Helping other families take holidays

Take the family's great holiday offerings

Please click here to make a donation to UNICEF to help children and families recover more quickly from the recent Tsunami catastrophe.

If your circumstances allow, please consider helping less fortunate children and families take a holiday or break. Take the Family donates £1 each time a holiday is booked through us to the Family Holiday Association. You can also make a donation from the link below, or consider supporting a number of other charities listed and described below:

The Family Holiday Association

We know that holidays do us the world of good. They are a break from our usual routine, a chance to relax and unwind, and an opportunity to meet new people, make friends and broaden our experiences. Holidays strengthen family bonds and give us a time to laugh and smile together.

Yet thousands of families are unable to have a holiday due to difficult circumstances, such as poverty, recent trauma, disability, bereavement, violence, abuse, depression and long-term illness. Every year the Family Holiday Association (FHA) enables some of these families to take a much-needed break.

The FHA is the only charity in the UK that specialises in helping providing holidays for families and children in need. Since it’s beginning in 1975, the FHA has helped over 90,000 parents, children and young people to have a holiday.

This year they expect to help over 1,000 families who otherwise would not have been able to have a holiday. Unfortunately, they will also have a waiting list of over 800 families who they will be unable to help.

Quotes from families helped by FHA

I hadn't been on holiday for 19 years and my daughter not at all because of a disability. We really enjoyed it. I would love to do it all again.

It was a good holiday for us we enjoyed the break and needed it and I'm glad that my boy got to see the sea and sand for the first time. Thank you for the holiday.

The Todd’s mum died recently after a long illness. She was cared for by the eldest of her teenage children. The children now live with their grandmother, who is also in poor health with severe arthritis. The family live in a top-floor flat with the children sharing a small bedroom. They needed a holiday for respite and recuperation.
”The joy on the children’s faces is something I’ll never forget- thanks to the Family Holiday Association” The Todd’s grandmother
(The names and images have been changed to protect the families’ identities.)

The FHA depends on voluntary contributions – it’s only with your help that they are able to give families the chance to relax and enjoy a holiday. Help them to send more children and their families on that much needed break

You can find out more by visiting the Family Holiday Association site. Or contact the Association directly:
info@fhaonline.org.uk
020 7436 3304
Reg. charity no. 800262

Alternatively, just click here to donate:

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Other charity holiday providers

Family Service Unit
207 Marlybone Road
London
NW1 5QP
020 7402 5175
Provides a caring service for families and children in need. The services ranges from counselling on families needs and problems to providing holidays for children in need

Holiday Endeavour For Lone Parents: Help
57 Owston Road
Caracroft
Doncaster
South Yorkshire
DN6 8DA
01302 728 791
Help is a registered charity, which not only provides low cost holiday accommodation for single parent families, but also helps those with exceptional circumstances to pay for them.
Lone parent is described as anyone who is bringing up a child / children without help of a live in partner.

Liverpool One Parent Family Trust
9 –11 Fleet Street
Liverpool
Merseyside L1 4AR
0151 708 8848
The trust aims to improve the quality of life for one-parent families. They provide holidays for children between the ages of 6- 14 years old.

Break: Holidays And Respite Care for Children and Adults with Special Needs
7a Church Street
Sheringham
Norfolk NR26 8QR
01263 823 170
Every year BREAK welcomes over a 1,000 children and adults with learning difficulties to coastal holiday centres in Norfolk.

Disabled Living
Redbank House
4 St Chad’s Street
Cheetman
Manchester M8 8QA
0161 832 3678
A Northern charity that provides a national service that encourages sick and disabled people to achieve greater independence by allowing them to take part in activities such as holidays and craft therapy

Children’s Country Holiday Fund
First Floor
42/43 Lower Marsh
London SE1 7RG
020 7928 6522
Provides UK holidays for London Children in need and their families

Destination Florida
C/o British Airways
Customer Services Dept
Level 5
Manchester M90 1QX
0161 489 8635
Helps disabled children and children with terminal illness to have a holiday in places like Florida

Dream Makers Children’s Charity
213 Chester Road
Castle Bromwich
Birmingham
West Midlands
B36 0ET
0121 776 7144
A voluntary organisation that provides dream holidays for children that are seriously and terminally ill.

Dreams Come True Charity
York House
Knockhundred Row
Midhurst
West Sussex GU29 9DQ
01730 815 000
For seriously and terminally ill children who wish to fulfil there dreams.

National Benevolent Fund for The Aged
1 Leslie Place
Croydon
Surrey CR0 6TG
The NBFA give practical help to older people in the UK. Offer holidays to allow elderly people to have a break and put some fun back in their lives.

Grandparents Foundation
Moot House
The Stow
Essex
01279 428 040
Aids grandparents who are supporting their grandchildren with advice and information

Scottish Tourist Board
The Scottish Tourist produces a fact sheet called “Accessible Scotland”, which provides practical information on Accommodation, Transport and General Advice. Call 0845 22 55 121 for a fact sheet free of charge.

RADAR (Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation),
12 City Forum, 250 City Road, London EC1V 8AF Tel 020 7250 3222.
Compiles "Holidays in Britain and Ireland" price £5 incl p&p and also a guide to air travel priced at £5 incl p&p.

National Autistic Society
393 City Road, London EC1V 1NG Tel. (020) 7833 2299 Provides an annually updated fact sheet of holidays for people with autism and related disorders.

Camping For The Disabled,
20 Burton Close, Dawley, Telford TF4 2RX Tel (01743) 761889
Provides information and advice on camping and camp-sites in Britain and Europe. The booklet "Camping for the Disabled in Great Britain" lists over 200 camp-sites which have facilities for people with disabilities.

The Family Fund
P.O. Box 50, York YO1 2ZX.
The Family Fund may be able to help towards holiday costs when there is a child who is severely disabled, aged under 16 years, in the family. Grants vary in size and can be used towards family holidays with or without the disabled child.

Pearson's Holiday Fund
PO Box 3017, South Croydon CR2 9PN Tel. (020) 8657 3053.
Supplies funds for disadvantaged children from 4 - 17 years of age for holidays in the U.K. only. Applications should be made through a social worker, doctor, health visitor or teacher.

3H Fund (Help the Handicapped Holiday Fund),
147a Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells TN1 2RA, Tel (01892) 547474
Group holidays, inclusive of accommodation and transport, for physically disabled people over 11 years. Volunteers and trained nursing staff provide support.

Break
7a Church Street, Sheringham NR26 8QR Tel. (01263) 822161.
Has two holiday and short-stay residential care centres in Norfolk. It specialises in holidays for mentally and multiply disabled children and adults, individually or in groups, with or without accompanying parents/staff.

Grooms Holidays
PO Box 36, Cowbridge CF71 7GB Tel (01446) 771311
A non-profit making charity which offers hotel and self-catering adapted holiday accommodation at approximately half the commercial cost for families with a member with disabilities, or small groups of able-bodied and people with disabilities.

National Holiday Fund for Sick and Disabled Children
1-2 Princess Parade, New Road, Dagenham RM10 9LS Tel 020 8595 9624
Provides holidays at selected worldwide venues for chronically or terminally ill children, and temporarily or permanently physically disabled children, aged 8 - 18 years

Scout Holiday Homes Trust
Baden-Powell House, Queen's Gate, London SW7 5JS Tel 020 7584 7030 Ext. 152
Provides inexpensive self-catering holidays at a variety of holiday camps around the UK for any families with a disabled member they do not have to be a Scout/Guide to benefit.

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Holiday advice

Many organisations involved with specific childhood disorders organise holidays, or can give advice on suitable locations.

Afasic
69-85 Old Street, London EC1V 9HX Tel (020) 7841 8900
Organises activity week holidays for children and young people with speech and language disorders.

Deafblind UK
100 Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1DY Tel. (01733) 358100.
Plans various breaks throughout the year, including walking weekends and organised trips in the U.K. and abroad.

Diabetes UK
Youth & Family Services, 10 Queen Anne Street, London W1M 0BD Tel 020 7323 1531.
The BDA offers subsidised activity holidays for members between the ages of 5 and 18 years.

Happy Days Children's Charity
Byron House, 43 Cardiff Road, Luton LU1 2PP Tel (01582) 651234

When You Wish Upon a Star
Futurist House, Valley Road, Basford, Nottingham NG5 1JE Tel (0115) 979 1720

 

And, if you know of any others that we should include on this page please get in touch and let us know.