What a difference a week makes! June 23rd was a glorious day, so different from last weekend at Winnersh Fete which was cold and stormy. This Sunday it was warm with a gentle breeze - perfect festival weather. It was our first visit to Palmer Park for the East Reading Festival. It ran from noon until 6PM with a variety of businesses and charities pedalling their wares and ideas. There was a music stage and a spoken word stage as well as a bongo drums area. It was very well attended with hundreds of people enjoying the music and browsing the various stalls. Both items proved very popular. This group were very excited and bought several adult and child bags for them all!
The great thing, apart from the weather!, was that we spread the word about or work in an area of town where we were relatively unknown and we raised just over £300 again this week. These funds will go towards the outings we are organising over the summer. Thanks to everyone who supported us!
Reading Family Aid is really grateful to two funding bodies who between them have provided funds for our outing to Camp Mohawk in August which is for disadvantaged families with at least one child on the autistic spectrum. They are The Berkshire Nurses & Relief in Sickness Trust and Reading Dispensary Trust. The Berkshire Nurses & Relief in Sickness Trust provides funding for Berkshire and South Oxfordshire residents and organisations who need individual support through illness or disability and to organisations like ours which is providing some benefit to people with illness or disability. They contributed £600 towards the £1200 cost of the Outing. The Reading Dispensary Trust is a medical charity that makes grants for equipment and services not available through statutory sources to those suffering from physical, mental illness or disability. They also contributed £600 toward the outing. Camp Mohawk is a multi-functional day centre for children with special needs and their families, set in 5 acres of beautiful countryside, just outside Wargrave, Berkshire. Throughout the year the centre provides a range of activities, facilities and natural space to encourage children with a variety of special needs to play, socialise and learn in a secure and caring environment. Reading Family Aid arranges an annual outing to Camp Mohawk. It is a very popular outing with parents and children alike enjoying a fun filled day in the various indoor and outdoor play and sensory areas, the heated outdoor pool and the petting zoo that we arrange to visit the site. Last Saturday Reading Family Aid had a couple of stalls at Winnersh Fete. It was a very stormy, cold day with gale force gusts of wind and torrential showers of rain. Not to be out off with such adverse weather, the Reading Family Aid Team with a few extra helpers battled through the day, several of them being posted to hold down the gazebo! Just over £300 was raised via a tombola, lollipop game and a raffle. We understand that we will also get a share of the general proceeds from the event as one of the two charities the Winnersh Fete committee chose to support this year. Thank you Winnersh Fete Committee and all attendees! Reading Family Aid is very excited to have Proctor and Gamble as one of our major sponsors for this year! They are donating £3,000 which will be spent on outings and gifts for the Toys and Teens Appeal later in the year. On 21st June they held company charity social event to allow the staff members to engage with us and the other charities the company is supporting this year. Thank you so much P&G! |
Our blogThis is where we share our news and inspiring stories of how people have supported us. Read previous newsletters here.
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