Apache and Present Made have selected Blue Smile, a children’s mental health charity based in Cambridge, as their Charity of the Year for 2026. Present Made’s flagship scheme, Eddington Cambridge, launched earlier this year and the business is supporting a local Cambridge charity to help children enjoy happier childhoods and build brighter futures.

Blue Smile – children’s mental health charity

More children than ever are facing mental health difficulties. When they’re struggling with anxiety, grief, anger, guilt or shame, it’s vital that children get prompt, effective support – otherwise the impact on their wellbeing and life chances can be devastating.

Blue Smile has been providing specialist, arts-based mental health support to children in Cambridgeshire schools since 2010 – but the need for our help is greater than ever. Your support can help more children access the support they need to enjoy happier childhoods and build brighter futures.

What we do

Blue Smile provides specialist, arts-based mental health support to children aged 3-13 in Cambridgeshire schools, so they can enjoy happier childhoods and build brighter futures. We deliver our support in schools, so it’s easy for children to access whatever their family circumstances. Working in around 30 schools, we provide:

• 1:1 arts-based therapy to help children who are struggling with their mental health come to terms with difficult experiences and feelings, and develop coping strategies.

• Support for parents to understand and meet their child’s needs – parents of children receiving 1:1 therapy will have at least 3 sessions with their therapist.

• Advice and mentoring for teachers, equipping them to support children’s mental health and manage wellbeing in the classroom.

• Small-group support for children who need a bit of extra help to manage big feelings or situations like moving to secondary school; our groupwork programmes support 6-8 children with a weekly session over 6 weeks.

• Mental health education through class work, assemblies and other activities to promote understanding of emotional wellbeing across the school community.

How your support can make a difference:

• £20 could fund art-therapy materials like paint, sand and modelling clay to help a child share feelings they find it hard to put into words.

• £28 could enable a child who is struggling with anxiety to attend a small-group support session as part of our “Worry Warriors” programme, helping them understand their worries and develop coping strategies.

• £40 could fund a therapy session for a child, enabling them to explore difficult feelings and experiences with an experienced therapist.

• £100 could fund two mentoring sessions for a teacher, building their confidence to support children’s emotional health in the classroom.

• £120 could provide support for parents of a child with mental health difficulties, funding three 1:1 meetings with a therapist to help them better understand and support their child’s emotional wellbeing.

• £520 could fund weekly 1:1 therapy for one school term for a child who is struggling to cope with family breakdown, illness or bereavement, giving them the time and space to explore their feelings with a trusted therapist.

• £1020 would fund a “Moving on Up” group for 8 children over 6 weekly sessions, helping them prepare for a successful move to secondary school by providing a supportive space to explore their worries, build confidence and learn coping strategies.