PiGs chooses Harry’s Pals as Charity of the Year for 25-26

PiGs AKA People in Glazing Society has chosen Harry’s Pals for its Charity of the Year 2025 and 26. Harry’s Pals provides emotional support to parents who have recently been given the heart-breaking and life changing news that their son or daughter has a severe illness or disability.  

PiGs is committed to raising £100,000 over the next two years for Harry’s Pals, which will support the charity to roll out a national programme of support for parents facing devastating diagnoses.  

The charity was set up by Hayley Charlesworth to bridge a huge support gap in support that Hayley and her family experienced when her son Harry was born with significant brain damage in 2015. 

The charity knows the impact of not being able to receive any emotional support following a diagnosis and the impact that this has on a parent’s ability to cope.  

It is keen to help as many families as possible to feel supported, so they can avoid harrowing consequences down the line.  

To do this, Harry’s Pals works with hospitals, hospices and other charities who signpost families for free bespoke counselling and therapy sessions, providing mums and dads with the opportunity to build their strength and resilience and aiding the with coping mechanisms for the road ahead.  

The charity also provides families with the opportunity to have a short break away, free from routines and appointments, allowing them to make lasting, positive memories when time is so precious. Importantly, the charity also campaigns for better support to be offered to families affected by disability.  

Sarah said: “It’s important to us that the PiGs Charity of the Year is connected to the glazing industry. I first found out about the charity through Profine’s Global Director Andrew Charlesworth, Harry’s dad, who was part of the PiGs climbs Kilimanjaro team in 2024. We had Hayley and Andrew on Two PiGs in a Pod, and almost as the recording finished George asked me if we could help the charity more. As a father, he was deeply moved after talking to Hayley about Harry’s Pals.  

“Then I met Hayley. Her passion for wanting to ensure parents have emotional support at this critical time was truly inspiring. Parents are at their most vulnerable at that time, I know because I too have in that position.  

“The national roll out is a huge task, and the money we raise will go direct to working with more and more hospitals and organisations.” 

Hayley commented: “We are so incredibly grateful and happy to be nominated as the People in Glazing’s charity for 2025 and 2026. Harry’s Pals are a small charity providing services which are otherwise unavailable, meaning that we have a high demand for support.  

“It’s a constant challenge to bring in enough funding to support the desperate families who come to us in need of our help.  

“The last thing we would ever want to do, is say no to a mum or dad really devastated by the impact of their child’s harrowing diagnosis.  

“So when we received the news that PiGs are supporting us, as you can imagine we was thrilled; to raise funds and awareness is so important to us and to be  given the opportunity to raise our profile within the glazing industry is just such an exciting prospect for us at Harry’s Pals.  

“Thank you to Sarah, Andy and team, we are really looking forward to working with you”. 

To find out more about Harry’s Pals please visit: www.harryspals.org  

And you can watch our episode of Two PiGs in a Pod, featuring Hayley and Andrew here: https://youtu.be/P5K-5NVxfgY