Get involved or donate to help disadvantaged children have a much-needed family break

The Family Holiday Association is a UK charity founded in 1975 which has helped to provide thousands of disadvantaged children and their families with a much needed break away from home.

The families we help are living in desperate circumstances; they are all struggling to cope on a low income and many are facing other difficulties such as inadequate housing, mental illness, disability, domestic violence and family break up.

In order for us to help the families most in need, we have three criteria when allocating breaks:

• The family has a child between the ages of three and eighteen
• They are on a low income
• They have not had a holiday for at least four years

Typically a family granted a break spends a week at a seaside resort in the UK. Many of the families have never had the opportunity to pack and spend time away together, and for many of the children it is the first time they have seen the sea and played in the sand.

How can a break change lives?

There are so many benefits a simple break away from home can bring for these families. Our research has shown that:

• It improves well-being and reduces stress, giving parents and carers time away from their daily problems
• It brings families together, strengthens family communication and increases stability
• It provides new skills and offers a new perspective, which can then improve employability
• Children have memories and stories they can share with their friends, and there is often a great improvement to their self esteem, leading to improvements in school work and attendance
• It provides something to look forward to and happy memories to share and look back on
• It reduces the social exclusion caused by living in poverty

Families are referred to us by health and welfare professionals, such as social workers and GPs, or other charities and local voluntary organisations. The quote below is from a welfare agent after a family she had referred to us returned from a summer break. It had been a particularly tough year for the family, and on their return the welfare agent was delighted to discover the holiday had such a positive impact on them:

"The family had a brilliant time, it brought the family closer together and one of the son's teachers recognised and commented the child was really happy and participated more in school activities. I would like to thank you for arranging this holiday for the family - it really made a great difference. One son who was bullied at school had been able to open up at school and is a lot happier."

The Roberts' Story

15 months ago Simone Roberts* was involved in a destructive relationship with her partner. As well as suffering harassment from him, she had been at the receiving end of racial abuse from her neighbours. She found the courage to leave and is now trying to build a new life with her daughter, but still suffers with depression.

Simone and her daughter were granted a holiday in the summer by the Family Holiday Association at a caravan park in Devon. This gave them the chance to spend some quality time together, to relax and have fun and forget about the stresses they had both been through over the last couple of years. As the quote below demonstrates, Simone found it greatly strengthened the relationship with her daughter:

"I cannot thank you all enough for our holiday. It meant so much to both Holly and myself. It also gave me the time to re-evalutate my life, work and my relationship with my precious daughter who, up until now, I felt I had been neglecting and not spending enough quality time with her.

I have now taken steps to change my job to one that allows me to spend evenings with her and to take her to school etc. It has all been such a positive experience for us and has brought us so close. Thank you so much."

You can help

You can help the Family Holiday Association help more families like the Roberts by:

•  Making a donation
• Organising a quiz
• Asking your local pub to hold a quiz (download a flyer)
  
• Getting a team together and take part in a quiz
• Sponsoring the quiz
  
• Getting your workplace involved
• Learning more by visiting www.familyholidayassociation.org.uk

The Family Holiday Association is registered charity number 800262.

* All these stories are real, but names have been changed to protect individuals' identities