30/09/2026
💙 A personal update from me💙
Today feels a little bittersweet.
Six months ago, I stepped into a paid role with The Matthew Hackney Foundation on a six-month contract, giving me the opportunity to focus solely on the charity – strengthening our foundations, growing our services and working towards securing the sustainable funding we need for the future.
I have given these six months everything I could.
I've spent countless hours completing funding applications, approaching funders and businesses, developing new opportunities and organising fundraising events. Behind the scenes, I've worked hard to strengthen our finances, systems, policies and procedures, improve how we monitor and plan our services, and make sure the charity is in the strongest possible position for its next chapter.
There has been growth, progress and so much to be proud of.
But despite the very real need for our services, we haven't yet secured the level of sustainable funding needed to continue funding my role.
Our frontline services have to come first.
So, after a great deal of thought, the trustees and I have made the difficult decision not to renew my contract at the end of these six months. The funding we have must, as far as possible, go towards keeping our counsellors in schools and continuing the support children and young people need.
From tomorrow, I'll return to overseeing and running the charity in my own time, alongside paid employment elsewhere – as I did for many years before.
But I certainly haven't done any of this alone.
Our trustees have worked incredibly hard, monitoring our growth, supporting me and making some difficult decisions to protect the charity and the services we provide.
Our volunteers have been amazing, giving hours of their own time to help with fundraising events, gather raffle and auction prizes, approach businesses and spread the word about our work.
And, of course, there are the incredible people delivering our services.
Our counsellors support around 80 children and young people every week, providing a safe space to talk, helping them understand what they're feeling and giving them the tools to cope, build confidence and develop resilience.
That support reaches far beyond the counselling room. It can help a child engage with school and learning, develop relationships and navigate life more confidently.
Kate Broughton and her wonderful team at My Imagination are also supporting around 30 younger children each week through our Superhero workshops, teaching children how to understand and regulate their emotions from an early age.
These are skills that can genuinely change the course of a young life – helping children become better prepared to learn, grow, develop relationships and cope with the challenges ahead.
That's around 110 children every week receiving early mental health and emotional wellbeing support through our work.
And the need isn't going away.
The reality for small charities like ours is that need doesn't automatically bring funding.
One of the privileges of these past six months has been spending more time networking with other charities and people working across the voluntary and third sector. It has given me an even greater appreciation of just how much happens behind the scenes to keep charities going.
In so many small charities, tiny teams wear an extraordinary number of hats. The same people can be responsible for fundraising, finance, safeguarding, governance, HR, communications, compliance and service delivery – making sure their organisation operates ethically, meets its legal responsibilities and, most importantly, can continue providing the services people rely on.
Larger charities may have bigger teams and more specialist roles, but those organisations need their people too.
People who work for charities still need to pay their bills.
Many have chosen to leave careers elsewhere because they believe passionately in a cause, and salaries in the sector will not always match what their skills and experience might command in the corporate world.
Over these six months, I've met some truly dedicated people who care deeply about making a difference and frequently give far more of themselves than any job description could capture.
Those people deserve to be valued and celebrated too.
Funding the people and infrastructure behind a charity isn't taking money away from its mission. Those people make the mission possible.
So while today marks the end of my six-month paid role, it is absolutely not goodbye.
The Matthew Hackney Foundation will continue.
Our counsellors will continue supporting children and young people. Our Superhero workshops will continue helping our youngest children. Our trustees and volunteers will continue supporting us. We'll continue fundraising, applying for grants and doing everything we can to make sure early mental health support is there for the children who need it.
And I'll still be here.
For 15 years, this charity has been part of my life. It was created from something incredibly personal, and I remain as passionate today as I was when we started about reaching children before they reach crisis point.
I'm incredibly proud of what this small charity – and all the people behind it – has achieved.
And I couldn't write this without thanking my own family.
The Matthew Hackney Foundation has been an emotional journey for all of us. They have supported me through the highs and the lows, the worry, the celebrations, the endless events, the late nights and all the times when the charity has inevitably spilled over into family life.
They've supported me when I've questioned whether I can keep doing it, celebrated every success and understood why this work means so much to me. I couldn't have done the last 15 years without them.
And this photograph sums up another huge part of our charity – some of the amazing people who give their time year after year to help us fundraise. From organising events and selling tickets to gathering raffle and auction prizes, setting up, clearing away and spreading the word, so much of what we achieve simply wouldn't happen without our volunteers.
To my family, our volunteers and everyone who has stood beside me and this charity over the years – thank you. 💙
So today isn't an ending. It's simply another change in our journey.
To our trustees, counsellors, Kate and the My Imagination team, volunteers, schools, funders, businesses, fundraisers, donors and every single person who has supported us – thank you.
And most importantly, to the children and families who trust us to support them – you are the reason we keep going. 💙
I'll still be here. Just doing it around the day job again.
Penny
Founder, The Matthew Hackney Foundation
