CHICKS Summer Special

CHICKS Making Memories... ...Giving Hope

CHICKS Summer Special July 2014 Inside this issue: We take a look at the typical summer activities at CHICKS and the memories that you’ve helped make possible ‘‘I hardly ever get away from the city and this week has shown me that people do care...’’

www.chicks.org.uk

Summer Fun A day at the beach CHICKS is lucky to have some of the country’s best beaches right on our doorstep. For many of the children it’s the first time they’ve ever been to the beach or even seen the sea.

One little boy recently spent the whole day just digging and building sandcastles with his friends and didn’t want to leave!

Another boy called Daniel went swimming in the sea for the very first time.

Naturally, they’re very excited and spend hours playing together - some of the children build sandcastles, others explore the rock pools or collect shells, and afterwards the whole group come together for a giant game of rounders.

Our Respite Break Leaders described how happy he was and how his face lit up as he splashed and swam in the water.

He told the group, ‘‘This is the best day ever!’’

Kayaking Kayaking gives the children the chance to explore beautiful lakes and rivers which they don’t often see at home. But for some of the children, it’s also a personal challenge.

Anna was terrified of going in the water. But, with some encouragement from her new friends, she gave it a go. Within minutes she was paddling around the lake, smiling and laughing.

When she came out of the water, she was beaming and the CHICKS staff could see how proud she was of herself.

Every week at CHICKS is full of new experiences for the children.

Not only do they leave with lots of new memories but they also go away having discovered a new skill or hobby and most importantly, knowing that they can achieve anything they put their mind to.

Building Dens Sometimes it’s the simplest When they’ve finished, all the activities which are the most fun. teams give each other a tour of their den and stand back to Working as a team, the children admire their creations. You can use whatever materials they can often find children sitting inside find to build their own den either them playing board games, outside if it’s sunny or indoors in telling stories or just relaxing the living room. with a book.

They are free to be as creative and imaginative as they like and can spend hours making it as big and bold as they want.

The children are so proud that they sometimes can’t bring themselves to take the dens down.

n at CHICKS Campfires Located at the top of the hill, overlooking the stunning Cornish landscape and the pretty village of Tywardreath,is the CHICKS fire pit at our Coastal Retreat.

Here, everyone sits in a circle at the end of the day. With the sun setting in the distance, the group talk about their day, swap stories The children are amazed by and sing songs. the view and one of the boys says that it looks ‘‘just like a And of course, no campfire postcard’’. He tells the group is complete without toasting that it doesn’t look like this marshmallows! where he lives.

As the evening draws in, the CHICKS staff have one more surprise in store as they bring up a giant flask of hot chocolate for everyone to enjoy.

Surrounded by new friends, the group relax, have fun and savour the last few hours of the day chatting and staring up at the night’s sky.

The perfect way to spend a balmy evening!

Food glorious food Traditional family values lie at the heart of CHICKS and meal times are especially important.

It’s a time to eat well and enjoy each other’s company without any distractions.

prepared by our cooks, Peggy and Rob. Lots of the children comment on how yummy the food is and many of them pluck up the courage to try something new.

For children who are used to eating in front of the television or not eating a proper homecooked meal at all, dinner times at CHICKS are a real treat.

If the weather is particularly good, the CHICKS staff will fire up a barbeque.

Every evening the whole group sit around the table to enjoy a delicious three course meal

Everyone sits outside on the picnic benches and enjoys the huge array of food in front of them. It’s the ideal way to experience summer dining.

The children’s best memories of CHICKS ‘‘Meeting all new people that I now call my friends.’’ ‘‘Seeing everyone happy, so that made me happy.’’ ‘‘I made so many memories and they were all really good, but I think my best was making friends with all the lovely people here.’’ ‘‘We had an adventure day and then all had a meal together – it’s like we’re a family.” *Please note that the stories and quotes are real but children’s names have been changed to protect their identity.

The lasting effects of a childhood holiday...

‘It’s amazing to think what a lasting impression a childhood holiday can make. I still vividly remember the summers I spent in Cornwall with my family - the days we spent on the beach whatever the weather, enjoying quality carefree time with my mum, dad and two sisters.

Every week at CHICKS we strive to recreate the traditional family style holidays many of us remember, whether enjoying a group picnic, building sand castles on the beach or playing games in the gardens. For many of the children, it is the only holiday they’ve ever known and with issues such as poverty, abuse or the challenge of being a young carer, it’s a rare chance for them to just relax and enjoy themselves.

Over the years we have witnessed a growing demand for our services and for several years we have been running close to full capacity. It has therefore been our aim to open a third retreat in 2015 which would allow us to reach out to more children across the UK. I am delighted to say we are making good progress towards this and I look forward to updating you more on this exciting development in our Autumn Magazine!

On behalf of the entire CHICKS team, thank you for your support which makes magical childhood memories possible and I hope you have a wonderful summer.’’

Elanor Hoskin, Chief Executive Please cut along the dotted line

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Please return this completed donation slip to: Freepost RLZA-ZHKL-BZKR CHICKS Moorland Retreat, Brentor, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 OLX CHICKS is a registered charity in England & Wales (1080953) and in Scotland (SCO40536)