Reading Family Aid’s Toys & Teens appeal is back for another year. And with the cost-of-living crisis having far-reaching consequences and more families than ever being plunged into poverty, one of the mums supported by the appeal explains what it means to her: “I am a single mum of 3 children. My husband is in prison for assaulting us. I am finding it increasingly difficult to manage both financially and mentally. The Toys and Teens Appeal has helped me for a few years now. Each time they reach out to offer help and support, I just feel huge relief. My children wouldn't have a happy Christmas without them. They provide my 3 children with toys at a time when it is just expected to happen. The pressure as a parent with a low income is immense. It gives me anxiety worrying whether I can provide the day to day essentials like food, electricity, gas etc let alone worry if I can get what my children want or what their friends are all talking about for Christmas. But thanks to the Toys and Teens Appeal some of that pressure is removed. I really don't know what I would do without them. Please donate to this appeal if you can. It makes such a huge difference to families like mine. It means that my children can have presents at Christmas and tell their friends what they have had, rather than having to admit they have had nothing”. Anna, a volunteer at Reading Family Aid, who is a mum herself, explains why she supports the appeal every year; “With two children myself, I understand how expensive life can be and how much parents want to do the right thing for their children. My children are in a much more fortunate position than many, so by helping at Reading Family Aid, I can give something back to my community and help other children who may not be so lucky. Reading seems like a prosperous town yet it has a significant amount of poverty and many families will be preparing to spend less this Christmas than they would like to. It’s heart-breaking to think that parents already know that gifts for their children will be unaffordable this year. Each Christmas, the Toys and Teens Appeal helps ensure that children who would not otherwise receive a single present, have something to open on Christmas morning. Last year, over 2,500 children received a gift at Christmas, through the generous donations of supporters. Please, if you can spare it, donate a present to the appeal this year, and drop it off at any of the 28 donation points listed below. Visit the charity’s Toy Donations page (www.readingfamilyaid.org/donate-toys.html) for details of how to donate toys and to find out what can (and can't) be used. Or if you can’t access a donation point, please consider donating to the charity’s GoFundMe appeal (https://gofund.me/5038d766). The money raised buys new presents for age groups that aren’t provided for. Please help us to make Christmas joyful for families in desperate need this year. Thank you. Reading Family Aid’s Toys & Teens Appeal launches today, sponsored by The Chronicle. This year the appeal is back to normal, accepting new and nearly new toys at 28 donation points across Reading and the surrounding areas. These toys and gifts will be organised by hundreds of volunteers and distributed to under-privileged children in Reading and the surrounding area, ready for Christmas day. Sadly, this year is set to be one of the busiest for the appeal, as more families than ever before have reached out for help this Christmas. According to The Times 1.3 million Britons will be plunged into poverty due to the cost-of-living crisis. With rising energy bills, more families are becoming reliant on food banks and will have to make the difficult decision not to heat their homes this winter. But the Toys and Teens Appeal hopes to bring a little joy to their lives this Christmas. Sponsored by The Chronicle and organised by Reading Family Aid, the charity is raising funds this year to buy new or nearly new presents suitable for ages 0 – 16, to give to disadvantaged Reading families at Christmas time. The project was launched today by the Mayor of Reading, Councillor Rachel Eden, who said: “I’m really proud to be launching this appeal, this year it’s more important than ever. I was recently contacted by people too frightened to top up their prepayment meter because they could see the numbers ticking down when they boiled a kettle. I used to meet with families who had to choose week in week out between a weekly shop and turning the heating on. But incredibly sadly I’m now meeting families that can’t afford to do either. It’s wrong we’re in this situation but that is the reality. What I do know is that Reading is a community that steps up. We want to stand with our neighbours and make sure no one faces a Christmas that is miserable. A present is only one aspect, but it can make such a difference to children and their families”. See her full video below. Each Christmas, the Toys and Teens Appeal helps ensure that children who would not otherwise receive a single present, have something to open on Christmas morning. Last year, over 2,500 children received a gift at Christmas, through the generous donations of supporters. Please, if you can spare it, donate a present to the appeal this year, and drop it off at any of the 28 donation points. Visit the charity’s Toy Donations page for details of how to donate toys and to find out what can (and can't) be used. Or if you can’t access a donation point, please consider donating to the charity’s GoFundMe appeal. The money raised buys new presents for age groups that aren’t provided for. Please help us to make Christmas joyful for families in desperate need this year. Thank you. Families from Alafia and Christ the King travelled either on the coach or independently to join us for a delightful and relaxed day out at Camp Mohawk on 16th August. The camp staff made everyone most welcome and all the facilities both indoors and outside were embraced by both the children and their families. I saw parents getting in the pool to swim with their children, families making music together, picnics being enjoyed, and such a lot of joyful laughter could be heard throughout the day. We would like to thank Local Giving's Magic Little Grants for partly funding this outing. Some parents said a few thankyous: "Easy to use coach, My kids love swimming and pool was so good not too deep warm water,enjoys a lot. " "All place is safe environment so good . All in door and out door activities. Everything is on one place. Best day visit it was. Thanks to Alafia. Would love to go again and again...." "F and I had a wonderful day, the staff and facilities were excellent. It made a fantastic day out, where no one was judging, and felt very relaxing. Thank you so much to you and your team for organising." We were so lucky to have such fantastic weather for a day on the family beach at Caversham Lakes on 10th August. Families from The Weller Centre, RRSG, Alana House, Alafia and Homestart joined in the fun. Even the most faint-hearted enjoyed getting into the water for a cool down in the scorching temperatures. Everyone was well looked after by the lake staff who ensured everyone kept safe wearing life jackets and under the watchful eye of the water safety team. The catered lunch of a hot dog (vegan option available), a cool drink and an ice-cream was most welcomed by all. Lots of families are planning to make a return trip to this local amenity.
On 3rd August Families from Alana House and RRSG joined the coach trip to Bucklebury Farm. Everyone enjoyed seeing the animals, taking part in the feeding and learning about their care. The trip on the tractor to feed the deer was especially impressive. Great fun was had on the play equipment and the freedom to run around in a big space was a big hit with the children and gave their parents a chance to sit back and relax in the countryside. And Vivienne and Wendy from the RFA committee and Kushinga from RRSG enjoyed their day too! On 21 st July a coach left Reading Station for Bournemouth with families from Homestart and The Weller Centre on board. Everyone was so excited to see the sea and spend a day on the beach. New friends were made, new experiences enjoyed and happy memories made to be treasured. Some of the families wrote some thankyou's: “The trip to Bournemouth was amazing. I had the chance to make memories with my children I wouldn’t have been able to make myself, my children loved it. My one year old ran and face planted the beach (with excitement). My two year old said it was the biggest sand pit he’s ever seen and didn’t want to go home. It was such a good quality time together and I’m so very grateful.” “A big thank you from my family to you. Thank you for giving us a wonderful time. The trip to the beach was so exciting for me and my kids. They had a wonderful time. It is the first time I have had such a relaxing experience. I really appreciate you for looking after us.” “Thank you so much. P slept well after the trip but was still very tired the next day. He had such a lovely time, thank you.” On Thursday 14th July, Reading Family Aid held its AGM. Sravanthi, Chair, thanked all our sponsors, supporters and committee members for another very successful year despite the difficulties caused by the covid pandemic. She covered how excited we were to receive the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service at a ceremony last October as well as being able to attend the Queen's Garden Party in May. Last summer we were able to provide a number of local outings which were thoroughly enjoyed by a large number of families with children of all ages. We also provided pantomime tickets and a trip to Odds Farm at Easter this year. We have also introduced an on-line booking system for these outings and tightened up our procedures with a Memorandum of Understanding that the participating organisations have to agree to. Sravanthi went to report on another successful Toys and Teens Appeal where, despite covid, with a mixture of purchased and donated toys, we managed to provide gifts to a record breaking 2558 children in the Reading area. We did all this with minimal help from non-committee volunteers. Our Treasurer, Sue, reported that we had another excellent year of fundraising with an income of over £31,000, thanks in a large part to our Toy Project appeal which raised over £30,000. We spent almost £38,000, mainly on toys and outings. We finished the year with a balance of over £25,000. This will fund our outings for the next financial year.
The Officers and existing committee members were all re-elected for another year. Last month Reading Family Aid had a stall at Winnersh Fete. It started as a warm lovely day but by 4PM it was very cold and blustery! Nevertheless we had a lot of interest in our stall and raised £220. We also made a few contacts with people interested in supporting us in the future so well worth getting frozen! Wendy organised the stall and we had a very popopular tombola, .... as well as Surprise 'Party' Bags ..... and The Lollipop game where winners received a cuddly dog In early January, Reading Family Aid were honoured to receive four invitations to a Queen's Garden Party. Two were for Ruth Perkins for her work with the charity (carried over from 2020 because of Covid) and two were as a result of receiving the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2021. So, on the afternoon of May 18th four members of the Reading Family Aid committee made the journey up to the Palace to enjoy the hospitality of the Queen! The four attending were (from left to right) Ruth Perkins (past Chair), Charlie Mclean (Publicity Mgr), Wendy Howell (Vice Chair), and Sheila Wright (Incoming Email Mgr). It was a gloriously warm and sunny day and we made our way into the gardens to explore. At 4PM Beefeaters arrived on the terrace, the Royal party emerged from the Palace and God Save the Queen was played. Unfortunately the Queen herself could not be there but Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Edward, Duke of Wessex and Sophie, Duchess of Wessex were there. They mingled with the crowds and talked to many people although sadly not to any of us! Afterwards we meandered through the crowds ( there were about 7,000 people there!), enjoyed a cooling drink and finally made our way home after a wonderful afternoon in the Queen's back garden!
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