A newly launched campaign by the charity, Family Holiday Charity, is asking people to dig deep and donate money to give vulnerable families from Yorkshire the opportunity to experience a much-needed holiday this year.
The charity is hoping to raise £20,000 so that it can help send 33 families from the Yorkshire region on holiday this summer – some for the first time.
Recent research has shown that there are many barriers to why people haven’t been on a holiday before and includes mental health issues, financial constraints such as having many dependents, or emotional restrictions such as caring for a parent or sibling.
Kat Lee, CEO of Family Holiday Charity is appealing to people to help, asking supporters to pledge £10 to help them reach their fundraising target.
She said: “If we can get 2,000 people to donate just £10 then we will be able to meet our goal of everyone being able to experience the benefits of spending time with loved ones away from their home environment. The more funds the charity has the more chance it has to showcase the tourism experience to families first hand and motivate and inspire them to include travel in their lives in the future. You can make a big difference to other families in Yorkshire to get away, spend time with each other, and transform the lives of families facing tough times.”
It costs the charity around £600 to give a whole family their first tourism experience and last year it helped 1,854 families to be able to get away – 237 of those families were from Yorkshire.
Mum of three, Charlie from West Yorkshire was one of the families who was supported by the charity to go on holiday last year to Scarborough, along with her 10-year-old son, Jason, seven-year-old daughter, Katie, and one-year-old son, Joshua. The family used to visit Scarborough with their Grandma but since her caring duties for their grandad have increased, they hadn’t been back.
She said: “Before the holiday I was a bit nervous as this was the first time I had travelled on my own with three children and luggage but the kids were so well behaved, I was filled with pride. Jason was also nervous before the holiday as he has Branchio Oculo Facial Syndrome which affects how he looks and can make him nervous of being around children who don’t know him. It was brilliant though and we loved visiting Scarborough.
“We spent time on the beach and took the bus to Peasholm Park where we went out on the lake on peddle boats. Katie’s favourite parts were swimming and going to the arcades. The break meant so much to use and the children are more relaxed. We live in a two-bedroom flat which is too small, but we can’t afford to move out and it can get quite claustrophobic at times Since we returned home I have noticed that the children are less argumentative and I really feel this is partly down to the special time we all had together on holiday! It’s been a stressful few years for everyone and especially Jason and we needed to get away as a family and are so grateful for everyone involved in making it happen.”
To donate to the charity or find out more about its work please www.familyholidaycharity.org.uk/donate or text YORKS 70480 to donate 10.
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For more information on Family Holiday Charity please contact sarah@bluebirdpr.co.uk or 07870210025
Pic caption: Jason and Katie on holiday at Cayton Bay, Scarborough
