On a sunny July afternoon, Home-Start families were treated to a summer picnic with soft play and musical entertainment. We were able to celebrate the joy of spending time together with children, with other families and with Home-Start staff and volunteers. It felt like a huge achievement to have made it through the worst of the pandemic, having continued to keep in touch with each other through one-to-one or group support either virtually or in person. This opportunity to meet outdoors for fun and fellowship meant a lot to the Home-Start team as well as the families, many of whom had not seen each other in person for a long time.
40 people from 15 families attended the event, some of whom were new to Home-Start, others had been with us for much longer.
It was wonderful to see parents and children coming together, sharing play equipment, and chatting comfortably. We were able to help some families with transport who would otherwise have been unable to join in with the summer celebrations. The event began with everyone enjoying a picnic together. Luckily, we also had enough extras picnic bags to deliver some to families who were unable to attend. The children then ran off their energy from lunch, playing and climbing on the soft play equipment.
At the end of the session, we were joined by Linda Bance who provided a musical treat including singing and dancing together.
The whole afternoon was greatly enjoyed by everyone that attended and we received lots of thank you messages from families.
Our thanks go to Linda Bance for leading the singing and dancing with her guitar and ribbons and to the wonderful volunteers who helped on the day or provided food for the lovely picnic lunches. We are also very grateful to A10 Bouncy Castles for supplying the soft play equipment and to Braughing parish church who, along with the John Lewis ‘Give a Little Love’ campaign, raised the money to pay for the party.
