Reading Matins donation to Kids Out

On behalf of us all at KidsOut, I would like to say a huge thank you to you and your Rotary Club for the £870 donation, to go towards the Rotary Christmas Toy Box Initiative 'Every Refuge, Every Child'.  This is a wonderful contribution and I would ask you to pass on our sincere thanks to all involved for their generosity and support.  The Toy Boxes will be distributed and delivered to the Refuge by the end of this week. The refuge staff have been asked to give the Toy Boxes to the mothers nearer to Christmas Day.

As you can imagine, Christmas is always tough for families in refuge, with this year set to be harder than usual. Most children arrive at refuge with only the clothes on their back, restricted to a single room with their mother and siblings. Mothers struggle to provide basic essentials, let alone toys for their children at Christmas. With 78% of families in refuge with no access to a TV, you can only imagine the difference these toys will make. As an aside, KidsOut has also provided 1300 families who have no access to a food bank or the school voucher scheme with a £25 supermarket voucher for Christmas. We have also sent out 7500 goodie bags for disadvantaged children.

The Rotary Christmas Toy Boxes will provide children in refuge with brand-new toys to support mental health and make the world a little kinder. The toys are given to the mother so that she can provide the toys from Santa and not from charity. This is so important for the mother’s self-esteem at such a distressing time.

“Refuge life can be difficult, especially for families, and the added pressure for parents to ensure their children have presents to open on Christmas morning causes a lot of stress and upset for our mums – especially if finances are tight. However, your toys mean we can provide our amazing families with the opportunity to have a lovely Christmas Day… please know your toys will be put towards making a child smile this Christmas.” – Refuge support worker

KidsOut is a Rotary charity, started by Rotary and run by Rotarians – our aim is to bring a bit of fun and happiness into the lives of disadvantaged children and we believe every child deserves to build happy memories. 

Thank you once again – your support has made a real difference to some of the most disadvantaged children in your local area, bringing some joy when they need it most.

Gordon Moulds CBE DL – Chief Executive