 On 30 July and August 13th we enjoyed trips to Bournemouth, joined by families from Homestart, the Weller Centre, Alana House Reading Refugee Support Group, Wycliffe Baptist Church and Reading Children’s Centres.  The first date was a glorious day at the seaside. The sun shone, chips were eaten on the beach, and many took a refreshing dip in the sea.  We received some lovely feedback from families: “Just wanted to thank you again for putting our names forward for the beach trip. We haven't been to the beach for a few years and had such a great day. The kids ran into the sea before I could even lay our blanket out!”  “Was just lovely watching the girls jumping the waves in the sea and we had a lovely day!” “Yesterday was so much fun, the children loved it and so did I. They went straight to sleep when we got home and slept in late this morning.” “I was very anxious about coming out for the day on my own with [child], as I haven’t done it before, but I am really glad I did. It is good practice for me as I will be flying on my own with him soon.”  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.  We later received this message from one of the refugee families: "I together with my family, would like to express our deepest gratitude and heartfelt appreciation for all the support and kindness you have given us. Through your help, we had the opportunity to travel to Bournemouth, including a wonderful visit to the beach. My children were truly happy and excited, and the experience has created special memories that we will always treasure". And from Wycliffe Baptist Church a 3year old boy so enjoyed his time that his Mum overheard his prayer which went like this… "Dear God, I do not want to go to the park anymore. Please could you make us have more fun like going to the beach again and other places."  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.
• Facebook: enterprisemobility • Instagram: @enterprise.mobility • LinkedIn: enterprise-mobility- • YouTube: @enterprisemobility  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.
 Quite a few people also showed interest in our work so hopefully we spread the word to more supporters and organisations that may like to use our services.
All in all another successful day - and the rain stayed away! On Thursday 10 July, Reading Family Aid held its AGM. Wendy, Chair, thanked all our sponsors, supporters and committee members for another very successful year. Highlights of the year included:
Our Treasurer, Sue, reported that we had another excellent year of fundraising with an income of over £48,000. We spent just over £33,000, mainly on toys and outings. We finished the year with a balance of over £48,000, which sets us up well to continue our activities for next year. There were some changes to the Officers, with Wendy handing over the Chair role to Anna, and Paul stepping up to be Vice Chair and Trustee. Once the formal part of the meeting was complete the committee members enjoyed some refreshments and the chance to socialise in person.  Also on June 21st, St. Andrews in Caversham held a Tea Party in their Church Hall in support of Reading Family Aid. There were several stalls as well as tea and cakes.
Sheila and Laura from Reading Family Aid were there to mingle with the attendees, hand out leaflets and explain about the work that we do.
She concluded saying "So in order to keep putting smiles on faces, we need an income of about £25000 per year. We are so grateful to St Andrew’s for choosing us as your Charity of the Year and for all that you have been doing for us. From those 11,500 children in poverty, and from us, thank you!"
On Saturday 21st June, the Reading Family Aid team rolled up to the Winnersh Fete, ready for a day of fun, fundraising, and fabulous community spirit!  The weather certainly kept us on our toes - with temperatures soaring above 30°C, it felt like summer had truly arrived. While the heat may have kept some folks indoors, we were thrilled to see so many friendly faces stop by our stall. And just to keep things interesting, the afternoon brought a surprise downpour! But like true British troopers, we dried off and carried on with smiles and sunshine returning soon after. Our stall was packed with excitement, featuring: 🦄 A magical “Guess the Name of the Unicorn” game 🎟️ A classic Tombola 🎁 A raffle with lovely prizes up for grabs  Despite the weather challenges, we raised a cheerful £167! It might not have been our biggest fundraising day, but every penny helps us support families in need — and we had a wonderful time connecting with the community.  A huge thank you to everyone who braved the heat (and the rain!) to support us. Your kindness means the world. 💖
You can find us at Earley Green Fair on Saturday 2nd August, where we’ll be selling lots of toys, games, books and jigsaws - a fabulous opportunity to pick up a bargain! Until next time — stay cool, stay kind, and keep spreading joy! On Saturday 14 June, some of our committee ran a stall at Woodley Carnival. We had lots of people stop by the stall and play our games to win fun prizes. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we enjoyed soaking up the carnival vibes. Here we are all set up with our stall at the start of the Carnival:  A highlight was seeing the Lancaster Bomber aeroplane fly over the carnival site!  Our surprise bags were popular with children and adults alike - each containing a mystery item.  The raffle prizes included various hampers themed on gardening, unicorns, games, and floral smellies.  Our attraction that scored the most attention was our lollipop game, where children could pay 50p to pick a lolly, and if it had a mark on the end of the stick they could also choose one of our house trained dogs to adopt! We are happy to report that every dog went home with a happy child on Saturday!  There was lots of entertainment going on throughout the day, including various acts performing on stage, and entertainers around the site such as these stilt walkers!   We raised a total of £250 on the day - this will help put more smiles on children’s faces through the fun outings, and gifts at Christmas, that we provide.
This was just the start of summer fete season for us - throughout the summer you’ll also be able to find us at Winnersh Fete on 21 June, and Earley Green Fair on 2 August. Hope to see you there!  A few weeks ago we learnt that a small group from BH&P had decided to take on a Tough Mudder in support of Reading Family Aid. Amazingly they all completed the course even though they discovered it was much harder that they had expected! They did it on Sunday May 11th at Culden Faw Estate near Henley. Despite the lack of rain they managed to find plenty of mud! There is still time to sponsor them here.  Claus Larsen, Creative Director at BH&P said "After months of talking and not much training, the BH&P team finally hit the Tough Mudder course. It was tougher (and muddier) than expected—but way more fun too. From Block Ness Monster to Devil’s Beard, we tackled every obstacle as a team, left no one behind, and might just be crazy enough to do it again next year.
 On Sunday April 27th Ruth, our Fundraising Mgr attended the Annual Parish Committee Meeting at St Andrew's in Caversham and told them about the work of Reading Family Aid. St. Andrew'a kindly adopted Reading Family Aid as their charity of the year and have and will involve them in several of their activities during the year. There was the Autumn Tea Party last November where they raised £1200 for us, the Annual Parish meeting, a Mother's Union meeting in June and later in the month the Summer Tea Party. In October, the proceeds of the Thursday cafe will come to us too. We are very grateful for all their support.  In her talk, Ruth described the situation that many families in the Reading area are finding them selves in, many becoming homeless and having to live for months in one room of a hotel. A recent analysis of the situation in Reading's Museum exhibition called "Reading's DIGITAL Revolution" looked at how the arrival of high tech industries into the town has brought wealth to some but not all said: "The economic impact of Reading's high tech success hasn't been shared evenly across town. Despite being home to some of the world's biggest technology names - and the investment it brings - Reading has some of England's most deprived neighbourhoods. Reading has the highest proportion of children eligible for free school meals in Berkshire. Government statistics show that those receiving free school meal support achieve lower GCSE grades. This is an economic, as well as a social issue for Reading. A lack of qualified and skilled young people means firms are missing out on a more diverse local workforce. " The report went on to suggest that this might ultimately mean the departure of the high tech industries either because of their inability to hire staff or because the town cannot meet the education and healthcare needs of their employees due to the public sector also having difficulties in recruiting.  The talk was followed by a lively question and answer session where Ruth was able to elaborate on many points and explain why Reading Family Aid's motto of "Putting Smiles on Children's Faces" was so imprtant, not just to the children, but to the whole family.
 This Easter Reading Family Aid provided Easter Eggs to children that were involved in the Participation Events run by Brighter Futures for Children in Reading during the recent Easter holidays.  The eggs were much appreciated and Francesca Hubbard, Participation Officer at Brighter Futures for Children said "Thank you to Reading Family Aid who donated Easter eggs for all young people that attended the Participation events over the Easter holidays. The Children in Care and Care Leavers say thank you and they enjoyed their eggs."
She added "I have also asked for a thanks to be in our staff communications to share the great work you do. Many Thanks." |
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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