In the late nineteenth century Edward Rudolf, a young Sunday School teacher and civil servant in South London, found himself confronted by the brutal effects of poverty on the lives of children. When he went to look for two young boys who had failed to turn up for his Sunday school, he was horrified to find them begging for food in the streets. It transpired that their father had died, leaving their mother struggling to bring up seven children under the age of 11.

Theirs was not an isolated experienced. In Victorian Britain, it was largely left to the Church and voluntary organisations to provide social services and welfare. Against this backdrop, Rudolf was moved to act and in 1881 set up the organisation we now know as The Children's Society, which immediately took up a challenge that continues to this day. As such, we have worked at the forefront of the mission to provide a meaningful future for disadvantaged and vulnerable children for 125 years. 

Our Hidden Lives Revealed website provides more details of our early years, from information about our children’s homes to photographs and sample case files. But changing times mean changing needs. So having moved gradually from caring for vulnerable children in homes to working with children and families in the community, we now focus our commitment and expertise to where it's needed most.