A spring fundraiser in Maidstone this month brought together church members, families, and supporters to celebrate and raise an impressive £3,675 for Growing Hope - a Christian charity offering free therapy to children and young people with additional needs.
The evening featured food, fellowship, a raffle and auction, and even a lively performance from an Elvis impersonator. Attendees also heard heartfelt testimonies from those directly impacted by the clinic’s work, painting a powerful picture of the impact Growing Hope makes to families in the local community.
Growing Hope Maidstone operates out of St Luke’s Church and is one of several centres nationwide providing free therapy for children and young people aged 0–18 with a range of needs - from learning and developmental differences to emotional and mental health challenges. While it is a separate charity, its strong partnership with St Luke’s and the wider church is central to its mission.
Rev Hollie Butler, Curate at St Luke’s and Co-Chair of Growing Hope Maidstone, shared how the church is deeply integrated with the charity’s work: “We’ve had a fantastic spring fundraiser to raise funds to continue the great work Growing Hope are doing.
“As well as having the therapy and courses running at St Luke’s, on a Sunday morning we’ve got a Growing Hope accessibility team for supporting children in their Sunday school groups, with 1-1 support and lots of ways to help them engage if they are struggling a little bit, so helping everybody worship and connect with Jesus.”
Lorraine Ackroyd, Clinic Manager and Music Therapist at Growing Hope Maidstone, explained the vision of the charity: “We provide free therapy to children and young people with additional needs, so it could be a learning disability, it could be a learning need, it could be a mental health need, it could be an undiagnosed need.
“[Prayer] is something we always offer as part of the session, because we really believe Jesus brings ultimate hope, and very real hope, so we want to offer that to families.”
In addition to therapy sessions, the charity runs supportive courses for parents and siblings' groups, helping whole families navigate the complexities of raising a child with additional needs.
One parent, Sophie, who attends St Luke’s and has accessed support through Growing Hope, spoke movingly about the impact on her son: “Growing Hope is really, really important.
“I’m a teacher, I have lots of strategies, but I felt with my own child that I’d exhausted all those strategies, and I needed some more help.
“I needed somebody else to see my child from a different point of view and trying something completely different.
“It helps people to feel like somebody cares, and it helps people to have a sense of community and belonging, and the strategies are really helpful.”
Growing Hope Maidstone is supported by a dedicated team of therapists, church volunteers, and trustees. Deputy Chair Tony Jones emphasised the charity’s dual role as both a ministry and a community service: “Growing Hope is offering support to church members and their families but more importantly to the community.
“Most of the referrals to the charity come from the local community through general practice, through schools, through social prescribers, and the wider community, so whereas the charity is embedded within the church it really is a community project and a community service.”
Those wanting to support the work of Growing Hope can do so through volunteering, regular giving, or church partnership.
To find out about Growing Hope in your community, visit the Growing Hope website or contact the team at St Luke’s, Maidstone.