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Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page:-
After last year's fantastic donations, it's that time of year again to raise some more money. I would love to beat last year's donations which reached a staggering £2,150.00!
The Southend toy library need approx £15,000 per year to give each child 4 days of respite. A day of respite can consist of different things. Nearer Christmas they will provide a couple of 'making' sessions, where they will make cards and calendars, make and decorate diaries and cakes, make presents for parents and siblings and tree decorations. Other respite days may be a trip to a London or local theatre, hops farm, diggerland, paradise wildlife park, bowling, domino pizza making, party man world, mega zone in Rayleigh, B&Q for wood work and Romford dogs to name a few. The siblings even get to join in with some trips. This year both my children went to the Paralympics to watch the blind football, an experience of a lifetime. We also have the chance to have a weekend away, normally about 100 of us. This year we went to Clacton. It's good for the dads to mix with other dads and all the siblings get on with eachother even though they may all vary on age. The adults had darts and pool tournaments, morning bootcamp sessions and bingo, while the kids enjoyed various activities including the rodeo bill, sumo suit wrestling, swimming and making sessions, and every child gets a chance to join in every activity, to suit their ability. Tracey Beck who runs the toy library makes sure every child gets the most out of their day with her. She is one amazing lady. Respite is not only good for the children, but for the parents as we all have one thing in common, a special needs child who wants to be treated like any other child.