​The Mayor of Reading, Councillor David Stevens, is supporting a local charity’s Christmas Toy appeal this year.  Reading Family Aid are fundraising to buy presents for underprivileged 0-16 year olds living in Reading and the surrounding areas.
 
Cllr. Stevens said “Covid has had quite a dramatic effect.  In Reading we know that people are struggling. They’re losing jobs and unable to work. We’re seeing people more reliant on food banks, needing support from council services.  Families are those people who are suffering most and that’s why we need to help them in any way we can. We really do need your help this year. It’s a bigger ask than every other year. Anything you can give is much appreciated. Please do donate, thank you very much”.   
 
The Christmas Toys and Teens Appeal, organised by Reading Family Aid, will be slightly different this year due to the pandemic.  In order to protect volunteers, and supporters, the charity has decided not to open up donation points this year. In its place, the charity has set up a fundraising page and is asking you to donate money instead of gifts.  This money will then be used to buy new Christmas presents for disadvantaged children in Reading, which will be delivered directly to the organisations that help them. 

Charlotte Morgan is Head of Campus at Reading College.  The College helps to distribute toys from the charity’s Christmas appeal to children in need.  She said “Some of our students who receive presents live in supported living and may be alone on Christmas Day. We have had a number of students that look forward to this present all year round, as this is their one opportunity to feel treated”. 
 
When asked about the impact of Covid-19 on her students, Charlotte said “There has been a huge increase in financial hardship and homelessness this year [due to Corona virus] which has increased levels of worry in students. Many students often feel lonely and isolated at Christmas and the current situation has exacerbated this in many cases. This year’s gift appeal will be more important than ever for this reason”. 
 
“Something small to you, such as the price of a coffee or two in a café, can have such a huge impact on somebody and how they feel in themselves. The pandemic has reminded us all of the importance of looking out for one another and being supportive where we can, and this project embodies that completely”.

Given the significant financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on many, we are expecting more children than ever before to need your help. As well as donating, the charity would be incredibly grateful if you considered holding a fundraising event.You could organise a ‘dress up day’ at school or the office, dust off your black tie and party frocks, a pyjama day for your ‘Zoom’ meetings, or share our crowdfunding page on your social media.  Anything you can give, no matter how small will make a huge difference to these families at Christmas time.  Thank you.
 
We’d also like to say a big thank you to all of our sponsors: Berkshire Freemasons, Big Yellow and Caversham Vehicle Hire.

Our fundraising page will remain open until 4th December, at which point the fund will be used to buy presents that will be sent directly to organisations and distributed to underprivileged children across Reading. We’d also like to give a big thank you to our sponsors: Berkshire Freemasons, Big Yellow, Caversham Vehicle Hire.
 
To donate, please visit our Go Fund Me crowdfunding page. 

You can also print out a poster here.

“30% of children in the U.K. are currently living in poverty”[1] – a shocking statistic that highlights the increasing plight of thousands of children in this country. In our town, the figures are equally astonishing with 28.6% and 27.3% of children classified as living in poverty in Reading West and Reading East respectively. This equates to over 15,000 locally affected children.

The negative impacts of poverty on children are wide reaching and indicate that this is an issue that affects every aspect of their lives. These children are at a greater risk of mental and physical health problems. They more frequently express a sense of hopelessness about their future. At school, they are more likely to go hungry or be punished for missing items of school uniform that their parents are simply unable to afford. They are more likely to be victims of bullying and to feel as though they are unsafe.[2]

Christmas for many families is a time for celebration, giving and happiness but for those living in poverty, it is often a time of worry, stress and guilt.
 
Jeanie Herbert is a Manager at Alana House.  The organisation helps to distribute toys from the charity’s Christmas appeal to families in need. She said “The additional cost of Christmas looms large and some parents see in advance that they will struggle to provide for their children. Families are suffering behind closed doors. Some are struggling to feed their children.  Parents have faced ongoing stress and children will have also felt the impact of this. For people to help with the toy project and bring some normality to families this Christmas in a very strange year, would be a huge blessing to many”.

In 2019 Reading Family Aid delivered presents to over 2,000 children, an increase of 300 on the previous year. Given the significant financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on many, we are expecting more children than ever before to need your help. As well as donating, the charity would be incredibly grateful if you considered holding a fundraising event. You could organise a ‘mufti day’ at school or the office, a pyjama day for your ‘Zoom’ meetings, or share our crowdfunding page on your social media.  Anything you can give, no matter how small will make a huge difference to these families at Christmas time.  Thank you.  

Our fundraising page will remain open until 4th December, at which point the fund will be used to buy presents that will be sent directly to organisations and distributed to underprivileged children across Reading. We’d also like to give a big thank you to our sponsors: Berkshire Freemasons, Big Yellow, Caversham Vehicle Hire.
 
To donate, please visit our Go Fund Me crowdfunding page. 

You can also print out a poster here.

​References:
[1] www.endchildpoverty.org
[2] www.childrenssociety.org.uk

The Toys and Teens Appeal continues!

The Christmas Toys and Teens Appeal, organised by Reading Family Aid, will be slightly different this year due to the pandemic.  In order to protect volunteers, and supporters, the charity has decided not to open up donation points this year. In its place the charity has set up a fundraising page and is asking you to donate money instead of gifts.  This money will then be used to buy new Christmas presents for disadvantaged children in Reading, which will be delivered directly to the organisations that help them.

The appeal hopes to be back to normal in future years so if you can hold onto those new and nearly new gifts they will be greatly appreciated then, but for this year the need for your support is as great (if not greater) than ever.

Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on families across the UK.  The IPPR predicts the virus will plunge 1.1 million more people in the UK below the poverty line by the end of the year, including a further 200,000 children. [1]  In the last two weeks of March, the number of households with children helped by the Trussell Trust’s food banks increased by 122% in the UK.[2]  Devastatingly, Covid-19 has plunged many more Reading families into poverty.  
 
A woman who received toys for her children from the project last year wrote to the charity recently to say:
 
“This year has been a difficult year for everyone with many ups and downs. I started the year positive with a job (and happy).   But then lockdown hit and I was yet again left unemployed. Depression settled in as I have struggled to find money to feed my three children, which is even harder than normal as I have been benefit capped and am £600 a month worse off than before. I'm taking one day at a time at the minute. I am hoping that Reading Family Aid will be able to help me again this year. Without the charity’s help, I would really struggle to make Christmas special for my children. Each year they continue to help less fortunate families, so thank you and please continue to give hope”. 
 
But the Toys and Teens Appeal is here to help.  Sponsored by The Reading Chronicle and organised by Reading Family Aid, the charity is raising funds this year to buy new presents to give to disadvantaged Reading families at Christmas time. 
 
Your generosity has helped us to get gifts to families in need for 50 years and still has the power to make such a big impact on the Christmases of those we can reach.  Last year the Office Manager of a local school, after receiving a delivery of toys for families in need, said: 
 
“We were completely overwhelmed when the parcels were dropped off. Seeing the generosity of people and knowing the impact the gifts will make and the burden lifted off our families at this time of year brought tears to our eyes.  
 
The looks of surprise, relief and thankfulness on the parents’ faces when they collected the toys for their children were overwhelming. Thank you.” 
 
As well as donating, the charity would be incredibly grateful if you considered holding a fundraising event. You could organise a ‘mufti day’ at school or the office, a heroes and heroines day at your child’s nursery, print out our poster and stick it in your window or share our crowdfunding page on your social media.  Anything you can give, no matter how small will make a huge difference to these families at Christmas time.  Thank you. 
 
Our fundraising page will remain open until 4th December, at which point the fund will be used to buy presents that will be sent directly to organisations and distributed to underprivileged children across Reading. We’d also like to give a big thank you to our sponsors: Berkshire Freemasons, Big Yellow, Caversham Vehicle Hire.
 
To donate, please visit our Go Fund Me crowdfunding page. 

You can also print out a poster here.

References:
​
[1] https://www.ippr.org/news-and-media/press-releases/1-1-million-more-people-face-poverty-at-end-of-2020-as-a-result-of-coronavirus-pandemic-finds-ippr

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/01/uk-food-banks-face-record-demand-in-coronavirus-crisis

The Annual Christmas Toys & Teens Appeal is back – but in a new guise!

In order to protect our volunteers due to Covid-19, we have decided not to run the toy project as usual this year. Instead of collecting presents, we are asking you, our generous supporters, to donate money instead of gifts.  This money will be used to buy new Christmas presents for deprived children in Reading, and delivered directly to the organisations that help them.   
 
In the first three weeks of UK ‘lockdown’ it’s estimated a quarter of all households in the UK had lost either a substantial part, or all of their earned income as a result of Covid-19.  Devastatingly, this has plunged many more Reading families into poverty.  Out of the organisations we support, nearly all are asking for more presents this year as families struggle to cope, relying on food banks and having to choose between heating or a gift for their children at Christmas.  
 
But the Toys and Teens Appeal is here to help.  Sponsored by The Reading Chronicle and organised by Reading Family Aid, we are raising funds this year to buy new presents suitable for ages 0 – 16, to give to disadvantaged Reading families at Christmas time. 

​In 2019, the Toys and Teens Appeal delivered gifts to over 2,000 disadvantaged children from 895 families in time for Christmas.  This year, please consider donating to our cause. You could organise a ‘mufti day’ at school or the office, or share our crowdfunding page on your social media.  Anything you can give, no matter how small will make a huge difference to these families at Christmas time.  Thank you. 

Our fundraising page will remain open until 4th December, after which the funds will be used to buy presents that will be sent directly to organisations and distributed to deprived children across Reading. There will be no donation points open this year as we are sadly unable to accept any gifts to limit the spread of Covid-19. 
 
To donate, please visit our Go Fund Me crowdfunding page.

You can also print out a poster here to help us promote our appeal.

Here at Reading Family Aid, we’re in touch with a large range of organisations and charities that help families in need in the Reading area. Over the last few months we’ve been working closely with five of them to plan a Summer Toy Project, which aims to give these families and children a reason to smile after a particularly stressful few months.

​The Summer Toy Project is a new initiative that we are launching on 13th July. In order to enable us to distribute toys to children in need, we have set up some Amazon Gift Lists which will provide toys to our partner charities.

​We were keen to find out more about how these organisations and charities help families in need and we spoke to a few of them.

With the ongoing stresses that COVID-19 is bringing to families, First Days explained that over the last few months, families have had the hard task of finding new ways to engage and entertain children at home, often with limited space.  A representative said:

'Being able to request new toys and games from Reading Family Aid has meant that we have been able to put together fantastic and varied toy packs for families referred to us at this difficult time - something to help keep children entertained and take the pressure off parents at a time of great stress. As the economic impact of the pandemic increases, we anticipate that even more children and families will need our help and it is great to have a head start with so many brand new items to give out to those who most need them.'

Among the toys that First Days recently received were packages for a family who are isolating due to illness and a little boy who had a birthday recently and whose mum was struggling financially. These gifts brought great joy to both families.
​
Donate to First Days here.

​Our fourth organisation, Alana House, is a community project providing a confidential, women-only, non-judgemental space for women who feel they need help. A holistic approach is used to support and empower women and enable them to make positive changes in their lives, thereby improving the outcomes for themselves and their families. ​
​
Donate to Alana House here.

The Reading Family Aid AGM was held on July 2nd - over Zoom of course!

The Chair, Ruth Perkins, gave a report of the year, contrasting the first very successful first half to the year followed by a challenging second half with Covid-19 putting a stop to many of our activities.

She also said how pleased she was at the way the committee had risen to the challenge of finding news ways to support the families.

The Treasurer, David Berry, reported that while income was slightly up, expenses had increased over the previous year but still funds were in reasonable shape for the coming months.

You can read the Annual Report here.

We are pleased to announce that our charity is one of the local causes that will be supported by the new Reading Community Lottery.

Reading Community Lottery is a new initiative which aims to support local causes. For every £1 you spend, we receive 50p and another 10p is shared between all the charities, and you could win up to £25,000.

The first lottery draw takes place on 28th March, so ​buy your ticket now to make sure you don't miss out.

Ruth Perkins, Chair, gave a talk about the history and work of Reading Family Aid to St Catherine's Church Tilehurst Mother's Union on Wednesday 12th Feb 2020. There was some dismay at the level of deprivation in Reading today, but they were appreciative of all of the work that we do.

​They made a donation to RFA that will pay for some of the ice-creams at Camp Mohawk!
​
The picture shows Maureen Norman presenting the donation to Ruth.

On 18th December we enjoyed some carol singing at the Wheelwright Arms.

The carol singing was organised by members of the Foundation Church who have been raising money at the Wheelwright Arms for a few years now. This year we were the recipients.

The singing was accompanied by keyboard and guitar and there was an MC. Seasonal readings and cracker jokes interspersed the carols. Sallie (who read a lesson), Tracy, Val & Wendy represented RFA wearing their fetching t shirts. The "audience" joined in with the singing and were happy to part with their money to the tune of £187.

​A very enjoyable evening was had by all. 

​On Thursday night it was the Mayor's Civic Carol Service at St Mary's Minster Church.

As one of the Mayor's Charities this year we, along with his other charities, were invited to do a reading. Wendy volunteered to do this for us.