Ygam choose Really Good Things to develop a new storytelling approach

Ygam, the national charity that exists to prevent gaming and gambling harms in young people, has appointed Really Good Things to help the charity articulate its ‘why’ through a new storytelling approach.

2024 marked 10 years of the charity’s awareness raising, education, and research work.

Since its inception in 2014, Ygam has trained over 28,000 professionals working with children and young people, enabling the charity to reach an estimated 4.6 million children and young people across the country.

Charlotte Heap, Head of Fundraising at Ygam, said of the work: “Our sector is often driven by facts and figures. What we wanted to do was find a new way to talk about Ygam, why our work is vital, and the difference we make in helping to prevent young people from experiencing the harms of gaming and gambling. We wanted an impactful way to talk about our work, so that it would resonate with everyone from funders and potential partners, to the person on the street. Working with Really Good Things has already been transformational to how we tell our story.”

Sarah Klaveness, Director of Really Good Things: “This is such an important project for Ygam, and at a really pivotal time in the charity’s growth. We were thrilled to be appointed for the project following a competitive tender process, and to be working with the charity to ensure that their most impactful stories are at the forefront of the charity’s messaging. It will make such a big difference to their work.”

A few things to know about the impact of gaming and gambling in young people

• 91% of UK children aged 3–15 play video games on some type of digital device. (Uswitch 2023)

• Parents estimate that their children spend an average of 16.9 hours a week playing video games: more than half the amount of time they spend in school each week. Boys aged 11 to 17 are gaming the most, with an average of almost a day a week (23.4 hours) spent playing video games. (Mumsnet 2024)

• 21% of young people aged 11-17 had spent money or virtual currency to unlock loot boxes, packs or chests to acquire in-game items when playing video games over the last 12 months. (Gambling Commission 2023)