News

Meet the people making Christmas wishes come true in Fenny Bentley this year

"I just feel so loved right now. I feel like I'm an important person," said a little girl on a CHICKS break in Fenny Bentley back in October. CHICKS gives children who feel lonely or worried the chance to be themselves and be loved for it. Every week throughout the year, our teams of Respite Break […]

Volunteers wrap over 2,000 CHICKSmas presents

Every year, CHICKS provides respite breaks to hundreds of vulnerable children and young people from across the UK. As part of their "CHICKS experience", every single child who comes on a break receives Christmas presents and cards at the end of the year. Many of the young people referred to us live in poverty and a […]

Packed-out Christmas lunch delivers for CHICKS

The East Midlands Chamber Christmas Lunch, a flagship event in the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire business calendar, took place on Friday 6 December 2019 at the Athena Leicester, as the great and good of the region's business community celebrated the start of the festive season in style. The annual lunch, sponsored by De Montfort University, Creative 62, […]

Hungry children will be spoiled with delicious Christmas food at CHICKS this year

CHICKS provides free week-long residential respite breaks for hundreds of children every year. This year, a lucky few will be able to come to our Daleside Retreat in Derbyshire for a special Christmas break from 23 to 27 December. We are opening our doors to 16 children living in the most desperately difficult circumstances to […]

Christmas wishes will come true this year

Most children in the UK couldn’t imagine a Christmas that wasn’t spent with their family in a warm home, with a stocking at the end of their bed and presents under the tree. Sadly, many of the children referred to CHICKS can only dream of a Christmas like this. The reality of their lives is […]

Be a Good Cause Santa Claus this Christmas

You know what it’s like… one day in early December, you come into work to be greeted by a box filled with slips of paper, out of which you are required to pull the name of a random colleague for whom you will secretly buy a small gift. When you’re so busy trying to traverse the pressures […]

Tavistock Santa Fun Run raises thousands

Our annual Santa Fun Run came to Tavistock last weekend (Sunday 1 December), raising £3,916 to enable more vulnerable children and young people from Devon and across the UK to attend a free week-long break. First held in 2015, our annual Santa Fun Runs in Tavistock and Callington attract participants from across Devon and Cornwall. This […]

Hannah to take on extreme triathlon for CHICKS

"Every time I get outside training, I have an adventure," says Hannah Saitch. "Whether it be for half an hour, all day or longer, this keeps me happy and soon wipes away any stress I may have. It has struck me training for this race how lucky I am to have these opportunities, which is why I […]

How victims of bullying are helped by a CHICKS break

Monday 11 to Friday 15 November 2019 is Anti-Bullying Week, an awareness event coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, a member group of the National Children’s Bureau. This year’s theme, “Change Starts with Us”, aims to inform schools, children and young people, parents and carers that it takes a collective responsibility to stop bullying. Change starts here. Change starts […]

Meet our Chair of Trustees, Stephen Brearley

Monday 4 to Friday 8 November 2019 marks Trustees' Week, an annual event set up by the Charity Commission to "showcase the great work that Trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference". To mark the occasion, we'd like to introduce you to Stephen Brearley, […]

8 top tips for increasing your sponsorship

So, you’ve decided to raise money to enable more young people to attend a much-needed respite break. Fantastic! But what’s next? How can you maximise the sponsorship money you raise? Today, our Fundraising Team would like to share a few top tips to help you secure as much support as possible from friends, family and coworkers. 1. Set […]

From the magazine: Making a world of difference

The following is an article from the latest issue of the CHICKS Magazine. In just one week, your support changes a childhood forever. "I can't sleep," whispered eight-year-old Lily* to CHICKS Respite Break Leader Alice, as she padded down the stairs of our Daleside retreat. Lily was spending her first night away from home ever, and her first […]