“We’re probably Sheffield’s best kept secret”: charities to help disadvantaged families

Kings Active Foundation has partnered with Mums In Need, a charity that supports women who have left abusive relationships, to subsidise 90 per cent of the cost of a week’s sports camp for 20 families.

A week-long sports camp at Kings Active Foundation normally costs around £240 a week but this subsidy will make the total cost under £20 per child.

Membership Manager, Caroline Coulthard, 34, said the charity aims to make sure children can come to a camp regardless of their financial situation.

She said: “It’s such a pleasure for us to see the difference that it is making in children’s and families’ lives and knowing we’re an option for them every school holiday.

“It’s an incredible thing to be a part of.”

Both charities hope these camps will give mothers the respite they need, while giving their children the chance to develop their confidence and new skills.

To apply for a subsidised place, families would normally need to fill in a form about their circumstances and income and then a panel would discuss their application, but this new partnership means Mums In Need will be referring families.

Case co-ordinator at Mums In Need, Nicola Rickwood, 40, said some of the women that come to the charity have suffered economic abuse and been left in debt by their ex-partners, so would not be able to afford this otherwise.

She said: “The women we’re supporting, we want them to thrive.

“We want to be that hope and that freedom to better themselves and their children, to start moving on and thinking about their future.”

While originally formed in Sheffield, Kings Active now has camps nationwide, and have been running their Supporting Families program for 15 years, aiming to help disadvantaged families access their camps.

Their goal is to have 3.5 per cent of their UK camp places funded through the program and they are also trying to provide around 10,000 children a year with free activity sessions in schools across the country.

CEO Andrew Busby, 44, said: “It’s why we exist and it’s just what we do every day.

“We’re probably Sheffield’s best kept secret.”