On Wednesday 27th August we were invited to visit Procter and Gamble's site in Reading to receive a 'large' cheque for this year's donation.
Early last year they contacted us and explained that we had been chosen as one of their charities of the year for last year and this year. 

Ruth and Sue went along and were presented with the cheque by Louise Pollard and Charlotte Carlisle and several other members of staff.

Ruth gave a short talk to some of the staff thanking them for their generous donation and explaining about the work of Reading Family Aid in providing Outings for disadvantaged families in the Reding area as well as providing toys and gifts at Christmas for children who would otherwise be unlikely to receive anything. Ruth explained that the £3000 would be spent on buying gifts for some of the categories of children for whom we struggle to receive sufficient donations (eg. teenagers and those with special needs).

As well as providing funds, P&G have also promised to support our Toys and Teens Appeal again this year, as last year, by holding an in-house toys and gift collection for the older children with Donation Point Bins around the site as well as providing some volunteers to help with the sorting and packing of the donated gifts during the "Toy Project Week" in early December.

Our grateful thanks go to Sallie Wall our trusty outings organiser who planned this year’s trip to Camp Mohawk on August 20th. This is the last trip that Sallie will plan. After over 20 years of service, she is retiring from our committee. Sallie has successfully organised so many trips and her reward has been to witness the beaming smiles on the faces of hundreds of children over the years. Sallie introduced the Camp Mohawk visits at least 15 years ago. It has been a favourite fixture on our outings calendar ever since. 

A photo from the early days at at Camp Mohawk with ex-committee members, Liz (left) and Florence (right) with Sallie (left centre) and Wendy last year's Chair (right centre). 

This year families from Fifi’s Vision CIC, Christ the King, Homestart, Brighter Futures for Children and Alafia joined in the fun. 
Camp Mohawk offers such a safe and calming environment for families with children who have additional needs to relax together whilst exploring all the activities on offer. 

As usual the warm pool was a big hit with parents and children alike. Then all the other activities including swings, climbing, juggling and football were enjoyed and the highlight for one young lad was the soft play indoors. ​

On a beautiful hot and sunny day this month families from Children’s Centres, Homestart and Alana house boarded a Horseman’s coach in Reading bound for Beale park.
​The trip was organised by Mia (pictured) who joined Reading Family Aid's Outings Team this year.

Hannah from Alana House said “We had a brilliant day out together at Beale Park. We all and especially the kids got such a kick out of petting the animals, swimming and running about, eating yummy ice creams, joining in with the animal talks and riding through the park on the train. Thank you RFA for inviting Alana House to Beale Park, what a fun summer's day out :).”
Priya, also from Alan House said “It was an amazing day! We saw so many different animals and learnt interesting facts about them - my personal favourite were the reindeers. It was lovely seeing families enjoying themselves and spending time together in such a fun and beautiful place.”

The second day was a rather overcast day but the broad smiles on children’s faces (and the adults too) bore witness to the fun day out that everyone enjoyed.
​

It was a tired but happy group that rejoined the Horseman’s coach for the safe journey back to Reading. ​

The trips were organised by Vivienne and Mia from our Outings Team and were only possible due to the generous donatons we have received form our Supporters during the past year so Thank You to everyone that has donated.

Earlier in the summer we had a call from someone at  Enterprise Mobility™ in Reading asking some of us to come to their office for a surprise! They have supported us in the past, particularly for our Toys and Teens Appeal.
Sue Marson, our Treasurer and Laura Windisch, our Secretary, with much anticipation, attended. They were presented by Enterprise Mobility's Team Members with a giant cheque for a giant amount of £2,500! 
Thanks to Enterprise Mobility™ for donating this very generous amount to Reading Family Aid. This grant will help support our Outings or go towards providing toys and gifts for our massive Toys and Teens project.

Enterprise Mobility™ said ​"We choose to support Reading Family Aid every year because we believe in the amazing work they do. Their dedication to helping families through tough times, and bringing joy to children in our local community, is something we're truly proud to be a part of."

Enterprise Mobility is a leading provider of mobility solutions including car rental, fleet management, flexible vehicle hire, carsharing, vanpooling, truck rental, luxury rental, retail car sales and vehicle subscription, as well as other transportation technology services and solutions, to make travel easier and more convenient for customers. Enterprise Mobility, inclusive of its subsidiaries and franchisees, and affiliate, Enterprise Fleet Management, manage a diverse fleet of more than 2.4 million vehicles through an integrated network of over 9,500 fully staffed neighborhood and airport rental locations in more than 90 countries and territories. Privately held by the Taylor family of St. Louis, Enterprise Mobility manages the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo brands.  
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On Saturday 2nd August, the day started bright and sunny as we arrived at the Earley Green Fair site at Lakeside in Earley at around 7.30AM.
It takes us more than 2 hours to get set up by the time we put up the gazebos, unload the cars with all the goods that we plan to sell and arrange it all so people are tempted to buy.

There are second hand books, jigsaws, games and toys left over from last year's Toys and Teens - items that weren't quite good enough or just not suitable for putting into the children's sacks for Christmas. We had also collected adult books, jigsaws, games and bric-a-brac.​