February Newsletter - 2015Volunteer opportunity
Fun Days are our most energetic event, spending an activity-packed day with an entire school! The activities include face painting, jumping on a bouncy castle, designing and planting tomato plant pots and musical statues. These days are best suited for a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 25 volunteers however if you are looking for an activity that could accommodate more volunteers, it is possible to have an additional workshop on the day. The next Fun Day will be coming up on the 12th March in one of our schools in Whitechapel so if you've got a team which is full of energy and enthusiasm, this volunteering opportunity is for you!
These days are a great success and highly anticipated by the children as they look forward to taking part in activities that they would not normally have the chance to participate in. You do not have to be talented at face painting, planting or dancing to join us on these Fun Days. The main aim is to have fun with the children and give them a day to remember!
The cost for these days is £1,750.
We would love to hear from you: corporate-volunteering-team@kidsco.org.uk
Huge thanks to our wonderful friends at Safestore
We are very excited to partner with Safestore self storage who have very generously donated an incredible 1000 sq ft at Safestore Deptford to Kids Company! This wonderful donation is part of their Charity room in every store' initiative in which the company donates space to a charity local to each of its stores. We're thrilled to be benefiting from this and are using this space to store a large amount of donated items including beds, bedding and furniture which we ourselves don't have capacity to store. And as the items donated are fundamental to improving the wellbeing of our children, this space is an invaluable resourceful to us. So a heartfelt thanks to Safestore for coming to our rescue!
THIS MONTH
You will all be thinking about the people you love on Valentine's Day.
The children of Kids Company will be doing the same but sadly for many of them there isn't anyone to reciprocate their love.
And that's why their key workers are so important in their lives. Key workers function like an additional parental figure and sometimes a substitute one. They make sure the children have nutritious food and adequate clothes, they inspire them, they give them advice, they celebrate their achievements.
Key workers are a lifeline to feeling loved.
So this Valentine's Day, speak to your colleagues, family and friends. Tell them about Kids Company and support the work of our key workers so that all our children can feel cherished and loved.
You can do this by donating to Kids Company at https://www.justgiving.com/Kids-Company-Valentine/ and in return you will receive a Valentine's E-card that you can email or print and send to your loved ones whilst making a child feel loved too.
You can also find other options to donate via our website at http://www.kidsco.org.uk/donate.
Kids Company online raffle held in association with The Economist's Intelligent Life magazine.
Nine leading designers recently featured in The Economist, have each donated something amazing which could be yours if you are lucky enough to be a winner! Tickets are £1 and it will be running from 23rd February to 20th April, the prize draw will be taking place on the 27th April. We will be tweeting and facebooking the link once it's up and running so watch this space for more details!
Hungry Childhoods Exhibition
We are thrilled to announce that our poignant Hungry Childhoods art exhibition, funded by partners Ella's Kitchen, has been so well received in both its London and Bristol showings that it's going on show again in St Mary Redcliff's Church Bristol for the duration of Lent. If you are in town stop by from 18th Feb to 2nd April and see the amazing work created by our children and young people highlighting their experiences of food insecurity and malnutrition.
Crumbs! It's National Toast Day in aid of Kids Company
National Toast Day www.nationaltoastday.co.uk , launched last year, plans to take the nation by toasty storm on Tuesday 24 February 2015 while raising money for Kids Company Toast is like sending a beautiful postcard with love written all over it to yourself and everyone else who shares it with you, says our Founder and CEO Camila Batmanghelidjh.. It comes in all shapes and sizes, transformed under multiple flavored and coloured hues. Spread a little joy and make life delicious for you and for our kids who'll treasure the good you generate.
All you need to do is eat toast and donate £2 per slice eaten on the day via Just Giving: https://www.justgiving.com/National-Toast-Day Why not have a toast party with your family, friends and colleagues?
And if you make a donation, you will be entered for the prize draw and have the chance to win a fabulous KitchenAid toaster, Tiptree marmalade hamper and much more!
Toast has been scientifically proven to be the UK's number one feel good food and Britain's most loved food smell. Professor Tim Jacob, School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, has found the smell of toast triggers memories of happiness.
National Toast Day is brought to you by the Tiptree World Bread Awards www.worldbreadawards.com and supported this year by our first-ever Toast Ambassador, Aidan Monks, award-winning baker from Cumbria whose sourdough toast is renowned across the North West.
I am delighted to be the inaugural Toast Ambassador, declares Aidan, Baking bread is the centre of my life and toast is a natural extension of that. It's transformative. And a fantastic way to support Kids Company, a brilliant charity working with children who really need our support.
For further information please contact: Sue Richm
