1891
Established
29
Schools in 2024
368
Holidays in 2024
Welcome to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre
Important Update: Our Journey Toward a Brighter Future
Since 1891, Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has been dedicated to providing life-changing seaside holidays for disadvantaged children across Derbyshire. These holidays are more than just a break—they bring joy, build confidence, and create lifelong memories for children who need them most.
As we look ahead to the future, we’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to pause our holiday service during the 2025 season. This pause will allow us to undertake a thorough strategy review to ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of Derbyshire’s children for years to come.
A Message from Our Trustees
Outgoing Chair of Trustees, Alan Grimadell, shared:
“The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has been going since 1891, and the need to provide a seaside holiday for in-need Derbyshire children is as strong today as it was then.
As a long-running charity, we remain true to our core purpose. We know that providing a holiday in our centre means so much more to the children who attend than just a week’s break. It gives them confidence and helps forge friendships and bonds. Many children who attended our centre have never forgotten the feeling of love and support it gave them.
But times have changed since 1891, and our trustees have decided it is necessary to pause our holidays in 2025 while we fully review our entire operation, with the aim of coming back better, stronger, and more resilient to face future challenges.”
Incoming Chair of Trustees, Mike Copestake, added:
“We temporarily closed for two years in the late 1980s to transition from local authority funding to being fully self-supporting. Now, we face a similar challenge to meet rising costs and ensure we continue to provide much-needed holidays in 2026 and beyond.
Trustees are already hard at work redefining our vision to continue ‘to inspire Derbyshire’s children to flourish,’ while staying true to our values of being caring, aspirational, passionate, encouraging, and inclusive.
As we go forward, the public’s support and encouragement of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre is always appreciated.”
How You Can Help
While our holidays are paused in 2025, your support remains vital to our mission. Here’s how you can help:
While our holidays are paused in 2025, your support remains vital to our mission. Here’s how you can help:
- – Stay Connected: Follow our journey as we plan for a brighter future.
- – Spread the Word: Share our mission and story to help us raise awareness.
- – Support Our Campaigns: Look out for our Comeback Appeal 2026 and other fundraising efforts as we prepare to return stronger than ever.
- – Donate using either our ‘Go Fund Me‘ or ‘Just Giving‘ appeal pages– Share your story: Have you or a close family member visited our Centre for a holiday? Share your story with us – we would love to hear from you! Email us [email protected]– Volunteer: We are always looking for help with fundraising. Chat with us about how you can get involved. Email: [email protected]– Cycle or Walk for us – SkegVegas 2025 Saturday 17th May – put the date in your diary and watch this space for further sign up information.
Thank you for standing with us as we take this important step toward building a stronger future for Derbyshire’s children. Together, we can continue to make a lasting difference in their lives.
Facebook Posts
Join Us in Making a Difference: The Comeback Appeal 2026
For over 130 years, we’ve been offering children the chance to create cherished memories, build confidence, and enjoy the magic of a seaside break. These holidays provide so much more than fun—they offer a vital boost to the well-being of children who need it most. But rising costs have been no secret and so we have taken the decision to pause holidays at our centre in 2025, with the aim of coming back bigger and stronger in 2026.
So the goal of our 'Comeback Appeal' is to raise £150,000 to bring back our life-changing holidays to disadvantaged children in Derbyshire and spread joy and hope to even more children in 2026.
This year, we need your help to make this possible. By contributing to The Comeback Appeal, you’ll be helping us bring sunshine back into the lives of children who might not otherwise experience a holiday.
Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to giving these children the gift of happiness, hope, and unforgettable memories.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and support for this cause that means so much to all of us. Together, we can make 2026 a year to remember for Derbyshire’s children.
Let’s make the comeback stronger than ever.
Contact Us Today
Some of Our Valued Supporters
You shop. Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre gets money. For free. ... See MoreSee Less
You shop. Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre gets money. For free.
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Help us when you shop with 7,000+ brands. Join now.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Wow full of fab news today!!!! William Sismay and Dionne Shore completed their walk to Paris from Skegness!! They raised £7890.78 for our 2026 holidays. Well done guys and thank you so much for your efforts, I know so many people are proud of you as am I. Shoutout also to Sal at The Lumley who was very understaffed and stressed!!! ... See MoreSee Less
5 CommentsComment on Facebook
Awesome pub, fantastic staff, and beautiful landlady Sal. One big family super proud 👌❤️xx
Amazing achievement
Well done all xx
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Huge Donation earlier from the Hawkins Foundation, Thank you so very much. £10,000 to help fund our 2026 holidays. I am in constant awe of the generosity in Skegness!!! It was lovely seeing you both today to accept the cheque, Good luck with the season at Skegness Sands this Summer!! ... See MoreSee Less
9 CommentsComment on Facebook
Amazing ❤️
Aww how lovely xx that's fantastic news
Amazing!!!
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Fantastic £50 donation from The boys at Skegness Academy. These little entrepreneurs have been selling Lollipops at School and this is what they raised. Well done boys and Thank you!!
In the pic is Kody Mason, myself, Macaulay Shelby and Mr Gissendorf. ... See MoreSee Less
6 CommentsComment on Facebook
Had great pleasure over the years raising money for the home. So our proud I was when, as the Mayor of Derby, visiting the home in person, with my late wife, Anita, meeting and having lunch with the children.
Thank you ☺️
Well done😄
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Fundraising announcement!
Amazing total raised by our brilliant team of volunteers who rattled tins ahead of the Derby County v Blackburn Rovers game on Saturday.
Thanks to all volunteers who turned out to join us and to those football fans - both home and away - who gave so generously, we raised a grand total of £1030!
It was a brilliant result for our charity - thanks so much to everyone who came along and donated. Especially lovely was chatting to football fans coming along to the game who were guests of our centre decades ago.
Fundraising is really important to us this year so it was really great to see everyone turning out and boosting our total by such a good amount. ... See MoreSee Less
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
A fun way to prepare for the rams game. Some fantastic humour amongst the fans & such a variety of people. Derby County for the people, & generous at that.
Brilliant job guys
Wow 👏👏
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0 CommentsComment on Facebook