KidsOut

Kids Out UK is a UK-based charity located in Leighton Buzzard, offering a variety of services aimed at supporting underprivileged children.

The charity provides fun days out, toy boxes, and books to disadvantaged children, with their reports indicating that these efforts impact approximately 80,000 children annually. This includes over 20,000 who, alongside their mothers, have had to flee their homes to escape domestic abuse and live in a refuge. Children receiving help may also come from difficult backgrounds, such as having been excluded from school, having life-limiting disabilities, or facing social and rural isolation.

Fun Days bring disadvantaged children to places across the UK. They include trips to the seaside, theme parks, zoos, and the cinema. As of December 2023, KidsOut had taken nearly 1.1 million children out on Fun Days.

The charity is working to expand its services by developing arts, music, and sports programmes.

History

KidsOut was established following an initiative by Lady Grantchester, a member of the Moore family, owners of Littlewoods, and a resident in Kingston. In 1990, she suggested to the Kingston Rotary Club that they organise a day out for disadvantaged children. Working with Peter Jarvis, and fellow Rotarians Graham Child and John Saxton, the concept of KidsOut was developed. The first event, organized in partnership with the Kingston Littlewoods store, involved an outing for 200 children to Thorpe Park. The success of this event prompted Lady Grantchester to offer a one-off grant to any Rotary Club willing to participate in similar outings on the second Wednesday of June.

This initiative quickly gained traction, with 800 Rotary Clubs across the UK joining the effort. The National Rotary KidsOut Day was subsequently established, becoming the largest organized outing for disadvantaged children in the UK. Each year, tens of thousands of children benefit from this event.

The charity was incorporated in 1998, with amendments made in 1999, 2008, and 2023.

Services

KidsOut provides a range of programmes aimed at supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable children in the UK. The charity seeks to create positive experiences and memories for children who might otherwise lack access to such opportunities. Annually, KidsOut benefits up to 80,000 children through services that include day trips, toy distributions, and educational resources.

Toy Boxes

In collaboration with Women’s Aid, KidsOut supports over 20,000 children annually who have fled domestic violence and taken refuge with their mothers. Many of these children arrive at refuges with very little, having endured emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. To assist with their transition into a new home, KidsOut provides age-appropriate Toy Boxes containing brand-new toys and books. In 2023, the charity distributed over 11,000 Toy Boxes, making it the only organization in the UK to provide toys and books to every child in a Women’s Aid refuge.

Fun Days

The 'Fun Days' initiative was launched in 2012. It offers outings for disadvantaged and vulnerable children across the UK. Activities include visits to theatres, theme parks, and the seaside, providing opportunities for children to create positive and happy memories. The program has reached over one million children, including those facing economic hardship, living with disabilities, or experiencing life-limiting conditions.

The National Rotary Day Out

Every June, the Rotary Organisation throughout Great Britain and Ireland, together with KidsOut, takes between 20,000 and 25,000 disadvantaged children on a day out where they may visit the seaside, theme parks, adventure playgrounds, and zoos.

The Giving Tree Shop

The charity's ' Giving Tree - Fun & Happiness Shop' was established in 2008. It gives individuals, companies, and schools the opportunity to buy a toy or fun experience for a vulnerable child or children throughout the year. During Christmastime, the charity provides gifts to open on Christmas morning for children in Women's Aid refugees. In 2024, the charity encouraged people to stop giving Secret Santa gifts and donate to help vulnerable children instead.

Multi-sensory rooms and units for children with complex needs

KidsOut provides multi-sensory units for organisations and schools looking after children with complex needs. This type of learning has been proven to increase speech and language development, communication skills, memory and comprehension, and can have a positive impact on children’s behaviour and development.

Food vouchers

The charity provides food vouchers for mothers with children living in refuge.

Word Stories - free access to digital books from around the world

In 2017, KidsOut establishe
World Stories
a free-to-access, growing collection of 175 traditional and original stories from around the world representing the 32 most commonly spoken languages by children in the UK. World Stories is an online resource that helps children improve their literacy and keep up in the classroom.

Governance

The CEO of KidsOut is Sara Williams. The charity is governed by a board of trustees and is also supported by 18 ambassadors and 2 patrons, John Parrott and John Peters.

References

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Children's charities based in the United Kingdom
Charities based in Bedfordshire
1999 establishments in England
Organizations established in 1999