New Trustee

We are delighted to say that Kelly Doughty, who has been heavily involved with Clockwork since the very start, has agreed to become our fourth Trustee. 

Clockwork was formed after Kelly’s son Billy took his own life in 2016 – indeed, the name, Clockwork, comes from Billy’s favourite album, ‘…Like Clockwork’ by Queens of the Stone Age. Billy had been a guitar student of Matt Hayes, Clockwork’s Chairman and founder, who decided to set up a charity dedicated to offering mental health support in the wake of Billy’s passing.

Kelly continues to support her daughter in coming to terms with losing Billy and wants to share her experience of mental illness, not only to help those struggling with mental health issues, but to bring better support and understanding of mental health issues to families and the wider community.

Partnership with Oxted School

As we announced a few weeks ago, we were delighted to announce that we have partnered with Oxted School to further develop the support available for young people at the school. With Clockwork’s ongoing funding commitments an in-school counselling service is now available for students 5 days a week, with training and support for staff, students and parents also being offered. 

Both Oxted School and Clockwork would like to acknowledge and thank the work of the Friends of Oxted School (FOXS) and those who have supported their fundraising activities.  The FOXS are continuing to raise funds to provide spaces that will help facilitate the work of the counsellors. They have enabled the Wellbeing Building to be transformed into a place where students needing help can feel safe and secure.

Donations & Fundraising

Clockwork does not receive any fixed central or local authority funding, and so we are totally reliant on the generosity and efforts of those who donate to us, and raise money in our name, to be able to continue our work helping young people in the local community. We have been very fortunate recently to have received some extremely generous donations, which will help fund our ongoing partnership with Oxted School, as well as allowing us to expand our counselling referral programme.

The John Laing Charitable Trust, an independent grant-making charity associated with the John Laing Group, has recently made a donation of £10,000 to support Clockwork’s counselling programme. Currently, we are only able to offer zoom sessions, or face-to-face appointments in Warlingham. As a result of the John Laing donation, we are now able to actively seek additional counsellors to work with, which will increase our capacity for how many people we can refer for counselling at any one time, with our main priority to be able to offer face-to-face appointments in Oxted. 

We were also extremely thankful to have received a £2,000 donation from The Royal Warrant Holders Association. The RWHA have a charitable fund, with money allocated to charities connected to those who hold warrants. We are very grateful that they chose Clockwork as one of their beneficiaries this year, and we thank them for their generosity. 

Meanwhile, Clockwork Trustees Kelly Doughty & Peter Green have both been busy on their feet recently, and all the while raising money for Clockwork. Kelly ran the Royal Parks half-marathon and raised over £2000 for Clockwork; while Pete ran the London Marathon for the third time – complete with dyed hair rocking the Clockwork red – recording his quickest time and raising over £3000 for us. Our huge congratulations and thanks to both Kelly and Peter – a true paid of legends – and thank you so much to anyone who donated to them. 

If you would like to, and feel able to, support Clockwork then there is a link to donate on our website https://www.clockwork.org.uk/

And, finally…

A reminder that our counselling referral programme is still running, providing young people in the local area with access to free counselling sessions. If you, or someone you know, could benefit from some support, guidance or just having someone to talk to, then please get in touch with us at support@clockwork.org.uk. All details of the counselling referral process can be found at clockwork.org.uk/counselling. 

We will be holding another Parents & Carers Support Group in January – exact date TBC. This is open to any parents and carers, and is an informal discussion group, offering a secure, friendly and confidential space to discuss concerns and worries, share experiences and offer each other support. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for details of the exact date, time and location. 

Clockwork will once again have a tree at the United Reformed Church Christmas Tree Festival, which runs at the URC (on Bluehouse Lane) from Tuesday 21st to Thursday 23rd December, open between 4pm and 7pm each day. The festival is a chance for a range of local charities and community groups to celebrate Christmas, while raising awareness about their work and hopefully raising some money for their cause. It’s a lovely event, and we are very pleased to once again be a part of it.

For the latest on what we’re up to, give us a follow on Facebook @clockworkcharity and Instagram @clockworkoxted. And you can always get in touch with us via email enquiries@clockwork.org.uk.

All that is left to say is that we wish everyone a healthy and very happy Christmas and New Year – we hope 2022 is a great one for you.