The Chances for Children Campaign

Levelling the playing field: raising £10m to close the education gap for children in poverty and crisis

Frank Buttle witnessed the suffering of many children during his lifetime. He wanted to give them a better future. Over 65 years later, this is what we still do.

The last five years have seen the creation of Chances for Children grants, an innovation in the way Buttle UK delivers its grant-giving. These grants, averaging £1,500 in value, are designed to meet the multiple needs of vulnerable children and young people by funding a holistic package of support. They meet immediate physical needs by paying for household items, such as a cooker or children’s beds, and also meet a child’s longer-term educational and emotional needs, providing things such as course materials and after school activities.

Buttle UK launched its Chances for Children Campaign in April 2016, with a goal to raise an additional £10m in five years. The Campaign reached its goal in January 2021, but as a result of the high levels of need created by the COVID-19 crisis the Chances for Children Campaign Board have set themselves the goal of raising another £10m over the next 3-5 years.

During the pandemic children have been isolated at home, away from school, friends, and wider family. Many have had little or no education during the lockdowns. Physical exercise has been limited.

For some children these experiences have been on top of ongoing abuse, neglect, and living in permanently stressful homes without the basics most of us take for granted. Problems which have themselves been further exacerbated by the crisis. The economic impact of the pandemic means many more children will join them.

As children have been returning to school the true scale of these problems will be revealed, as will the growing education gap. The next phase of our campaign is about levelling the playing field by giving disadvantaged children the opportunity to close this gap.

Our goals…

To raise another £10m within 3-5 years
To focus this funding on children made even more vulnerable by the crisis, and who are in danger of being ‘left behind’
To improve educational engagement for another 10,000+ children and young people

The first £10m

This short film tells the story of the funds raised through our Chances for Children Campaign so far, and the amazing impact it's had.