Listening Ear 4 U is gearing up to host one of his biggest ever fundraising events next month
The founders of a group which offers a lifeline to parents and carers of children with additional needs have issued a rallying call to the people of Hull to support a special fundraiser. Anna Ashton and Hollie Lowthorpe first formed Listening Ear 4 U back in 2020, coming together through social media after reaching out online for support and help for their children, who have special educational needs (SEN).
Anna, 45, had been hoping she could find a support network, to offer her advice for her son Jay, who has complex needs, and was 14 at the time. Hollie, mum to Felicity, had been doing the same.
Anna told how she was unable to root out the support she wanted, yet found a new friend in Hollie. The two decided there was only one course of action to take – to join forces and create a community organisation group of their own. Jump forward to 2025 and the Listening Ear 4 U group now has 1,400 members on its Facebook page, demonstrating just how vital their self-funded group has become, and how many people they have helped through tough times in the SEN community.
Mum-of-four and grandmother-of-one Anna said: “My son Jay has very complex needs and I didn’t get any support with Jay as he was growing up. He went to a mainstream school to start with and they opened a special hub within the school.
“Then he went to Northcott School and he’s now at East Riding College in a specialist setting, but he’s struggling with that so we’re looking at something else for him. As he was growing up there was no support out there really, I just did it all alone.
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“I met Hollie online and we realised that there was a real need for activities for children with additional needs. What I found was that I could take my older son to something, but then I couldn’t take my grand-daughter, so we basically had this idea of creating our own thing.
“I would have set this group up 10 years ago but I had no one to do it with, so when I met Hollie we said ‘let’s do this’.”
Anna used to work with Hull City Council, working with children and adults with additional needs, and she also has past experience as a teaching assistant for children with additional needs. Now, she is a full-time carer for her son, having given up work to put her family first.
The rest of her time is focused on the group, which initially started out by hosting coffee mornings, giving parents and carers a place to talk and share their stories. Soon they were branching out into hosting activities for children and organising day trips, include trips to the cinema, bowling and panto visits.
Anna, who also has two daughters Leia, 27, and Leonie, 25, and older son Leon, 24, as well as a six-year-old granddaughter, Lily, said she and Hollie have built up Listening Ear 4 U to be a safe, welcoming environment where people can come together to share experiences, gain practical information, and build supportive friendships.
The group meets at Redwood Glades and at Culture Cafe in the city centre for regular coffee mornings and peer-support sessions, where members can be signposted to local services and specialist support, share advice and coping strategies and also benefit from guest speakers and information sessions.
Anna, of East Hull, said: “I didn’t think it would grow as much as it has. We have a lot of families in need of the support and we can support them, and do what we can to help.
“We get funding twice a year from Healthy Holidays but that’s it. So we have to raise money to cover everything else. We do what we can and we’re self-funded so if we have some funds we’ll put on some activities for free, otherwise parents pay for it – but with the cost-of-living crisis that’s getting difficult.”
Anna, whose selfless work with Listening Ear 4 U led to her winning the Adult Unpaid Carer Award at the Champs awards, said she hopes the people of Hull will support their upcoming big fundraising night.
A fundraising dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in Hull is set to take place on September 27, bringing together families and supporters from across the community to spread awareness of children with additional needs. The evening will include live music and entertainment, raffles, auctions, a three course meal, with all proceeds going towards Listening Ear 4 U, enabling them to carry on all the amazing activities and support for parents and carers and all of the children.
Anna said the event represents much more than a simple fundraiser and will also be a celebration of inclusivity, raising awareness of the importance of providing opportunities for every child to thrive.
She said: “We rely on donations and fundraisers, hence why we want to hold this big night. We have a lot of tickets to sell and it’s going to be great! There’s going to be live entertainment and a DJ, and we’ll have an auction with some great auction prizes – a Hull FC and Hull KR shirt to auction – and we’re hoping lots of businesses will want to take part and offer donations too.
“We want to make lots of money on the night to be able to put on free events in the future. The more money we raise, the more we can support parents.”
To buy tickets contact Anna Ashton and find more information on the Listening Ear 4 u group on their website. The organisation also has its own GoFundMe page.