Underprivileged children will enjoy healthy meals and fun activities at free school holiday camps this May half term.
It’s thanks to a new collaboration between Reading F.C and Select Car Leasing.
Since 2021, the Reading F.C Community Trust has run special camps for disadvantaged youngsters in the local area during the Easter, Summer and Winter school holidays.
But now a brand new, additional set of camps has been created for the upcoming May half term, too.
They provide a safe environment to ‘care, develop and educate disadvantaged or at-risk young people’, according to the Trust.
And a big part of the camps’ appeal is that youngsters get to eat nutritious food while taking part in mental health-boosting activities with new friends.
National vehicle lease firm Select Car Leasing, headquartered in Reading, has been supporting the camps financially since 2021, pledging thousands of pounds in the process.
And Select - Principal Partner of Reading F.C - is supporting the two new camps that will take place at the end of May and beginning of June.
The first ‘Select Car Leasing Food and Activity Camp’ will be held at the Ranikhet Academy, Dee Park estate, on Tuesday 30th May, and will see around 60 kids aged between 5 and 14 attend.
A further two-day Select Car Leasing Food and Activity Camp will take place at Reading School on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd June.
Both camps will provide free hot meals, a wide array of fun games - including football - as well as access to a local food bank.
The camps are open to any children on free school meals who attend schools in the surrounding area and will be put forward for the camps by their own educational establishment or local council.
Dave Evans, General Manager of the Reading F.C Community Trust, says: “Reading F.C Community Trust is extremely grateful for the support it continues to receive from Select Car Leasing, and we’re delighted to be able to launch our new Food and Activity camps this May half term.
“This is about making a real difference to the lives of children and their families at a time when parents and carers need all the help they can get.
“We know that the school holidays can be a real pressure point for low-income families, who might struggle to afford healthy food and activities for their children, so the camps have been created to try and alleviate some of that strain.”
The most recent camp - a council-backed Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) - came during the Easter school holiday at the Ranikhet Academy.
A total of 27 children accessed the camp over a four-day period. More than 90 healthy meals were provided - with all leftovers being offered to families to take home.
The Reading F.C Community Trust joined forces with local community cafe ‘Dee Caf’ to provide food for the camp, while the Dee Caf also operates a food bank.
What’s more, Reading F.C midfielder Cesare Casadei (pictured below)- who was on loan in Berkshire from parent club Chelsea - also made an appearance, to the delight of the youngsters.
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Chris Berry, Reading F.C Funded Programmes Officer and HAF Coordinator, said: “Our HAF Camp programme is crucial to so many vulnerable families, so it is great to be able to work so closely with partners to impact a community in such a positive way.
“I cannot thank Ranikhet Academy enough for working with us to promote the camp as well as letting us use their excellent facilities. Tina at Dee Caf has been superb; not only providing nutritious hot food, freshly baked treats, drinks, snacks and fruit but also helping promote the camp through word of mouth.”
Louisa Sanghera, Headteacher at Ranikhet Academy, added: “Strong community links are so important for making children and adults feel safe and giving them a sense of belonging. We want everyone to feel proud of the community that they are part of and to work together to make it stronger. We talk to our children about caring for the local community, serving others, and having ‘trusted adults’ in the community who help them to feel safe. The holiday camp has played a huge part in this and helped us to strengthen relationships within our community.”
Each day at a camp involves at least three hours of physical activity - which includes things like football, frisbee, Kimball, dodgeball, soft archery, handball and Gaelic football.
The funds supplied by Select Car Leasing come from a scheme whereby for every Select customer who says they’re a Reading F.C supporter when they lease a vehicle, Select adds £50 to the Community Trust kitty.
Select Car Leasing Director Mark Tongue, a passionate and lifelong Reading F.C fan, says: “We’re proud to support the Reading F.C Community Trust and its school holiday initiatives, and we’re thrilled to now offer the additional Select Car Leasing Food and Activity Camps.
“As a local company, we’re passionate about reaching out to surrounding areas and supporting worthwhile ventures. There are many families in Reading facing real financial challenges right now, and anything we can do to help benefits us all.”
Select Car Leasing runs a separate ‘Tickets for Kids’ project, whereby more than thousands of free tickets are made available each season for youngsters from local grassroots football clubs to go and watch a Reading F.C home game.
Select has also supplied free kit to grassroots football clubs thanks to an initiative run in conjunction with the Grassroots FA.
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