 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."  Ongoing supporters of Reading Family Aid, Reading based creative marketing company BH&P, are endeavouring to complete a 5k muddy run over a number of horrendous sounding obstacles in the Tough Mudder run on Sunday May 11th.  You can sponsor them here. Every donation will spur them on to take one more step or get them over one more obstacle!  Hasan Mian from BH&P said "Why? Because we're raising funds for Reading Family Aid, a local charity doing amazing work for disadvantaged children and families across Reading. From giving kids presents at Christmas, to helping families escape tough times with amazing days out - they're making a real difference. And we want to back them all the way.". Click here to support them and raise money for Reading Family Aid to continue their work.
On Saturday April 12th The Small Strings Ukulele Band performed at The Club at Mapledurham in a fundraising event for Reading Family Aid.
It was a fun filled evening with great music enjoyed by well over 100 attendees who all seemed to have a good time.
Fundraising Manager Ruth Perkins compered the night explaining the work of Reading Family Aid and introducing the Band.
Wendy Howell, our Chair, thanked everyone for coming and supporting us so generously. 
We'd like to thank everyone who came and made it such a great evening and for buying so many raffle tickets, having so many goes on our Wheel of Fortune and participating in the Heads and Tails games.
Between these activities and the ticket sales a grand total of £2282.15 was raised! Yay! 
Small Strings performed for free and Mapledurham donated the use of the venue for free, as well as a couple of raffle prizes. We would like to extend huge thanks to both of them without which the evening would not have been possible.
We'd also like to thank various local business that donated raffle prizes:
Here are a couple of videos of the band and some enthusiastic dancing!
 On Wednesday 9th April families from the Weller Centre, Fifi’s Vision CIC and Home Start Reading joined the Reading Family Aid Outing coach outing to Odds Farm. One mum said ""I cannot thank you enough for today, we definitely needed to get out the four walls of home. You won't ever know how much this means to us as a family"  We were blessed with a glorious sunny day which meant that everyone could enjoy all the farm had to offer. Fifi's Vision said "I cannot thank you, Reading Family Aid enough. Being able to provide Fifi's Vision CIC families such wonderful opportunities to access days out knowing they will have my support and support from other families on the day physically and emotionally but also not having to worry about transport or financial demands to access these experiences takes a big pressure of everyone, it really has such a huge positive impact. Families have such a sense of belonging breaking the cycle of isolation and loneliness being seen, thought of and included especially with such a kind gesture from Reading Family Aid. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
 There was so much to see and do but the 4.5 hours we were there gave everyone ample opportunity to go on a tractor ride, play on in the playground, take part in an Easter egg hunt, watch a show, enjoy a picnic and so much more. As we saw everyone back onto the coach we saw some very happy but tired children and families. We guessed at who would fall asleep first with sweet dreams of a wonderful day at the farm.  Over the winter months Berkshire County Indoor Bowls Association hold many matches against other clubs around the country and at each match they fundraise for their chosen charity. This year's President, Brian Jacobs, chose Reading Family Aid as the Club's charity to support  On Friday March 28th Brian presented a cheque for £875 to Reading Family Aid's Fundraising Mgr, Ruth Perkins.
Many thank to Brian and all the members of Berkshire County Indoor Bowls Association for their fantastic efforts and generosity in raising so much money for Reading Family Aid.  Here she is all set for the off! On a day which was neither warm, cold, wet or sunny - perfect running weather - our Publicity Manager , Charlie ran the Reading Half Marathon in aid of Reading Family Aid.  Here she is looking surprisingly fresh and relaxed having crossed the finish line. She cruised along all 13 miles and a bit recording a very respectable time of just over the 2hrs and in so doing raised £410 for us. Well done Charlie! Thanks not only to Charlie but to all those that have sponsored her. If you would like to support Charlie, you can still do so on her fundraising page.  And showing off her medal!  On the evening of January 31st the Reading Family Aid committee together with some of our regular key volunteers met at the Loddon Brewery in Dunsdon Green to celebrate another successful Toys and Teens project. We had an excellent (self funded!) meal provided by resident chefs James and Nic from Properkitchen.  Wendy our Chair, thanked everyone for their hard work and contribution to the project. Thanks to the generous donations of the people, businesses, schools and places of worship in Reading and surrounding area as well as all the volunteers and our main sponsors, we provided a good selection of gifts to each of 2509 children, most of whom would otherwise have been unlikely to have received anything on Christmas morning.  For information about this year's Appeal, have a look at our Toys and Teens page.
 On Sunday 23rd March our Publicity Mgr, Charlie is running the Reading Half Marathon in aid of Reading Family Aid. Please do sponsor her – the more £s pledged the easier the miles will be! Click here to see her page and to donate.
And if you would like to join her in running for us there are still places to be had – checkout the Reading Half Marathon website and do let us know!  On the evening of Saturday April 12th, the fantastic Small Strings Band will be performing at The Club at Mapledurham in aid of Reading Family Aid. Tickets are on sale now - only £10 – although there will be plenty of opportunities to contribute much more to our funds on the night with a raffle, a game of chance and much more! Remember to bring cash!  Small Strings say “Take a bunch of ukuleles, stir in a number of singers, a pound of bass, add a pinch of percussion, then simmer on low and you have The Small Strings. The band has taken a selection of classic singalong rock, pop and soul tunes and given them a unique ukulele twist.”.
It should be a fantastic evening! Doors open at 6pm and a food will be available to purchase until 8PM when the band will start their first set. The bar will be open all evening. Come and enjoy the music, sing along and dance the night away! If you would like to reserve a table for 6, 8 or 10 people then please let us know. Click here to buy tickets. Remember to bring plenty of cash with you!!  On Friday January 3rd a large group of excited families visited the Hexagon in Reading to watch - and participate in! - the Cinderella Panto. There was much fun and shouting singing along and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. They went to a "relaxed performance" which meant they could be as noisy as they wanted and move around if needed. Claire from Fifi's Vision said "The pantomime had such a positive impact that I could instantly see, from when parents arrived and looked overwhelmed and tired to when they left beaming and laughing, upbeat and recharged."  Hazel from the Weller Centre said: "We took 13 local children (and 5 adults). 6 of whom had never been to a professional panto. Not sure they quite knew what to make of it to begin with but soon warmed to the shouting etc. It was the perfect performance to go to and think supported the needs of a lot of the children we took, who we may not have taken to a regular performance. – I also think the parents felt better that their children wouldn’t disrupt others. " One child said: " The best bit was when Mr Tumble sang the 12 days of Christmas wrong". " Thank you again for the tickets. They all had a wonderful time."  Claire from Fifi's Vision said: "Thank you again for the amazing opportunity. Many of our parents discussed the difficulties and challenges that Christmas can bring as routines at school and even home change, the lights, decorations and activities can be overwhelming especially when environments are busier as well. This can be very difficult to process as a parent carer when many others share through social media amazing stories and pictures of a "perfect" Christmas and for many the harsh reality is, feeling financial pressures as well as being isolated and alone and having a child in distress and unable to access days out and activities. With all this over stimulation children often become overwhelmed and struggle which can lead to meltdowns/shutdowns that leave both parent carer and child anxious and exhausted. The tickets to the pantomime meant the whole family could take a moment together and forget about all the hustle and bustle and just let their hair down. They all welcomed the opportunity for family respite altogether, laughing and dancing and everyone had said how grateful they were.  A couple of our families mentioned, without this kind gesture they wouldn't be able to access this experience as it is simply too expensive and with the pressure of Christmas and buying gifts along with day to day living costs this simply wouldn't be possible. Seeing the children's faces light up as they joined in but also seeing their parents clapping, singing, laughing and joining in booing the wicked stepmother really gave the magical spirit of Christmas. I feel privileged to know Fifi's Vision gives vital peer support and encouragement to families to attend new experiences but I am eternally grateful to Reading Family Aid for giving such wonderful opportunities. The pantomime had such a positive impact that I could instantly see, from when parents arrived and looked overwhelmed and tired to when they left beaming and laughing, upbeat and recharged. We cannot thank you enough for giving us such a fantastic end to 2024, Fifi's Vision CIC families made many happy memories together but most importantly had the opportunity to build meaningful friendships by supporting each other and making the most of so many lovely experiences because of Reading Family Aid throughout 2024. Thank You from the bottom of my heart." Families from Homestart Wokingham said:
 Another mum said "My son and I had a wonderful time. The relax performance was not too overwhelming for him. He enjoyed meeting actors particularly Mr Tumble!"
This is why we organise these outings. Thank you to St James Place Charitable Foundation for providing the funds for this outing. |
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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