Broadcaster and advocate for child welfare and wellbeing, Martin Roberts, is proud to be officially launching The Martin Roberts Foundation in London at The House of Commons on 14thJune 2018, to help support and improve the lives of vulnerable children and young people, through greater safeguarding, wellbeing and nationwide educational initiatives. Martin will host this event, welcoming support from celebrity and VIP names such as Calum Best, Helen Lederer, Charlie Webster, Kai Owen, Graham Cole OBE, as well as the CEO of the NSPCC, Peter Wanless, amongst others.
According to Martin:-
“I am truly delighted to launch my Foundation at such a pivotal time in terms of national child safeguarding agendas, not only from a personal perspective to help give back, but also in relation to how themes such as child wellness, welfare and education are finally getting the attention they deserve”
Martin added: “The mission of The Martin Roberts Foundation is to support educational, safe guarding and wellbeing initiatives for children and young people, whether this be understanding behavioural shifts through bullying and social or mental health challenges to helping to empower a new generation of responsible young people through financial education”
In 2018/19, the main priority for The Martin Roberts Foundation is to fundraise £500,000, in order to gift and deliver a FREE copy of Martin’s Sadsville book to every child in Year 4 (8-9 year olds). Sadsvilleis part of The Villes series of children’s books, penned by Martin himself. A special version of Sadsville not only encourages children to change upsetting circumstances, but also includes information on how to approach Childline, if they need help and support.
Martin is proud to announce that Dame Esther Rantzen DBE, Founder/President of Childline, has recently offered her support to the Sadsville campaign. She says
“Thank you for creating this highly entertaining and original way of raising children’s awareness of how they can reach out for help through support services such as Childline. I wish the Sadsville book project every success”
Sadsville tells the story of a central character called Herman who travels to places where things are not as they should be. As an outsider, Herman can adopt a ‘helicopter’ approach and see that things are not as they should be. Herman works with the characters in each of the Villes books to help find a solution to different problems. He encourages a different way of looking at circumstances and his approach can help young readers how to solve problems in a way that makes sense to them. Herman’s character can also help children to better understand life’s challenges and problems in a clear and simple way. In addition, there is also a direct call to action to Childline within the book, with a helpline number to contact should they want or need to talk to a responsible and trusted adult, in confidence.
The Sadsville book has already received acclaim in prestigious academic circles, with one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology and neuroscience of resilience, Elaine Fox, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford, saying:-
“Depression is maintained, and perhaps even caused, by deeply entrenched negative thinking. Negative thoughts about themselves, the world around them, and the future can capture a child’s mind and drag them into a downward spiral. SADSVILLE helps to break this toxic cycle by getting kids to think about sadness in a unique way, providing them with a platform to challenge the negative gremlins inside their heads and to realise that the gremlins are just that – gremlins- and not a true reflection of reality”
As well as Dame Esther Rantzen DBE, other well-known celebrities have read extracts from the book, offering campaign support, to include: David Hasselhoff, Jeremy Vine, Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway, amongst others. The Sadsvillebook may also serve as a directory of support services and charities that work with children and young people.
Martin will continue to run his lifestyle event Achieve, successfully established in 2017, focusing on a weekend of health, wealth and happiness in Bristol, this October 2018. Helen Lederer is the first headline speaker to be announced for Achieve 2018. Set up as an events brand with a social purpose, Achieve will help to raise funds for The Martin Roberts Foundation.
For more information about The Martin Roberts Foundation please visit http://www.martinrobertsfoundation.org