Kingston Carers' Network

16/04/2026

Just one week to go until the ! Please consider voting for us for the Kingston Business Choice Award.

As a charity, being chosen for this wonderful award would help us reach more local people and expand our impact. Every vote counts!

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=GuMVIE8iiU-Ujsw90SQNT22xeC7CKGFLh9ZqVEF42NlUQU1OMlRITkhWMjhNRUVMUzM0VENaVVdTRSQlQCN0PWcu&origin=lprLink&route=shorturl

📣 Voting Closes in 1 Week!

For the first time in KBBA’s history, you can play a part in this year’s awards evening!

Alongside the judged categories*, the Kingston Borough Business Awards invites you to recognise the one finalist that best represents the spirit of Kingston’s business landscape.

Whether through innovation, leadership, community engagement or the quality of their work, this award celebrates the finalist that the Kingston community believes embodies the values of our local business ecosystem.

The winner will be decided by public vote and announced live and on social media () during the awards evening.

❗Public voting will close at 12:00pm on Thursday 23rd April 2026.

To find more information about this award to cast your vote, please visit the link below!

*The Kingston Business Choice Award is determined separately from the judged categories; public votes do not influence a finalist's standing for any other award(s). For all other T&C's, please visit our FAQ.

(🔗 links in our bio)
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15/04/2026

We’re pleased to share and support this important research project from a student at Kingston University.

The study is looking for carers and partners of people who have experienced a TIA or stroke to share their experiences of communication challenges during the transition from hospital to home.

If you are interested in taking part, contact Abina Muraleetharan: [email protected]

14/04/2026

On the 50th anniversary of Carer’s Allowance, Kingston Carers Network has signed a national open letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for urgent reform.

The current system is outdated and leaves many unpaid carers facing financial hardship. It’s time for meaningful change. 👇 Carers UK

Kingston Carers Network has joined organisations across the UK in calling for urgent action to address carer poverty by signing a national open letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

07/04/2026

Carers’ benefits, including Carer’s Allowance, will rise in line with the government’s annual uprating from today.

If you provide unpaid care, it’s worth checking to see what support you could be entitled to

For more information: https://carersuk.pulse.ly/bpualidydg

07/04/2026

To mark Power of Attorney Day, a new national awareness initiative from Carers UK, we’re hosting a webinar for carers covering what Power of Attorney is and how having one in place can make managing everyday life and decisions easier.

Register here 👇46df2995-47c1-4b3d-af98-b49b56eb9842@78c89a5e-d4cc-4174-8c00-986a4b455b05" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/46df2995-47c1-4b3d-af98-b49b56eb9842@78c89a5e-d4cc-4174-8c00-986a4b455b05

02/04/2026

We are incredibly excited to be featured in The Big Issue, both in print and online, this month!

Journalist Sophia Alexandra Hall caught up with Lola, one of our young carers, and Rachael Stokes Harrop, our CEO, at our Youth Group last month.

The result is an important piece, highlighting the realities of being a young carer and the vital role our youth groups play in giving young people a space to be themselves outside of their caring responsibilities.

The article also shines a light on the wider challenges carers of all ages are facing, and the growing demand for support across our community.

You can read the full article here, or support your local Big Issue vendor by picking up a physical copy!👉

https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/kingston-carers-network-changemakers-2026/

01/04/2026

We are excited to have a stand at the Move Well, Live Well event, on Thursday April 9th. Come and say hello! Kingston Council - Kingston Stronger Together

JOIN IN WITH MOVE WELL, LIVE WELL IN NEW MALDEN
9 APRIL 2026 - ST JOHN'S CHURCH
KINGSTON ROAD KT3 3RX
10.30am to 2.30pm

We are bringing our highly popular event and ‘taster sessions’ to St John's Church - Kingston Road New Malden - More sessions and more time to try out something new!

Tailored to over 50s, the aim is to get more people out to do age appropriate physical activities, meet other residents and join in - whatever their age or ability.

Anyone can attend - so share details with friends and family in the New Malden, Norbiton and surrounding areas.
BUS 131 to stops E or G

You can find out more on
bit.ly/4v4tzDs

31/03/2026

An important opportunity to have your say - help design a fairer future by sharing the everyday barriers you face as a disabled person or unpaid carer. 👇

This research is being carried out by Designability, a UK charity that uses person-centred design to create products and services with and for disabled people.

Tell us about the barriers you face in your everyday life 🚫

The Unfair Index: Designing a fairer future, launches today.

We need disabled people and unpaid carers of disabled children, young people and adults in the UK to share their real experiences with us, so we can understand where better design is most needed: https://bit.ly/TheUnfairIndex

When we say ‘disabled people’, we include neurodivergent people (for example, autistic, ADHD, dyslexic), people with mental health conditions, chronic illness, learning disabilities, sensory and physical impairments.

We want to hear from all of you.

The world is full of barriers for disabled people, because society isn't designed with everyone in mind. Those barriers can take away things that everyone deserves - freedom, confidence, opportunity.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Not if we design and build differently.

Together with our Lived Experience Advisors, we have designed our largest piece of research ever. Now we need you.

Image descriptions: A powered wheelchair user moving along on the paving outside with text: Share your everyday barriers, help design a fairer future.

26/03/2026

A big thank you to Hampton Court Palace for hosting Kingston Carers Network for our recent away day in their beautiful Clore Learning Centre.

It was a really valuable day bringing staff and trustees together to focus on how we communicate - from making our own voice accessible, to exploring ethical and respectful storytelling, and thinking carefully about how we talk about unpaid care. The Carers Trust narrative framing guide offered us a lot of really important insights here.

We also spent some time mapping our networks and identifying a small, practical step each of us can take to strengthen our connections locally.

And of course, it was also a real treat for our team to be able to explore the palace and gardens in the sunshine! Thank you again for such a generous and welcoming space Historic Royal Palaces.

24/03/2026

We’re excited to share that Kingstonian FC are offering young carers from Kingston Carers Network and their families free entry to Match Day on April 4th (Kingstonian vs Horndean), plus free food, refreshments, goody bags, and the chance for children to be match day mascots!

📧 To join, email [email protected] to let us know how many of your family members will be attending.

John Bangs

17/03/2026

We are delighted to be nominated for the Kingston Borough Business Awards (KBBA) in two categories - Community Impact of the Year and Outstanding Young Futures. 🎉

This year, for the first time in KBBA history, you can cast one vote across all categories for the finalist of your choice to win the new Kingston Business Choice Award (decided independently from the judged KBBA categories).

Please consider supporting us! https://www.kbba.co.uk/awards-2026/finalists/

Kingston Chamber of Commerce

13/03/2026

Continuing to celebrate this week 💙, our Young Adult Carers (16–25) headed to Hollywood Bowl for a special outing called 🎳 - a fun chance to relax and socialise together.

During the session they also created “Polaroid Portraits” - taking instant photos and pairing them with short reflections, sharing either a personal goal for the future or something they appreciate about being part of the group. A simple but meaningful way to capture their hopes and connections while reflecting on this year’s theme of Fairer Futures for Young Carers.

Meanwhile, our younger carers continued to get creative, designing their own t-shirts that proudly celebrate what the day means to them. They also baked and iced cupcakes, decorating them with flags representing their future career aspirations.

We are grateful to Carers Trust, whose grant funding helped make these sessions possible.