On 8th June 2026 Jen Rutter, Partnerships and Funding Officer for Red Hen, visited the club to give an update on their work.
The Red Hen charity has been supporting families in Cambridge for almost 30 years; their mission is to raise and empower happy children and families.
Originally, they only supported primary age children and their families, now they are supporting families with children transitioning into secondary schools. The team has grown to 10 staff of family and project workers. In addition to their work in north Cambridge, they are now supporting families in the Abbey area with another local charity already in that area..
Last year Red Hen supported 840 people, 63 with intense family support for 9-12 months. This area, around The Meadows, is known as a deprived area of Cambridge and most of their work is around here. Housing pressures, rising cost of living along with poor mental health, isolation, issues at school all compound their problems.
Families are referred by schools and GPs. Family and project workers will work with the family and identify the help and provision that will help them, including referral to other agencies as appropriate. In addition to daily drop-in sessions in the local area there are holiday visits both locally and further afield.
Jen said that since her last visit to the club in 2023 there has been and increase in family participation, more/new activities, family events and stronger community partnerships and more opportunities for families to connect with Red Hen.
The club was pleased to make a donation of £200 to Red Hen to further support their work.
For further information about Red Hen click here.