News

Please support our urgent appeal today

After postponing our respite breaks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, we have now launched an urgent appeal for support. We have provided free five-day respite breaks for UK children living in a wide variety of difficult circumstances since 1992. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to postpone breaks indefinitely for the first time in […]

Senior leadership change

CHICKS Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dean has decided to leave the charity in order to explore new opportunities from the start of March 2020. CHICKS Chair of Trustees Steve Brearley has issued the following statement: “On behalf of CHICKS, I can confirm that following a period of loyal service to the charity, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dean has […]

Breaks to stop from Friday 20 March

After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to stop providing our respite breaks for children and young people from this Friday, 20 March 2020 until further notice, as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. In addition to the above, our shops in Exeter, Torquay and Newton Abbot are closed, and all our […]

[POSTPONED] Devon & Cornwall Police to lock up senior officers and VIPs to raise money for CHICKS

Update: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this event has been postponed. We will update you when more information becomes available. On Wednesday 18 March 2020, several senior officers of the Devon and Cornwall Police Force (DCP) will be detained behind bars to raise money for CHICKS. Operation Executive LockUp, organised in benefit of the Chief […]

Ade Edmondson to feature on Celebrity Mastermind raising money for CHICKS

We are delighted to announce that actor, comedian, television presenter and musician Ade Edmondson is set to feature on an upcoming episode of BBC One's Celebrity Mastermind, competing to raise money for CHICKS! Ade, along with wife Jennifer Saunders, is a regular supporter of CHICKS. In recent years, he has also appeared as a contestant on […]

How to support CHICKS on AmazonSmile

As you may or may not have seen us announce late last year, you can now support CHICKS when shopping online using the AmazonSmile programme! AmazonSmile is essentially the exact same website as Amazon.co.uk, except on a wide range of products you can donate to a chosen charity for no extra cost. Today, we wanted to […]

6 reasons to volunteer at CHICKS as a student

Here at CHICKS, we rely on a constant stream of budding volunteers to help us provide the best breaks we can to vulnerable young people from across the UK. On every week-long break, three Respite Break Leaders (CHICKS employees) are joined by up to six volunteers whose job it is to be positive adult role models, interacting with the […]

Daleside Retreat renovated for the 2020 season

In preparation for the start of our 2020 break season today (Monday 10th February), the CHICKS Daleside Retreat in Derbyshire has undergone a bit of a makeover! During the 2019/20 off-season, when our team of Respite Break Leaders undergo annual training and the retreat is prepared for the season ahead, Daleside has been renovated both […]

CHICKS to sell Moorland Retreat in Brentor, Devon

It is with complete and sincere fondness for the hundreds of memories made and childhoods changed at our retreat in Brentor, Devon that we today announce that our 'Moorland Retreat' is for sale. The eight-bed property was placed on the market in January following a period of careful consultation between our staff and the Board of […]

7 ways you can get involved with CHICKS in 2020

Every year, CHICKS relies on the generous services of hundreds of volunteers to deliver respite breaks to vulnerable children and young people across the UK. However, we recognise that spending a week away from home working directly with young people is not for everyone. Luckily, there is a multitude of ways in which you can […]

Shantelle recalls her life-changing CHICKS breaks

Shantelle-Marie Swabey attended eight consecutive CHICKS breaks as a child, and claims that she "wouldn't be who and where she is today" without those experiences. Now aged 22, Plymouth-based Shantelle is trying to raise awareness and funds for CHICKS to enable more young people to have those same opportunities she enjoyed. In September 2005, at the […]

Bring light and happiness to the lives of hundreds of vulnerable children in 2020

One week can be gone in the blink of an eye. But one week when you're eight and braving the dizzying heights of a rock climbing wall, patting the horse you didn't believe you could ride, or beaming with pride as new friends exclaim how amazing you are at Dobble can last a long time […]