Category: Blog

We are proud to announce a new grant to support local families navigating the pain of grief and loss. Through our partnership with St Helena Hospice, funding from the Charlie Watkins Foundation will help launch ‘Chat with Charlie’, a dedicated family bereavement programme set to begin this autumn ahead of National Grief Awareness Day on 30th August.

The programme will provide a safe, welcoming environment for bereaved children, young people, and their parents to process grief together, express their emotions, and build connections with others facing similar journeys.

Supporting Families Through Loss

Losing a loved one can feel deeply isolating. While parents share experiences and receive guidance on supporting their children, young participants will take part in creative activities like crafting memory boxes, sharing stories, and exploring feelings through art.

Led by specialist bereavement staff, these sessions are designed to build resilience, develop healthy coping strategies, and protect long-term emotional wellbeing.

Honouring Charlie’s Memory

This initiative holds a deeply personal meaning for our foundation. Charlie’s mother, Sarah, was cared for by St Helena Hospice before she passed away from cancer when Charlie was just nine years old. Her loss had a profound impact on his mental health as he grew up, and Charlie tragically took his own life in 2017 at the age of 22.

Having experienced first-hand the long-lasting impact of childhood bereavement, Tim and Harry Watkins established the Charlie Watkins Foundation, managed on their behalf by the Essex Community Foundation, to support young people struggling with their mental health.

Reflecting on the new initiative, Tim Watkins said:

“The impact of losing his mum at nine years old stayed with Charlie throughout his life, and as a family we know first-hand how deeply bereavement can affect children and young people. Through our own experiences, we’ve learned how important it is to have the right support at the right time, and how powerful it can be to connect with people who truly understand what you’re going through.

“While we cannot change what happened to Charlie, we can honour his memory by helping other families facing the challenges of grief and loss. That’s why we’re proud to support St Helena Hospice in launching Chat with Charlie. We hope it will provide a safe and welcoming space where children, young people and parents can share their experiences, feel less alone and find strength in one another.

“If this programme helps families navigate some of the most difficult moments in their lives, encourages open conversations about grief and gives even one child the support they need to cope with loss, then it will be a fitting tribute to Charlie and the legacy he continues to inspire.”

Building Stronger Connections

Alison Gray, Director of Care at St Helena Hospice, highlighted the difference this support will make:

“We are so grateful to the Charlie Watkins Foundation for funding our new programme to support families through loss and grief.

“Parents often tell us how hard it is to support their bereaved children while coping with the loss of their partner themselves, and how isolating and lonely this can be. Children also tell us they feel different from their friends and classmates.

“Bringing families together who are going through similar experiences can help them feel less alone. It can be reassuring for children to see that others feel the way they do, which can make a real difference to their emotional wellbeing and help prevent longer-term mental health difficulties.”

Chat with Charlie will begin later this year for referred families.

We are deeply honoured to fund this vital service and continue Charlie’s legacy by ensuring no young person or family has to navigate grief alone.

As we come to the end of 2025, we wanted to thank you for your generous support of the Charlie Watkins Foundation.

2025 has been another active year for us, and as it draws to a close we want to update you on some of our activities over the past 12 months.

National Project

Our support of Student Minds contributed to the development of online directories, collating the mental health support available to universities across the UK. The response to our online guides, both for students transitioning into the next stage of their lives, and for parents concerned about how to address issues with their children, remains massively helpful.

What we are doing locally

Our relationship continues with Essex & Suffolk Youth Enquiry Service “YES”, based in Colchester.  On a recent visit, their CEO, Maeve Borges, explained that they had over 100 young people waiting for counselling and had closed their waiting list. Thankfully, this has reopened, but demand remains high, with hundreds of students seeking assistance.

It is good to know that young people are wanting to talk about their mental health and Charlie’s Cabin, in the grounds of YES, provides a safe and comfortable space where they can talk. However, the number of young people looking for help is concerning, so we are committed to providing as many opportunities as possible for counselling through YES and their vital work in local schools.

“The impact made by the YES service [funded by the Charlie Watkins Foundation] has been invaluable. It has such a positive impact on our students mental health and wellbeing. We are able to refer students’ and they receive beneficial, impactful 1-2-1 support with little waiting time, rather than having to refer to external agencies and be offered group support.”

Further information on the impact of this scheme can be found here: https://cwfoundation.co.uk/2025/11/27/yes-case-study-changing-young-lives-through-in-school-counselling/

Bereavement support

This year, we continued our support of an initiative helping children and young people who are struggling following a bereavement.

HBBS Counselling, based in Brentwood, was founded in 1989 and provides professional and confidential counselling to local adults, young people and children. We initially gave HBBS a grant of £8,000 in 2024 specifically for their work with young people and children, and following the positive feedback we received, we committed to give them a further £12,000 over two years to help them continue running this important service.

Our funding will help them provide over 250 sessions of specialist face to face counselling to children, as well as the teachers and families who support the young person in their care.  Feedback has shown the sessions enabled children to talk about and understand their feelings and difficult emotions, and learn coping mechanisms to help them move forward.

Charlie’s Champions

Our Charlie’s Champions really are amazing and we couldn’t continue the support we give without their incredible efforts.

Below are just a few of the challenges and events they’ve undertaken this year:

• John and Josh Neil raised significant funds by completing another marathon cycle ride up and down the hills of Italy
• Harry and three friends of Charlie’s – Joe, Freddie and Sam – scrambled up and down mountains only to be defeated by the slow traffic on motorways in their attempt to complete the three peaks in 24 hours
• Pen Insurance have held numerous events for CWF during the year and continue to be great supporters
• Golfers took on the challenge of Westerham Golf Course with Mulligans being purchased and there was strong competition for the coveted title of the Champion team of the year.

and, of course, our grateful thanks to everyone who continue to make regular donations.

Upcoming events

We are busy planning events for 2026 that you can support or get involved in, including our popular Walk and Talk event.

We are also pleased to announce that following the incredible success of our last Charity Ball, where we welcomed 350 guests and raised over £100,000 together, we will be hosting another one next year.

Details about all of our upcoming events will be available on our website.  Please make sure that you, and as many friends as possible, are signed up to receive our newsletter so you don’t miss the dates! If you’ve yet to subscribe, do so here!

We had a fantastic day at the beginning of October at the beautiful Westerham Golf Club for The Charlie Watkins Foundation Golf Day!

We were delighted to welcome 60 players on this lovely autumnal day, all competing for the prestigious honour of winning the main competition.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of everyone involved, this event raised over £10,000 for The Charlie Watkins Foundation!

This means the absolute world to us and will go directly towards helping us continue our vital work, supporting young people with their mental health and promoting a culture of openness and support.

A massive thank you once again to Westerham Golf Club for hosting us, to everyone who took part, and to those who helped make the day such a huge success.

We are delighted to announce that Harry, Joe, Freddie, and Sam completed the Three Peaks Challenge in 25 hours and 6 minutes, with 12 hours 45 minutes spent on the mountains. A truly an amazing achievement!

Battling what was the hottest day in Scotland in two years (with temperatures hitting over 30 degrees on Ben Nevis!), traffic, and diversions, the lads pushed through some serious conditions, achieving some amazing individual mountain times:

• Ben Nevis: 5 hours 20 mins (26,876 steps)
• Scafell Pike: 3 hours 15 mins (16,466 steps)
• Snowdon: 4 hours 10 mins (20,378 steps)
• Total elevation gain: 2957 meters (1318 Ben Nevis, 904 Scafell, 735 Snowdon)
• Total distance: 36.32 km (15.43 Ben Nevis, 8.54 Scafell, 12.26 Snowdon)

And for those curious about the sheer physical exertion, here are some fun facts about estimated sweat loss:

• Snowdon: 3,726ml
• Scafell Pike: 2,344ml
• Ben Nevis: 4,562ml

Thanks to your incredible generosity, the total amount raised for the challenge so far, including Gift Aid, stands at a fantastic £9,242!

The dedication shown by Harry, Joe, Freddie, and Sam in taking on this challenge for what would have been Charlie’s 30th birthday is truly inspiring. From everyone at the Charlie Watkins Foundation, well done everyone!

f you haven’t already, please consider donating to 4 Boys, 3 Peaks, 24 Hours via Enthuse.

Your donations to the foundation mean the world to us, and brings us closer to supporting others struggling with mental health challenges!

As we come to the end of 2024, we wanted to thank you for your generous support of the Charlie Watkins Foundation.

In Charlie’s memory, we continue to support young people who are struggling with their mental health and their families, but without you and our Charlie’s Champions helping us to raise funds, we wouldn’t be able to achieve as much as we are doing.

Charlie’s Champions
We are grateful for the fundraising efforts of our Charlie’s Champions during the year. They have undertaken or organised some amazing fundraising events and activities in 2024, including:

• Individuals, like Pete, who ran the London Marathon
• The Lloyds Under 30s who raised nearly £10,000 throughout the year
• Our ‘Walkers and Talkers’ who joined us on a windy day in April and raised over £2,000
• Pen Insurance who have held many fundraising events over the past 12 months
• The golfers who joined us at Royal Blackheath Golf Club in October and raised over £15,000
• Fred Evans, who held a freemasonry charity event, where the chosen charity was the CWF, and raised £4k
• and, of course, our thanks to everyone who continue to make regular donations.

A Wedding Gift
One of the most wonderful ways that Charlie was remembered this year, was on 4 August, when one of his oldest and closest friends, Max Kendrick, celebrated his wedding. He and the wonderful new Mrs Kendrick chose to make the Charlie Watkins Foundation the beneficiary of gifts for those who preferred to donate rather than buying them another new kettle! A big thank you to Max and Charlotte for this most wonderful gesture and to all those who donated so generously.

What we have been doing
We have continued our support of local charities, including YES (Colchester and Tendring Youth Enquiry Service) in Colchester which has helped 137 young people to access mental health support including counselling, with 822 sessions provided, across 10 schools in North East Essex in the past 6 months.

We worked alongside “Headstrong” who hosted a special podcast with Alistair Campbell raising over £10,000 and reminding us all that everyone however young or old, high profile or not are susceptible to mental health challenges. Read more and catch up on the podcast.

We have also provided funding to BCCS, a charity based in Brentwood and that works across Essex, providing support to boys who would usually be resistant to asking for help.

This year we supported the Young Concern Trust in Harlow helping to provide counselling for children and young people aged 11 to 19. In addition, we funded Heads2Minds, a charity based in Maldon, to support children and young people aged 11-16 who have experienced bereavement or grief. Both of these charities are helping young people in their mental health and SMASHING THE STIGMA.

We continue to support Student Minds in the development of their directories for students which is now in nearly all Universities in England and just under 50% of the universities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Upcoming events
2025 will mark Charlie’s 30th Birthday and we already have plans for events that you can either support or get involved with, including:

• Harry and some of Charlie’s friends climbing the three peaks (Ben Nevis, Scarfel and Snowdon) in April. There is talk that some of the older generation, including me, joining them on the climb up Snowdon! (I am told there is a train!)
• The bi-annual cricket match, with many of Charlie’s old friends donning their ‘whites’, is scheduled for July so please join us for this great day in memory of Charlie.
• It is rumoured that some of our intrepid cyclers will be embarking on yet another gruelling challenge. We wait to hear!
• Towards the end of 2025 we will be holding another major event along the lines of The Oval Ball. Watch this space.

We will share details about all of our events under Current Events. Please make sure that you and as many friends as possible, are signed up to receive our newsletter so you don’t miss the dates.

A group of enthusiastic of walkers, furry companions in tow, laced up their boots on Saturday, June 1st for a scenic 6-mile trek through the heart of the Suffolk countryside, escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The popular Walk and Talk, which kicked off at 2pm at The Crown Pub in Stoke By Nayland, proved to be a huge success, raising a staggering £1,119.72 to support young people with their mental health and wellbeing.

This event is always one of our most popular, and the atmosphere is always one of friendship and support, and also draws on the positive impact of spending time outdoors in nature.

We are already looking forward to next year’s event, aiming for it to be even bigger and better.

We were thrilled to participate in a live Headstrong podcast this month, featuring special guest Alastair Campbell, where he took to the stage and addressed his own journey battling mental health.

Over 160 attendees joined Headstrong for this inspiring conversation, where Louis from Headstrong delved deep into Alastair’s relationship with alcohol, his journey with mental health, and his coping mechanisms, including the unwavering support from his wife. Being set during Mental Health Awareness Week, this discussion couldn’t have been more timely.

This charity event was in support of both the Charlie Watkins Foundation and the Nick Kilhams Foundation. A big thank you to everyone that attended the evening, and a huge thank you to Alastair for his candid and engaging conversation.

Catch the podcast below via YouTube:

Or listen via Spotify:

You can also read more about Alastair’s journey following on from this podcast via the Independent

About Alastair Campbell

Alastair Campbell is a writer, podcaster, communicator, campaigner and strategist best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy.

Still actively in politics and campaigns in Britain and overseas, he now splits his time between writing, speaking, broadcasting, charities and consultancy.

When we founded the Charlie Watkins Foundation following Charlie’s passing 7 years ago today, we set out to fund projects to help young people both locally and nationally through various means, while also building a fund to ensure that these could be supported for years to come in Charlie’s memory.

We are pleased to share with you that thanks to your support and generosity we continue to fund the provision of School Navigators. This has seen around 800 young people receive support through over 3000 school navigator sessions. We are also continuing to support Student Minds in their development of platforms to inform students of the support and services available to them. And our work with similar Trusts has brought about the development of online and video guides for all.

While doing all of this, and equally as importantly, we are delighted to tell you that the charitable fund we have been building, alongside our annual grants, to ensure continuity of these initiatives has now exceeded £500,000 which secures a true legacy in Charlie’s name.

Having achieved this goal doesn’t mean that we are reducing our efforts, and we truly appreciate your support at the events we organise. Every penny you kindly donate goes to improving the lives of young people.

Thank you for your support, and best wishes.

Tim and Harry

One of Charlies great friends from their days together at York University has agreed to become an Ambassador of the Charlie Watkins Foundation. Charlie and Radley shared accommodation at university and became great friends due to their shared interests on and off the sporting fields.
Radley has recently completed the Pacific Crest Trail walking 2,655 miles to raise funds in Charlie’s memory.

Radley said of Charlie and becoming an Ambassador of The Charlie Watkins Foundation. “Charlie was a constant source of energy and entertainment and his absence has left a big hole in the lives of everyone he knew. It was the easiest decision of my life to work with Tim and Harry to raise funds while walking the length of America and I am now honoured to become an ambassador for the Charlie Watkins Foundation and continue my work for this amazing cause.”

To mark this years World Mental Health Day on October 10th, our charity partner, Pen Underwriting, engaged in a thoughtful podcast discussion with us to shed light on we are supporting the mental wellbeing of young children and adults.

The podcast, hosted by Matt Hope and Liz Abrahams, both integral members of Pen’s Inclusion and Diversity committee, delved into the impactful strides that we are making in the realm of mental health. Pen particularly put focus towards the proactive care that the we offer to both schoolchildren and university students, recognising the crucial need to identify periods of heightened stress and anxiety, especially during times of transition and change.

Check out the podcast below and can gain valuable insights into how we are making a difference:

Want to know more about how Pen Underwriting support the Charlie Watkins Foundation? Click here to watch the video shared at our One Pen Summer Conference earlier this year.