Family Holiday Charity – Kat Lee, CEO
We talked with Kat at Family Holiday Charity who provide holidays to families who have never experienced a break…
NACO: For those who aren’t familiar with you, can you tell us a bit more about Family Holiday Charity?
KAT: We help families get time away together, often for the first time ever. We’re here for children who have never seen the sea, for teenagers who can’t remember when they last saw their mum smile. For parents having to choose between a day out and a new pair of school shoes. For young carers, kinship carers, families facing illness, isolation and bereavement. Families are referred to us by a professional already supporting them: a support worker, a health visitor or social worker. Once reviewed and accepted, families choose a holiday – often it’s a caravan on the coast, but it could be a woodland or countryside adventure. Time spent together on holiday helps build relationships, confidence and hope for the future.
NACO: Tell us about the families…
KAT: At the last proper survey, around 2.2 million families in the UK were found to be unable to access a holiday – through affordability or other reasons. And with the pandemic this number will be much higher. That’s a lot of children missing out and stressed mums and dads. We believe holidays are essential for family relationships and wellbeing and want to be able to help as many families as we can to access a break. Families like Andrea’s – she has twin sons of her own, but she has also been looking after her 12-year-old granddaughter, Kari, since she was a little girl. Kari doesn’t see much of her mum, and 3 years ago, her dad became seriously ill with sepsis, and had both hands and legs amputated. Andrea, who suffered from Lupus for 18 years, also had her mother – who has dementia – living with her. There was no way they could have a holiday without help. When they came home, Andrea told us “It was such a therapeutic holiday. It was like we were free”.
NACO: How can our readers help?
KAT: There’s lots of ways to get involved. You could make a one-off donation via our website or set up a regular gift. You could also play our Family Holiday Charity lottery, and win up to £25,000! There’s more ways on our website, including donating Nectar points – check the Do Something section or hit Donate at the top of the page.
NACO: And how can our Holiday Park owners or other businesses get involved?
KAT: We work with lots of businesses who want to be more purpose-led and want to show their target audiences they’re doing their bit. Interestingly, families who stay in holiday parks on their own holidays really value being able to help other families access all the benefits they feel on a break.
We can design a programme that works for each business – from Charity Of The Year partnerships where employees and customers get involved in fundraising together, to helping colleagues challenge themselves to something like the Thames Path Ultra Challenge which I’ll be doing myself this September. Start with a chat with us so we can find out more about what might work for you and your business. We’re all ears!
[email protected]
Phone: 0203 117 0650
www.familyholidaycharity.org.uk
