas support
Our 2025 Christmas Appeal was our biggest yet. Thanks to the kindness of 309 volunteers, who together gifted 1,453 hours (the equivalent of 194 days), we were able to meet the demand and bring Christmas magic to 4,025 children across Essex.
Every volunteer played a part - from picking and wrapping gifts to packing and delivering them to children and young people. We were also joined by 25 businesses, who helped with wrapping and deliveries.
Alongside the appeal, there were other opportunities for volunteers to spread festive cheer. One highlight was a Rotary sleigh ride around Beaulieu, Chelmsford with donations from the evening generously given to Kids Inspire.
3. Community volunteering
Having volunteers alongside our Community Engagement team means we can reach even more children, young people and families. They are often the first point of contact in new communities, and they play a key role in supporting our growth and helping us reach the people who need us most.
This year, volunteers supported school assemblies and workshops, helped at community events, joined the team behind our youth group The Voice, and continued to bring their energy and care to our Holiday Clubs over the school breaks.
Another key way they support was with PROM‑Unity - our free prom outfit giveaway – whether it was behind the scenes with sorting donations, or on the days being a friendly encouragement to young people searching for their perfect dress or suit.
4. Marketing and Communications volunteers
Last year we introduced a brand‑new volunteering role in our Marketing and Communications team - and it quickly became a popular opportunity. We began recruiting volunteers to help create content for our social media, website and blogs.
Our volunteers bring a wide mix of voices and skills. Teddie joined us at just 16, offering a young person’s perspective on social media content - something that has been invaluable. Others have supported by helping to raise awareness of children’s mental health, writing blogs alongside our therapists, creating content around exam season, and even helping to develop parts of our website.
5. Our new film, The Coat
Our new film, The Coat - released during Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 - was only possible thanks to an incredible team of volunteers. We’ve estimated that 540.5 hours of volunteering went into bringing the film to life, though the true number is likely even higher. To put that into perspective, that’s over three and a half months of gifted time.
This project shows just how much can happen when people come together. Sixteen young people contributed were part of the team of volunteers, alongside adults, who supported with planning, filmmaking, chaperoning, acting, editing, costume design and even catering.
Our volunteer mentor Adam led the project as Director and Cinematographer, and if you look closely, you’ll spot other volunteer mentors Oliver and Caroline making cameo appearances as school teachers.
The Coat was a major highlight of 2025 and into early this year - a project that truly reflects the talent and passion of our volunteer community. We’re also hoping to put our film forward for some awards, so watch this space.
Kindness that never goes unnoticed
These are only a handful of the moments that made this year so special, there were many more! We also welcomed new charity ambassadors, including golf professional, Holly Haslam, who has already been championing our work.
There were some lovely moments of recognition too. Caroline was highly commended at Pride of Essex Awards, Shelley and Caroline were celebrated in the Great Baddow Community Parish Awards, and one of our mentors, Veronica, was nominated for BBC Make a Difference. Each nomination felt like a celebration of the whole volunteer community.
Looking ahead for 2026
As we move into 2026, there’s a lot to feel excited about.
We’re continuing to welcome new community engagement volunteers to support the team when they’re out and about. With demand for our services growing across Essex and Suffolk, our fundraising team is also looking for more people who can gift their time and help us reach even more children, young people and families. And very soon, we’ll be introducing three new trustees joining our Board - an exciting moment in our journey.
If you’d like to be part of what comes next, you can sign up to our newsletter for updates on volunteer opportunities in Essex and Suffolk, upcoming events, and ways to get involved.
