2GIS Charity Quiz Night 22.03.07

To all who attended or contributed otherwise to the success of the Charity Quiz Night on 22nd March 2007, from the 2 Gray's Inn Square Chambers Family Group and from the Family Holiday Association:

THANK YOU

We are pleased to announce that this event has raised for the Family Holiday Association the sum of

£1,500

Below is the text of a letter from
Joseph Hipgrave (Fundraising Manager, FHA)

20 April 2007

To the members of the 2 Gray's Inn Square Family Group

Thank you very much for making the Family Holiday Association the beneficiary of your recent Chambers quiz. We were delighted to receive a cheque for £1,500 which will be used to help disadvantaged families with young children take a short holiday during 2007.

Probably the best way that we can show what a difference your support can make to families in need is to quote a message that we received recently from a social worker:

Most of the families I deal with live in deprived areas on limited incomes. They have a culture that seems to run in the family dynamics. Their grandparents were on benefit, their parents are on benefit, so the outcome for the children looks the same. When I can access a holiday for my clients via the FHA, the impact it has on the family is tremendous. They actively try to save and budget. It affects their wellbeing and gives them happy memories and stronger bonds within the family. It just lets them see there is a life different to the one they are currently experiencing which might be sad, violent or deprived.

I would never have thought a holiday could make such a difference to a family until I saw the changes in the family themselves. One child of a family I know, who had never been off her council estate before, was so full of wonder at the experience her school work improved. The family atmosphere at home also improved and relationships developed to such a point that, with the whole family working together, they were able to save enough to go on holiday again the next year.

It was such a positive experience. The child in question is currently at college. She's the first person in her family to do this and the future looks bright for her. It's all the result, she believes, of someone taking the time and care to let her see another side of life, one which she hadn't thought possible.

At the FHA we see again and again what a difference a short holiday can make to families like the one referred to above. At the very least a holiday gives children their first ever chance to play in the sand and paddle on the beach, leaving them with happy family memories to last a lifetime. But very often it also gives a family a boost that helps them, reinvigorated, to take steps to turn their lives around. Thank you very much for supporting our work.

With best wishes from all at the Family Holiday Association.

Joseph Hipgrave
Fundraising Manager

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About Family Holiday Association:
FHA as been helping families for over 30 years. It works to promote the quality of family life for those parents and children who experience disadvantage as a result of poverty through the provision of and by promoting access to holidays and other recreational activities. In 2007 it is anticipated that over 1,250 families will go on holiday as a result of the FHA grant-making programme.

FHA's objectives are:
-	To increase the number of families that gain access to holidays.
-	To research and promote the value of holidays for families experiencing disadvantage.
-	To increase awareness of the scale and scope of the problem of lack of access to holidays.

FHA helps to provide holidays for economically and socially deprived children with their families. Typically, the families are suffering severe financial hardship and with extra difficulties such as long-term or terminal illness, violence or abuse, depression, disability or overcrowded and inadequate housing. Currently, the FHA helps about 1,200 families a year - around 5,000 individuals - to have what is often their first ever family holiday.

FHA helps by
-	providing grants: the FHA makes a modest grant towards the cost of a holiday.
-	lobbying and campaigning: the FHA is involved in raising the profile of its work, and in raising awareness with the public and government of the benefits of holidays for those in need.
-	working with others: the FHA works with local authorities, GPs, social workers, voluntary and statutory bodies, the media, and other like-minded agencies both here and in the rest of Europe.

To read more about the FHA, apply for holiday application forms, read about news and events, otherwise support the FHA or make a donation click here for the FHA's website.