The Busy Buttons #Room2Grow Appeal – Help us meet the need
Busy Buttons CORE is a volunteer-led, inclusive, local registered charity based in the heart of the Windsor community. CORE stands for Creativity, Opportunity, Respect and Empowerment, values that guide everything we do. Through creative programmes, school engagement projects, community arts events and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, we help young people build confidence, learn skills, gain a sense of belonging, self-esteem and resilience within a supportive community.
The charity was founded as a response following a life-threatening experience that inspired the founders to begin their work with young people to create positive social change through creativity. This grassroots response has grown into a vital community resource.
Busy Buttons is a safe, creative space where children and young people can build confidence, wellbeing and a sense of belonging through the arts. Over the many years, we have supported more than 20,000 participants, many of whom tell us Busy Buttons is their safe place during some of the most challenging periods of their lives. Over the many years, our screen-free creative programmes support children and young people facing anxiety, neurodiversity and emotionally based school avoidance, while also providing pathways for young adults into skills, training and employment. Busy Buttons offers acceptance, opportunity and encouragement, for children who have struggled in mainstream education or experienced stigma. Everything we do is rooted in nurturing wellbeing, helping individuals feel calm, supported, valued and able to thrive. Demand for this support has grown rapidly since Covid. Families are telling us that short-term interventions are no longer enough. Children and young people need consistent, long-term spaces that prioritise wellbeing, creativity and emotional safety.
To meet this urgent need, Busy Buttons must expand its programmes, create permanent placements and scale pathways into training and employment. Securing a larger, permanent home is essential to ensure no child or young person is left behind and that more young people can grow, thrive and contribute to their community.
The Busy Buttons #Room2Grow Appeal – Help the children find a permanent home to meet the need
Through the #Room2Grow Appeal, we are raising funds to secure a permanent home for Busy Buttons. This will allow us to expand our wellbeing-focused provision, including alternative education, creative skill-building programmes, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, supported employment pathways and community arts initiatives, ensuring no child or young person is left behind.
We strongly believe that facing barriers at any point in life does not define a young person’s future. With the right support, stability and care, they can overcome challenges and grow into confident, valued members of their community.
Demand for our services is increasing. We need your help to continue to provide these valuable experiences for local children and young people from a permanent home.
Please donate today and help give children and young people the room they need to grow in wellbeing, confidence and opportunity.
You could even help with costs like:
£15 could pay towards an art kit for a child in your community, helping them improve their wellbeing.
£30 could pay towards 1to1 support for a child with Special Needs to inclusively participate in group activities.
£75 could pay towards transport for an education trip for a group of children unable to attend school due to anxiety.
£195 could pay for a child from a low-income family to take part in a creative educational programme, reducing loneliness and isolation.
"I know that without the confidence that my experiences at Busy Buttons gave me I would not be feeling as good as I do now." 12 year old participant.
"My son has always struggled at school and in other settings due to his severe anxiety and his very low self-esteem. Busy Buttons was the first setting which got to know him and to understand him and his individual needs." Mother of 7 year old participant.
More details about the charity's Room2Grow Appeal are at www.busybuttons.org/donate
Please consider making a donation to support the Room2Grow Appeal!
