Friday 3 October 2014

Fundraising Ideas

Sometimes thinking of things to do to raise money for your favourite charities can be difficult - most people instantly land on the long distance runs or something heart-wrenchingly terrifying like jumping out of a plane!

Yet, there are many different ways that you can raise money for With Kids that you may not think of straight away, so we are here to give you a helping hand with ideas. 

Stoptober
Quite a recent phenomenon, Stoptober or “Sober October” is a month where you would abstain from cigarettes and/or alcohol, for two reasons. To try and give up smoking, and to promote a healthier lifestyle whilst raising funds for charity. Get your friends and family Sober October was introduced by Macmillan Cancer Support but there is nothing to say that you can’t partake in it and raise money for With Kids. We won’t tell if you don’t!

Movember
This is one for the guys, you've probably heard of this one; you might have even done it last year. Movember is a good way to raise money for charity (it helps that it is quite easy to do). All you have to do is shave on the 31st of October and then not shave that top lip for a month so that you acquire a glorious ‘stache as well as some donations from your friends and family.

Tango for With Kids
This is quite new to With Kids, you can take part in Tango Tipica's Absolute Beginners Tango Classes. The next series of Absolute Beginners Tango Classes in Glasgow starts with a free taster class on Friday 3 October at 6.15pm in the West End of Glasgow. All of the proceeds go to With Kids.

Henry the Teddy
Henry is a Canadian teddy bear that is being sent round the world to raise money for the charities of choice for two of the stars of Once Upon a Time; Robert Carlyle (With Kids) and Lana Parrilla (International Trauma Treatment Program). He is quite popular, so you might have to wait a while before he makes his way to stay with you, but that’s something to look forward to!

These are just a few examples of fundraising activities that you can do to collect donations, but then again, there always is the long distance runs or something heart-wrenchingly terrifying.

Collecting the money from all of these ideas is made so much easier with JustGiving. If you've never used JustGiving before, don’t worry, it is very simple and anyone can use it; you can also login with your Facebook which makes signing up to it painless.

If you would like any further information on fundraising please contact us by telephone 0141 550 5770 or by email info@withkids.org.uk to see how we can support you.

If you are going to raise funds for us then let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
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Monday 11 August 2014

Our Camping Trip Was A Success

We recently had our annual camping trip with families from both our offices and this year we went to Bonaly Outdoor Centre in Edinburgh.

It was a bit of a grey day in Glasgow but we were welcomed by the sun at Bonaly, and the families set to putting up their tents or settling into the chalet. There was no rest for the excited families though because it was straight into our first activities of the trip!

There was geocaching, grass sledging, a blind assault course and arts and crafts. Our bold geocachers set off with GPS’s to find the various treasures that are hidden around Bonaly as the grass sledgers took to the slopes. The families on the blind assault course had their work cut out as they felt around with blindfolds on but they all had a fantastic time.

Soon it was time for a spot of dinner and in the words of someone who will remain nameless, “the chips left a lot to be desired”, but nonetheless we still enjoyed the meal.

After dinner it was time for relaxations with a film and also drawing, the ever-present loom bands, a bit of pampering with hand lotions and one mum doing beautiful henna tattoos on hands and arms.

Soon it was time for tea, toast and winding up for bedtime. By 9.30 everyone was settled in and everything was quiet. The staff were slightly astounded and wondered what they should do next? Well, eat crisps and then go to bed!

We rose and shone on Thursday morning, which is more than the sun did! Fortunately, the showers passed quickly and we had periods of sunshine too during another fun-filled, action packed day.

Although it was wet it didn’t stop the grass sledgers, they came flying down with little knowledge or use of the brakes! There were some spectacular runs down.

Down the hill, away from the child cannonballs, the climbing wall seemed a much more relaxed scene. The ropes that the climbers were on were self-releasing meaning that they held your weight as you came down. The kids were a little uneasy at first but once they got the hang of it they were flinging themselves off with gusto.

The afternoon had a whole raft of activities again, with the addition of cupcake decorating, giant games and a walk through the woods to find the fairies and Charlie the Gnome before making our own wands. Most of the staff got turned into frogs but fortunately they were mostly turned back in time for the barbecue.

After being stuffed full of delicious food we had a last chance to burn off a few calories with some drama games. A variety of games sent us to all four corners of the tent field before we all collapsed in a heap on the ground.

We finished off with Murder Wink – some staff were, quite frankly overegging the pudding as far as their ‘death scenes’ were concerned (you know who you are) before a quick stop at the tuck shop and a dash into the chalet from the rain.

All too soon it was time for bed again and then a quick clean up in the morning before boarding the bus home.

We’d like to say a huge thanks to all our families for making it such an amazing trip and thanks to Bonaly for having us.

We have uploaded an album here, and if you have any more photos from the camping trip then don't hesitate to share them with us, and we'll pop them up on Facebook or put them in this album!

To find out what else is happening at With Kids, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Tuesday 22 July 2014

Stuck for Summer Things to Do?


Great! It’s summer and you don’t have to worry about getting your children ready for school on time...but you’re left with the hard decision of what to do to keep your kids busy and happy.

The exorbitant cost of days out or trips away, lack of safe places to play or available amenities can leave parents & carers viewing the long summer holiday with much less enthusiasm than the kids.

At With Kids, we have a five week programme set up that runs all the way up to August 6th which involves days out, activities and trips away which will keep the whole family occupied.

We are into our third week, and so far we’ve had a few days out to Pollok and Kelburne parks, as well as the Riverside Museum and the Science Centre. 

They were all really fun trips and we all had a great time, and we were lucky as the weather has been great recently - fantastic! 

Hopefully we’ll get more where that came from in the coming weeks, but hey, this is Scotland and no one knows what the weather is going to be in an hour, let alone a few weeks!

It’s not all fun and games though...well, actually it is, but we have been productive and making things too!

We’ve made awesome puppets, and our own little theatres where everybody performed their own plays. There were so many great stories. 

On Wednesday we made yummy smoothies and healthy fruit kebabs too, which made up for the hotdogs, pizza and popcorn we had whilst watching Brave last week.

And speaking of last week, the aliens landed with our Aliens & Monsters art group where we all made some wild and wacky creatures from space, as well as spaceships! 

If you would like to find out more about the summer programme then please don’t hesitate to ask us. You can get in contact by calling: 0141 550 5770 or you can email us at info@withkids.org.uk.

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Friday 6 June 2014

The Golf Day Was A Hole Lot Of Fun

Our first golf day was a success, and not only because the weather was great!

The inaugural With Kids Golf Day, the Alan Rough Celebrity AM, took place at Mar Hall Golf Resort and Spa on Thursday 29th May.

We were joined by 72 keen golfers who took to the course and enjoyed a fun day of golf, sun and a great lunch when they came off of the 18th.

A special thanks must go to all who attended and to who gave generously in the raffle and the auction as, all in all, the day raised in excess of £4000.

We would like to thank the following teams for their participation on the day:

  • Fatbuzz 
  • The Forge Shopping Centre 
  • Mark Hamill 
  • Chattelle 
  • WRI Associates 
  • Primestaff 
  • Excel Vending 
  • Barclays 
  • City Legacy 
  • Mearns Castle Golf Academy 
  • Kenny Hailstones. (With Kids Competition Winner) 


We were awarding prizes to the two teams with the highest scores as well as a couple of other competitions because, although it was a day of fun and relaxing golf, everyone loves a bit of healthy competition!

The first prize of a Trespass Golf Bag went to Alan rough’s team, with the second prize of a Gordon White print and golf balls went to members of Cathcart Golf Club, so well done to these two teams.

As we said earlier we held another two small competitions; the Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin, and Kerr Mann was the longest driver who won a Trespass holdall, Mark Hamill being nearest the pin won a Trespass holdall too.

So again, thanks to everyone who came along; it’s always nice to know that you are better than a golf pro as 13 people beat the pro on the 10th hole!

If you want to attend next year’s golf day, or any other With Kids events then keep up to date by giving us a ‘Like’ on Facebook or by following us on Twitter.

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Wednesday 28 May 2014

The Hour Is Nearly Upon Us!




One of our supporters, Emilie Charlotte, is taking part in a skydive in aid of With Kids.

Here is an update on what is happening with her efforts:



"Hello Peeps!

The time has flown by since my last post about Tiffany & I doing the skydive for With Kids! It is due to happen this Saturday, 31st May. The weather is looking fair enough which is a bonus, as I can’t imagine anything worse than being cancelled & having to go back weeks later! A bit like the dentist, I like to get it out of the way!

I won’t bore you with the fitness regime that I had intended on taking on because I couldn’t be arsed with it in the end. Instead I’ve stuffed my face with salad for the last few weeks, which evens things out somewhat.

Keen to immerse myself in uncomfortable situations, I let Tiffs drag me along to a posh wine-tasting do the other week. We were all given a bit of paper so that we could describe the aroma & taste of each different wine. All my answers just said ‘tastes like wine’, that’s how cultured I am! At least I lasted longer there than at the art gallery do that daughter dragged me to…

For anyone who is still reading by this point, we will keep you all updated via Twitter & Facebook about what is happening on Saturday. We have to arrive for 8.30, earlier if we want the jumps filmed (hell yes, this isn’t going to happen again!) We might be waiting for the weather to clear & might not even jump till 9pm, which is a little daunting! Apart from that, all I know is that we get 20 minutes training just before we board the plane….

Tiffany & I would like to thank everyone who has already donated towards the appeal. We would dearly love to reach our target, so if you haven’t yet donated, then please do here: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/withkidsskydive?

Special thanks goes to Suzy Blair from With Kids who has been a great help to me with organising it all, Vanessa Marte who has tirelessly promoted the event via social media & lastly Robert Carlyle for retweeting our link & being our all round inspiration!

Much love, Emilie & Tiffany xx"


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Friday 9 May 2014

Our Ladies Lunch - May 2014

This Sunday we will be having our ladies lunch at the fantastic 29 Glasgow in Royal Exchange Square in the Supper Club, with a champagne reception in the 29 Apartment.

Joining us at 29 as our compère and our host will be Edward Reid, and Mr. Reid will also be performing for us!

For those of you who don’t know who Edward Reid is, he was a contestant on 2011’s Britain’s Got Talent and sang nursery rhymes and children’s television show themes, but with a twist as he sang them to the tunes of other popular songs. Well, might we add; really well.

As we said previously, he will be acting as our compère between our entertainment - the Jersey Tones and an extra special performance from a few of the children from With Kids, who will be putting on a wee play for us!

The Jersey Tones are a four man tribute act who perform songs sung by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, as well as the hits from the five-piece vocal harmony group, the Overtones.

We have heard good things, and they sound amazing so we can’t wait to have them perform for us, and we’ll let the kids surprise you with their play!

In addition to the entertainment, we will have a fabulous raffle and an auction where you will have the chance to win great prizes including an overnight bed and breakfast stay at Mar Hall.

As well as the chance to win something, there will be a guaranteed buy at the Bustle Lingerie pop-up shop;

“All of [their] lingerie comes direct to your door in style and beautifully wrapped! [They also] don't have a high street presence so you can be sure we deliver it at the best price.”

Bustle aren’t the only ones who we have to thank for taking part in the event, we also have a sponsor to remember who we are thankful to have. St. James’s Place Wealth Management, who offer face-to-face wealth management advice, which is tailored to meet your own specific circumstances, are our sponsor for this year’s lunch and we are fortunate to have such a great sponsor.

We would also like to thank the following for donating to With Kids for this event; 29 Glasgow, Dunmore Scotland, Gordon and Marion White, Ashoka Cook School, Celtic FC, De Vere Cameron House, and Munro Opticians.

We are very privileged to have such a great venue, a great host and great entertainment which will make this ladies lunch an event to remember, and we look forward to seeing you there.

To keep up to date with future events, and to get your photos from these events online, make sure to follow us on Twitter and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

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Friday 25 April 2014

With Kids Golf Day


Are you a keen golfer? If so, why not join us for the celebrity Alan Rough AM Golf Tournament to raise funds for With Kids at the impressive Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort?

Taking place at The Earl of Mar Golf Course on Thursday the 29th May, teams of players, including celebrities such as Derek Johnstone, Frank McAvennie and Alan Rough himself, will compete on the day for both individual and team prizes.

Located just 10 minutes from Glasgow Airport and set within a tranquil 240 acre woodland estate, the course will give you spectacular views of the River Clyde and the Kilpatrick Hills.

The team will consist of four players, or three players and a celebrity, with a full team handicap of up to 18, and the best three net scores for each hole count per team.

The teams will be competing against each other in a Fourball Stableford competition with a 10am tee off, and there will be a range of prizes for the top three teams and individual prizes, including nearest the pin.

Some of the celebrities that will be in attendance at the event include Central FM presenter and Scotland’s most capped goalkeeper Alan Rough, Radio Clyde presenter and former Rangers and Scotland player Derek Johnstone, former SFA referee Willie Young, and football agent and former Celtic, West Ham and Scotland player Frank McAvennie.

Others confirmed for the event are former Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Rangers and Scotland player Billy Dodds, BBC pundit and former Hibs, Celtic and Scotland player Murdo Macleod, and former boxing champion Ian McLeod.

The price for a team is £500, which includes a round of golf as well as a three course dinner for each team member.

If you would like to take a team for a fun day out, whilst raising vital funds for With Kids, please email events@fatbuzz.com or call Fiona MacDonald on 0141 427 0727.

Fiona will provide you with a form that you will need to fill out, identifying which company you are from, how many people you're playing with, and their handicaps.

Please share this with your friends if you think they would be interested, and remember to keep up-to-date with the day on Facebook and Twitter.

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Tuesday 18 March 2014

Track Henry, the Charity Teddy

Once Upon a Donation

Two lovely fans of Once Upon A Time have come up with a wonderful idea for donating to two charities chosen by OUAT stars Robert Carlyle and Lana Parilla. 

Henry, a very busy and adventure-thirsty little teddy bear will be travelling the world, connecting fans, sharing cultures and raising funds for With Kids and the International Trauma Treatment Program. 

Henry will travel by mail and stay for a week to 10 days so that he can visit his destination properly.  He’ll also bring with him 2 travel books, one for Robert and one for Lana and participants will fill these with pictures and stories of Henry’s tour.

Henry will be raising funds as he travels (even small donations help) and hosts can choose to donate to either (or both) of the charities chosen by Robert Carlyle (With Kids) and Lana Parrilla (International Trauma Treatment Program).

The busy little bear has now been booked up until 2016 and so far has 65 hosts that he’ll be visiting worldwide.

There will be lots of lovely pictures and info showing Henry’s progress on the Tumblr site.  If you’d like to keep up to date, would like Henry to visit or want to find out more then please visit the Once Upon A Donation site on tumblr. 

You can also follow them on twitter @OUaDonation or on Facebook, and you can keep up with Henry’s travels by viewing the map here.

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Thursday 6 March 2014

Caring for Kinship Carers



At With Kids, we offer many different services to accommodate and help struggling families in the more poverty stricken areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh - and one such service is kinship care.

Kinship care is the care of children by people such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends, because their natural parents are unable to care for them. 

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 emphasises that, if any child cannot be with their parents, connections should be maintained within the family circle if at all possible, and according to Mentor UK, one in 77 children across Scotland grows up in a household with friends or relatives.

The idea for a Kinship Care Group first arose two years ago when a local kinship carer approached us after an activity session, and asked if With Kids could assist her in setting up a local kinship care group as there was a gap in support services to aid local kinship carers.

We agreed, and so the With Kids Kinship Care Group was set up as a friendly, safe place for kinship carers to meet regardless of the legal status of their arrangement.

The group now meets every Wednesday morning, and allows kinship carers to share stories, issues, and worries, and give advice to other kinship carers in a similar position as themselves over a cup of tea or coffee.

The kinship group supports the idea of peer support and learning, where the kinship carers provide each other with emotional, practical and mutual support to alleviate feelings of criticism and isolation, and experiences of little or no practical support in managing the complicated family situations that they deal with.

Some members of the kinship group recently signed up to the Scottish Kinship Care Alliance’s Justice for Kinship Kids campaign, and on the 19th February 2014, they protested outside The Scottish Parliament to urge MSPs to vote for amendments to increase the support available to kinship care families in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill is just one of the common issues that has been discussed by a programme of guest speakers at the With Kids Kinship Care Group, along with issues such as food poverty, fuel poverty, and welfare reform.

These sessions are open to other known kinship carers locally, and any other organisations who want to find out more about kinship care or any common issues that affect children in care.

If you would like more information on kinship care or the With Kids Kinship Care Group, you can contact us at With Kids Edinburgh on 0131 453 6937, With Kids Glasgow on 0141 550 5770 or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter.

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Thursday 30 January 2014

A Belated but Heartfelt Thank You

Now that the seasonal chaos has just about died down, we would like to take a moment to thank all our With Kids supporters, both big and small, for your overwhelming response to our Christmas Appeal 2013.

Thanks to your invaluable support, we were able to provide 102 families in Glasgow and Edinburgh with food parcels, and also 232 children with presents to open on Christmas morning.


In addition to this, we also had 82 families along to our Christmas parties, where 175 kids received a present from Santa.


However, it’s not just at Christmas when we rely on donations; our summer programme and various groups and activities are also made possible this way throughout the year.


We simply couldn't reach as many families without your continued support, and we would like to take the time to thank some particular businesses, individuals, schools and nurseries who went above and beyond the call of duty last year.  


So, without further ado, (*drum roll*) we would like to take the opportunity to announce our very own New Years Honours List.



Thank you to the various businesses and organisations who helped support With Kids, including Scottish Fire & Rescue and Tommy Keay who as always, were amazing, The Disney Store in St Enoch Centre, fatBuzz, Kevin MaGuire and Merchant City Properties, Dell (Alexandra Parade), Excel Vending, Andrew Muirhead & Sons, Sainsbury's Longstone, Scottish National Heritage, CFC Foundation, Tango Tipica, UNITE, Port William Community Shop, El Barrio Glasgow, Maxim Tools, The Gallery, and Scottish Enterprise.

There were also many individuals who gave up their own valuable time in order to help make a huge difference to the families that With Kids support, including Tracy Heraghty and staff, friends and family from Scottish Power (Cathcart), Lisa Sullivan, Phil Worms of iomart Group, Alex and Jen Robertson, Laura O'Brien at CTG, Elaine McIntyre and Fraser Gowrie Johnston, Lorna Allan, Lucy Gardner at The Sun, and everyone who purchased from the Amazon Wish List.

As you are all aware of, we help provide individual, social and practical support to children and families across Scotland, so it was particularly heartwarming to receive the support from various primary schools and nurseries throughout Glasgow, including St Josephs Primary, Mount Florida Nursery, Balornock Primary, Ashcraig Primary, Alexandra Parade Primary, Garnetbank Primary and Wellfield Nursery.

Last but not least, thank you to Robert Carlyle, Emilie De Ravin and all the wonderful Once Upon A Time Fans, as well as JCI Glasgow and Daniel and Kim Robertson, who did an absolutely brilliant job organising and collecting donations from Caledonian and Glasgow University.

We have had so many people help us throughout the year that it’s impossible to name them all, so finally, we would like to say an ENORMOUS THANK YOU to everyone who donated, volunteered, tweeted, followed, shared and talked about With Kids in 2013.

You are all stars!

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Monday 13 January 2014

Christmas On Credit


“Was Santa good to you this year?”. The words every child is asked at Christmas time, the answer to which can only be yes in the eyes of their parents. Who just want to do best by their children by any means necessary and that can sometimes land them in trouble.


Financial trouble, at Christmas time, is always a tough time financially but for some families it can be far tougher and the rest of the new year can also become a struggle too.

In a recent channel 4 documentary, “Christmas on Credit”, these problems are addressed and explains just how difficult the Christmas period can be for Britain’s poorer families. 

It opens with statistics claiming that 11% of British families are still paying off money that they borrowed for Christmas 2012, 93% feel that they are under pressure to spend too much during the festive period and around 15% of British adults plan to take out a loan for this year. 

Perfection is strived for so nonchalantly that the struggle that follows can be very harrowing, but it is kept aside until the new year then the worrying truly begins.

Around seven million people will borrow money this Christmas and four million of that will borrow just so that they can provide their families with a good hearty Christmas dinner. 

For one of the families interviewed in the documentary, the loan taken out for 2012’s Christmas has still not been paid off and are planning on taking out another loan on credit to pay for this year. At a nationwide average of £822, though, does it comes as any surprise that debt will arise for those on benefits who struggle to make it through the week let alone Christmas.

Loans on credit that have been given out last Christmas and have failed to have been paid will result in lower credit scores, meaning that loans this year will be declined. This will mean that this Christmas will be difficult but if you can scrape by then great, but what about next year?

The stigma of the whole idea and pleasantries of Christmas dull down the negative thoughts of the repayments are kept at bay because seeing the smiles on their children's’ faces is worth it.

However all of this being said, what are your thoughts? Do you think that Christmas has been over-hyped and become the source of anxiety amongst many British households? Obviously it is a great festive time that should be full of joy and time with your family, but should it cause so much strain on people? 

If you'd like to find out more about how you can help to raise vital funds for With Kids please click HERE. You can contact us on Facebook or Twitter or call us on 0141 550 5770.


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