Registered Charity Number 325120
www.farmsforcitychildren.org farmsforcitychildren
farmersforaweek
farmsforcitychildren
CONTENTS 2
Welcome from CEO
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Farm News
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Thank You & Fundraising
9 Shop 11 Support Us
Tel: 01392 276381 admin@farmsforcitychildren.org www.farmsforcitychildren.org Farms for City Children Huxham Barns Exeter EX5 4EJ Patron HRH The Princess Royal Founders Sir Michael Morpurgo and Lady Clare Morpurgo Founding President Ted Hughes OM Chairman Simon Gregory
farmsforcitychildren farmersforaweek farmsforcitychildren Registered Charity Number 325120
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Photo Credit: The Long Table
WELCOME The children came back! After 6 months of silence it was brilliant to welcome children back for day visits to Farms for City Children in September. Throughout the autumn term, local school children have been able to spend time on the farms becoming immersed in farming life throughout the changing seasons. Many of the children visiting this term are quite different to our usual city primary school groups. Some of our day-farmers are teenagers, others are outside of mainstream education, and many face a tough mix of challenges at home and in school that make life quite difficult. What remains clear is that the children – all of them – need us more than ever before. The fresh air, good food, nature’s magic, and the meaningful teamwork that happens on a farm is a tonic to children’s long months of isolation and the restrictions of lockdown.
Although much remains uncertain for the Charity and the wider world, we are looking forward to the excitement of a Bright New Year. 2021 marks the Charity’s 45th Anniversary; a great achievement that has allowed more than 100,000 children to be farmers for a week. Covid has curtailed plans to welcome you to a series of celebratory events but we still hope to throw a glorious garden party next summer; I’ll keep you posted.
We are looking forward to children returning for residential visits in the spring and will continue to do all we can to support as many as possible during these challenging times.
Finally, I would like to say an enormous THANK YOU to you for supporting us through the most challenging 6-months in the Charity’s history. Every penny you have donated helped Farms for City Children to survive the total close-down of our sector so that we could throw-open the farm gates again as soon as the children were allowed back. With your kindness we are still here and, together, we will continue to support the children who have been so traumatised by the effects of this pandemic.
Without hungry hordes of children in residence the mountains of fresh produce from our kitchen gardens haven’t gone to waste. We donated enormous crates of fruits and vegetables to some brilliant community initiatives during lockdown and have also been selling veg-boxes and meat-boxes to our local communities. If you live near to one of our farms and would like to find out more about buying our fresh produce boxes please do let me know.
Sending you the warmest best wishes from all of us at Farms for City Children,
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VANESSA FOX, CEO
FARM NEWS
“Our children have really
enjoyed getting out on the farm, experiencing rural life and working together looking after animals and each other. Spending time at Farms for City Children is a hugely
Nethercott House, Devon
important part of our curriculum and the children love it. Although we have missed staying for the whole week this year because of Covid restrictions it has been brilliant for the children to come for weekly day-visits instead. Taking our pupils to the countryside is all the more relevant today as we all look at how to properly care for
ourselves by eating good food and looking after the environment.�
Chris Hall, Head of School, le Yeo Valley Primary School, Barnstap
understand how important your support for the children is.
It was a long, quiet spring and summer without our residential visitors. Yet the magic of the countryside and the experiences of the children who have come to the farm for day visits has given us hope.
Because of your continued support, we can welcome more local children and young people for day visits and are looking forward to children returning for residential visits in the spring.
Since September, the children have pressed apple juice, picked vegetables from the gardens and cared for the horses and donkeys. The words of Head of School Chris Hall (above) are all you need to
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LOWER TREGINNIS, Pembrokeshire
highlight and I have never seen the children so interested in history. They love learning about the copper mines and the ancient burial sites and to see them engage in this is fantastic. The farming activities have been brilliant and to take part in real, purposeful work and see how this is helping the farmers who work there is really good for their confidence. All of our children have fully engaged which is wonderful to see and some have even asked for a job in the farm shop when they are old enough. This is fantastic and has been such a wonderful and positive experience for both the children and staff at Marlowe St David’s.”
We’re really proud to have launched our local vegetable box scheme. In these strange times, we have been inspired by the enthusiasm of the day visit children as they take responsibility for harvesting produce from the fields and polytunnels and preparing the boxes for the local community. We know this is something that the children who come for a week will love to do and can’t wait for them to return in the spring. You can see that working in our new farm shop has been a favourite activity for many of our day visitors in the testimony below from the Head Teacher of Marlowe St David’s Education Unit.
With your support we provide new experiences for our residential children when they return. Thank you for your help.
“This has been a completely different setting for the children as they usually spend most of their time in the city. The whole feel of the farmstead seems to relax them and just being in this environment is so beneficial for them. Walking the donkeys around the coast has been a 5
WICK COURT, Gloucestershire In the summer we reached out to our local community and two London schools who visited us in the spring, providing them with fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables. Imagine the excitement of the Year Six children who were delighted to receive vegetables that they had planted at Wick Court months before and how proud they were to take them home to their families. We also donated fresh produce to community food hall The Long Table, who over lockdown cooked and delivered over 48,000 meals to the most vulnerable and those shielding on a pay if you can basis. Through your support we have been able to open our gates to small groups of Gloucestershire children for day visits this term. These children, some of whom are outside of mainstream education, return each week and the impact on their lives is transformational. We want you to know that your donations really are changing lives. Finally, we would like to send a huge congratulations to our lovely neighbour and partner farmer, Tim Merrett, who was awarded the British Empire Medal in September in recognition of his decades-long support for the Charity in Gloucestershire. He is an inspiration to all who visit Wick Court and we are privileged to work alongside him.
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Photo Credit: The Long Table
Thank you Thank you
You did it!
When we launched our Urgent Appeal in the spring – just as the country was entering lockdown – we couldn’t have known just how devastating the Covid19 pandemic would be for the children we support, or for the future of Farms for City Children. Your generosity, kindness and sense of hope ensured that we survived and were ready to welcome children back for some muchneeded mud and magic in the countryside!
Here are just some of the amazing people and organisations who are an inspiration:
Your creative fundraising efforts and heartfelt generosity helped our Urgent Appeal to raise over £500,000 to keep our heritage farms running. Amazing!
hours camping outdoors and raised over
▶ Our corporate partner Brewin Dolphin ran, walked and cycled carrying carrots over a total distance of 617km, raising an amazing £2,568 ▶ Annabel Hosford ran her very own Udder Half-Marathon dressed in a cow suit and raised over £1,700 ▶ Intrepid siblings Tommy and Ida spent 24 £250 ▶ One of our trustees, Ali Mawle, challenged herself to run her first ever 10k and raised over £2,800
We couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you – so much – for supporting Farms for City Children so that together we can brighten the lives of thousands more children for years to come.
▶ Students at Cranleigh Prep School took part in The Great Sleep Out with their families raising £2,260 ▶ Kings College Canterbury pupils participated in a virtual North Pole Trek and raised £2,415
Thank you to each and every incredible supporter and volunteer for your donations, time and talent and for helping us through this unprecedented time.
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FUNDRAISING We are making plans! Your kindness helped us through the worst of times, but we’re not yet out of the woods. With the new lockdown and government still restricting schools from travelling for residential visits we are supporting children and young people who are more local to the farms. This means that until the government allows schools to travel for residential trips again, we need to find other ways to cover the costs of maintaining our residential centres. We simply must be here to welcome the thousands of city and disadvantaged children who have been so traumatised by the months of lockdown and isolation. Bright New Year Never has an escape to the sanctuary of the countryside been more needed than now. Your donations provide an opportunity for a child to be immersed in the natural world and learn all about where their food comes from. Donating the Gift of Farming Joy
How you can help Double your donation with the Big Give Christmas Challenge and help us raise £20,000 this festive season - Donate to Farms for City Children online at bit.ly/BigGiveFFCC between midday on Tuesday 1st December and midday on Tuesday 8th December and your donation will be doubled! Huge thanks to The Childhood Trust and our generous pledge-supporters for providing the match-funding.
£18
COULD SUBSIDISE A FARMING SESSION FOR ONE CHILD
£27
EVERY MONTH WILL HELP SUBSIDISE A CHILD’S JOYFUL WEEK OF DISCOVERY ON THE FARM
£57
COULD SUBSIDISE A WHOLE DAY COUNTRYSIDE AND FARMING VISIT FOR ONE CHILD
Christmas Cheers! Donate your office Christmas Party Fund to give children a magical experience on the farm
£100
COULD PAY FOR THE FEED AND BEDDING FOR ALL THE FARM ANIMALS THAT THE CHILDREN CARE FOR
Put your wellies on and join in with Welly Wednesday to support a group of children to enjoy a week-in-wellies at the farm. Wear your wellies at home, to work, in school or out for a walk. Sign up your Welly Wearers and donate via www.justgiving.com/ campaign/WellyWednesday
£400
COULD SUBSIDISE A WEEK-LONG COUNTRYSIDE AND FARMING RESIDENTIAL FOR ONE CHILD
If you would like to talk about how you can support us please call us on 01392 276678 or email fundraising@farmsforcitychildren.org www.farmsforcitychildren.org/support-us
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OUR SHOP
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1. Festive Cockerel Christmas Cards
7. Enamel Mug
Message inside reads “Merry Christmas” (pack of 10 cards (single design) £5.00
Decorated with the Charity’s famous Goose Girl logo designed by Quentin Blake. £5.00
2. Festive Cow Christmas Cards
8. Didn’t We Have a Lovely Time! By Michael Morpurgo
Message inside reads “Merry Christmas” (pack of 10 cards (single design) £5.00
A heart-warming short story set on a farm from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo with stunning illustrations from Quentin Blake. £6.99
3. Mud & Magic Tea Towel Wonderful cotton tea towel featuring Quentin Blake’s Mud & Magic illustration £5.00
9. Notebook Gift Set A smart black spiral sketchbook and autograph book set, handtied with string. £7.50
4. Printed double oven glove with matching tea towel set Cotton double oven gloves and tea towel with illustrations depicting farm life by Quentin Blake £10.00
10. Recycled Notebook Set Spiral bound in a natural cover embossed with the Goose Girl logo and with a coordinating pen. Choose from Orange or Red £2.50
5. Playing Cards Featuring some of our favourite Quentin Blake illustrations. Standard poker sized pack. £6.00
6. Driftwood Keyrings
We have a lot more gifts and goodies available from our online shop at
These lovely key rings are handmade from authentic driftwood material. Sold individually. £3.00
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www.farmsforcitychildren.org/shop
SHOP & DONATE YOUR DETAILS Title:
Full Name:
Address: Postcode: Tel:
Email:
Products
Price
Quantity
Subtotal
1
Festive Cockerel Christmas Cards
£5.00
£
2
Festive Cow Christmas Cards
£5.00
£
3
Mud & Magic Tea Towel
4
Double oven glove with matching tea towel set
5
£5.00
£
£10.00
£
Playing Cards
£6.00
£
6
Driftwood Keyrings
£3.00
£
7
Enamel Mug
£5.00
£
8
Didn’t We Have a Lovely Time! (Hardcover)
£6.99
£
9
Notebook Gift Set
£7.50
£
10
Recycled Notebook Set
£2.50
£
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Virtual Gift Card - Donating the Gift of a Child’s Farming Session
£18.00
£
12
Virtual Gift Card - Every month will help subsidise a child’s joyful week of discovery on the farm
£27.00
£
Virtual Gift Card - Donating the Gift of a Child’s Countryside &
£57.00
£
Virtual Gift Card - Donating the Gift of feed & bedding for the donkeys, hens, sheep and pigs
£100.00
£
Virtual Gift Card - Donating the Gift of a Child’s Countryside &
£400.00
£
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Farming Day
Farming Week
Postage & Packaging
£3.50
£3.50
I would like to add a donation of
£ Total
£
Please return this order form with a cheque made payable to Farms for City Children to Freepost Plus RUBA-HTLU-GUBA Farms for City Children, Huxham Barns, Exeter, EX5 4EJ or order online: www.farmsforcitychildren.org/shop
Thank you for your support! YOUR DETAILS Title:
Full Name:
Address: Postcode: Tel:
Email:
YOUR DONATION
Bank Name & Address
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KEEP IN TOUCH We would love to keep in touch with news about how your support is bringing joy to the children who visit the farms. Please tick below to tell us how you want to hear from us: Email Yes
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