Six Wonderful Camps!
This summer we held 6 camps at our base in East Mersea, Essex. We started with one camp exclusively for families from Highshore School in London, followed by five camps with families coming from all across the UK. This was a total of 46 families! Each camp was a massive success and was special in its own way. We love how the mix of families and volunteers can bring a sense of uniqueness to each camp, whilst still maintaining our values and ethos. The feedback that we get from families and volunteers keeps us going and helps us to understand the impact that our small charity has. Some examples are:
‘* and * were also amazing as our volunteers- they just totally got the girls, and it felt like we could just be ourselves and not have to apologise or feel judged at all.’
‘To have a supportive ear listening and people who just get that life can be hard caring for your child is so important and being able to see both my children thoroughly enjoying themselves was so special to me’
‘I knew the experience would be wonderful for the children but I totally underestimated the joy I would get from it myself. To feel supported, helped and not remotely judged is everything I could have wanted and more.’
Thank you to all the families who came to camp this year, for many of whom this was far out of their comfort zone. Thank you for allowing us to share in your precious family time. We hope you will look back on your time at Camp Jojo with special memories that will give you hope and positivity, even on difficult days.
Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers who make our camps possible. We hope you all know the difference that you have made to many families this summer. You are truly the heart and soul of Camp Jojo.
We now begin making plans for next summer. Our aim is to increase the number of camps again. We really hope to make this happen, but we do rely on funders and donations for this to be possible.
If you would like ideas about how to raise funds for Camp Jojo, please email fundraising@campjojo.org.uk and we’ll be more than happy to help!
New Team Members
We are pleased to welcome our new Communications Manager, Fay, to the Camp Jojo team. Fay will be injecting some energy into our newsletters, social media and much more! She brings a wealth of experience in marketing, as well as her experience as a Camp Jojo family support volunteer, and her own experience of parenting children with disabilities.
We say goodbye to Ellie Byfield, who has been our Operations Manager and Comms Manager for 2 and a half years. Ellie will still be involved in Camp Jojo by volunteering at camps in the summer, so hopes to keep in touch.
Fundraising
Thank you to Barry Colwill, who took part in the Great North Run earlier this month and raised money for Camp Jojo. Barry came to camp this summer with his family and chose to fundraise for us as he wanted to help more families like his make special memories. If you are planning any fundraising events or challenges like Barry, please email fundraising@campjojo.org.uk to let us know!
Tesco Stronger Starts
Calling all Essex based supporters – Help Camp Jojo whilst doing your weekly grocery shop at Tesco using the blue tokens!
We are excited to announce that we are in the customer vote for a Tesco Stronger Starts grant. It’s a scheme which gives community projects like us grants of up to £1,500. Tesco customers will now vote in Colchester Tiptree Tesco Superstore and West Mersea Tesco Express from early October until mid January to decide how much funding we get, so we really need your help to ensure Camp Jojo gets the full £1500 possible! So please visit Tesco and make sure to pick up the blue tokens at the checkout and drop them into the Camp Jojo box to support us next time you shop at Tesco!
With good wishes,
The Camp Jojo Team
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