Will Hammond didn’t set out to work in the charity sector.
He trained as a primary school teacher, moved into sports coaching and later worked in care before finding his way to Cherry Trees, the East Clandon charity providing short breaks for children and young people with complex disabilities.
In this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, I visit Cherry Trees to talk with Will about his own route into fundraising, the families the charity supports and why respite care is about far more than simply giving parents a break.
Cherry Trees was founded in 1980 by Dr Helen Foley and a group of parents who recognised the lack of short-break provision for families caring for children with complex disabilities. Today, children can stay for anything from a short visit to more extended periods, giving families time to rest and recharge while the children enjoy what Will describes as a genuine “home from home”.
Will explains why the experience is designed around fun, familiarity and choice, from favourite meals and activities to trips out, entertainers and time spent simply doing what each child enjoys. The aim is to create an environment that feels as normal and comfortable as possible, while providing the specialist support each child needs.
They also talk about the scale of the fundraising challenge. Across its services, Cherry Trees costs around £3 million a year to run, with roughly half coming from local authority funding and the remainder needing to be raised through the community, businesses, events and individual supporters.
Community has been central to Cherry Trees from the beginning. Will shares how local people helped secure the charity’s East Clandon home, how relationships with neighbouring businesses and organisations continue to support its work, and why small local charities depend so heavily on genuine, long-term connections.
The conversation also covers the charity’s expansion into Hampshire with Goldcrest Lodge, opened earlier this year in response to growing demand, as well as the different ways people and businesses across Surrey can get involved.
For Will, supporting a local charity shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all relationship. Cherry Trees invites people to visit, meet the team, understand the work and find a way of helping that feels meaningful to them.
It’s a conversation about care, community, fundraising and the importance of giving families space to recharge while making sure children still get to enjoy life on their own terms.
In this podcast, the terms “learning disability” and “Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP)” were incorrectly referred to as “mental disability” and “emergency healthcare plan.”
