COUNTRY Holidays for Inner City Kids (CHICKS) has been awarded £77,552 in new funding — but its base at Brentor is to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

The money from BBC Children in Need is to provide holiday activities for children and young people facing a range of challenges. This boost of funding from the charity brings the total currently invested in Devon to more than £1.8-million.

Over the next three years, the award will help to fund a respite break leader to coordinate free week-long breaks in the countryside for young people aged between eight and 15 years old.

The leaders work across all of CHICKS’ sites at different times, but a CHICKS spokesperson confirmed the grant will have no bearing on the charity’s plans for its moorland retreat at Brentor.

The charity needs to raise a ‘six figure sum’ to refurbish the residential centre at Brentor before it can repoen. There are currently no plans to run holidays at the centre next year. The last breaks held at the moorland retreat were in April.

Speaking of the grant, Annie Ashford-Barnden, trusts manager at CHICKS said: ‘The breaks would not run without the care of our fully trained respite break leaders — along with the support of up to six volunteers. Together they ensure that children are surrounded by positive adult role-models who dedicate their time to providing attention, reassurance and encouragement. None of this would be possible without the support of BBC Children in Need funding. We are so grateful to secure the grant once more.’

The respite breaks that CHICKS runs offer the children the opportunity to participate in adventurous activities including, kayaking, body-boarding and horse-riding as well as the use of the fantastic on-site facilities where they can explore a maze, bounce around on the undercover trampolines or play pool with their new friends.

Thanks to these breaks children across the UK facing multiple disadvantages, including young carers, those who have witnessed domestic violence, experienced neglect, those living in poverty and many more, will have access to opportunities that help boost their confidence and enable them to enjoy their childhoods.

The grants are announced as BBC Children in Need celebrates its highest ever fundraising total; £60-million was raised during the charity’s 2016 appeal. The record-breaking total is the culmination of the efforts of every single person across the UK who supported the charity in 2016.

The money raised will go towards projects that work with children and young people who are affected by a range of disadvantages including those affected by homelessness, neglect, deprivation and poverty or young people who are encountering a serious illness or bereavement.  In the last year alone BBC Children in Need has been able to positively impact 480,000 young lives in communities throughout the UK. 

Speaking of the new grants Juliet Williams, BBC Children in Need regional officer of the South and West said: ‘We are so pleased to award funding to Country Holidays for Inner City Kids (CHICKS), and look forward to seeing the difference that their work will make in the lives of the children who need it most.  Our grant programme is open to organisations that are as passionate about making a real and tangible impact to young lives as we are, and although competition for funds is always tough, we encourage projects working locally to get in touch if they want to learn more.’

Speaking of the news, Simon Antrobus, chief executive of BBC Children in Need said: ‘These grants would not have been possible had it not been for the incredible support shown across the UK in 2016.  To everyone who fundraised and donated in 2016, thank you, the money raised really will go on to make a huge difference to children and young people throughout the UK who need it most.’