My connection to Caring Matters Now began when my daughter, Alicia, was born with Congenital Melanocytic Naevus (CMN). From the very start, the charity was there for us, offering support, guidance, and a sense of community that meant so much.
I think the first time Lily and Martha ‘met’ was through the Caring Matters Now Online Baby and Toddler group. They then met in person at the North East Regional Gathering at Newham Grange Farm this summer. They hit it off straight away!
On Saturday 19th October we hosted our annual Support Contact Training Day online, inviting all Caring Matters Now volunteers to the morning session and having a focused afternoon for our Support Contacts to think about their next events.
Living with CMN or parenting a child with CMN can feel quite overwhelming and stir up a whole range of emotions such as fear, anxiety, and worry. As a charity, we want to support our members to reach their full potential and help them to develop key social and emotional life skills.
A total of 10 online Community events were hosted between October 2023 and March 2024, this included 5 Combined Baby & Toddler and Stay & Play Infant Group events, 1 Stay & Play Infant Group event and 1 Baby & Toddler Group event!
A total of 10 online Community events were hosted between October 2023 and March 2024, including 3 Gaming events! This group was attended by a group of young people with CMN and siblings, between the ages of 9-13 years, getting together for an hour of gaming each month! The group are well accustomed to Fortnite,…
It was that time of year again, our annual Support Contact Training Day! As the day arrived, our team travelled from across the UK and Ireland to join us in person, whilst those who were joining online got set up at home for the day with a gifted box of biscuits and a hot chocolate!
Our Gaming community meets once per month for an hour on a Thursday evening. We have played several cross-platform games, including Minecraft, Rocket League and Fortnite, with Fortnite being a favourite among the group.
From October to March, our Baby and Toddler Community, for 0–3-year-olds and their siblings, have met once per month on alternative Friday and Saturday mornings.
At the end of 2022, we invited our teen and young adult members to a Young Adults Panel Q&A session. Our Young Adults had so much great experience and insight to share that, despite not having any sign-ups for the event, we decided to record the conversation and make it accessible to all our members.…
