Children having fun courtesy of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre in Skegness
The first of hundreds of school children who would not normally get a holiday are setting off to the seaside in the first break organised by the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre for two years.
The charity has announced it is opening up children’s holidays again, and a group of 14 primary aged youngsters will be travelling by bus to its centre in Skegness on March 7 to spend five days by the sea.
This will be the first time the charity’s specialist centre, known affectionately as ‘Skeggy home’, is opening to give disadvantaged children a holiday since March 2020. It had to shut due to Covid lockdowns, and has not been open since.
The charity, which celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2021, normally pays for more than 600 children a year to enjoy a seaside holiday. Youngsters are nominated from homes where there is significant hardship of one type or another, and it is felt they might not otherwise get a holiday at all.
Leaders of the charity said they were absolutely delighted that children could once again benefit from its services from March 2022.
Chairman Alan Grimadell said: “It’s been a long time that the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has not been able to perform the role that we are known for – providing seaside breaks for children who badly need them.
“Covid has been a difficult period for everyone and particularly for children who usually so look forward to spending a week with us at our centre in Skegness. For many of them, it’s the only holiday they get so we’ve been desperate to re-open for them when the time is right.
“I’m so delighted that on March 7 the first bus-load of happy children will be travelling from central Derby to Skegness for the week. We are looking forward to opening up our centre for the whole season this year so hundreds of children can once again enjoy the simple pleasures of a week by the sea: making sandcastles, jumping the waves – these are the things that they sorely need, and our charity is there to give them that carefree time.”
The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre as set up in 1891 by friends Harry Sykes and Arnold Bemrose, after Harry met a group of young boys sailing a boat on a puddle when walking through a deprived area of Derby. With their parents’ permission, Harry and Arnold took the boys on a day trip to Skegness.
The following year, a house was rented in Skegness and 223 children enjoyed a holiday. Funds were then raised to build a centre, which was opened in 1898.
Because the centre is so well established in Skegness, having enjoyed its position near the sea for well over a century, many local businesses are glad to support its work and the children who come there. The charity often benefits from cut-price admissions and food so that children who come to the Lincolnshire coast can have the happiest time possible.
Ali Byerley, Manager of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre in Skegness, said: “It’s so lovely that we can welcome children again to have the holidays they so need. Even though we’ve been closed for two years, local businesses have not forgotten us. I can’t really put into words how much I’m looking forward to them coming back. It’s about children having fun. That’s what it’s all about. This house is just a house but with children in it, it’s a home.”
The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre would always appreciate donations to help keep its vital work alive. With a million people living in Derbyshire, the charity’s plea is for people to be ‘One in a Million’, donating £4 a month by texting DCHCMILLION to 70085.
