It's time to get to know another member of our brilliant team!
This week, we would like to introduce you to Kirsty Holmes who has kindly answered our questions - over to you Kirsty!
❓ What's your role at the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre?
With DCHC I am a holiday activity leader.
❓Why did you get involved?
I wanted to get involved as I work with kids throughout the year and you meet children you want to be able to help more than your job role allows. Working with DCHC means providing an opportunity to kids who may have never had the chance for a holiday before and we get to give them a week of fun, memorable moments and making new friends.
❓What does your role involve?
My role as activity lead is to run the activities around the centre and off site, while sharing the responsibility of site lead when needed but also provide a nourishing and creative environment for the children.
❓Best moments?
I don’t have any best moments just yet as we haven’t started but I’m sure I will have many by the end of the season.
❓Best thing about Skegness?
Skegness’ range of actives gives such a great option to experience as many things as possible in a short time period.
❓Coast or countryside?
As I am based in the countryside I am biased but a holiday by the beach is my favourite.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
National Open Garden Scheme | Horsley | August 2nd 2026
The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. These events help to support charities across the UK.
The Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre have over many years been fortunate enough to provide refreshments at an open garden event in Horsley, Derby. We have traditionally provided cream teas, cakes, coffee and a variety of refreshments.
Today with the sun blazing, the garden opened in Horsley at 13.30hrs and the sun shone. And what a beautiful day it was, all framed by an outstanding garden.
Our refreshments stall performed miracles, presenting a lot of hungry garden visitors with homemade delights. Like so many events, it takes a small army behind the scenes to make it happen, and in particular Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre would like to thank:-
Alison Napier - such a lovely garden and surrounds
Dave and Ann Harris - sublime carrot cakes
Lynne - for organising us into regimented precision for on time deliveries to the customers, mostly scones related
Bev Crighton - for slicing and dicing the cakes
Michelle Breffitt - for taking orders from the customers and giving orders to ensure we met their expectations
Alison Evans - for organising with tremendous precision all the elements that made the day run smoothly
In particular we would like to say a huge thanks to everyone that visited the garden, your patronage is very much appreciated.
Was it worth it?
Undoubtedly and categorically yes it was. The footfall was up from last year, 115 people, and of course we were able to meet so many different people from all over the county and beyond. Of course many had prior knowledge of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre and it was fantastic to provide updates on last weeks holiday experience where 20 children had a wonderful time at our centre in Skegness.
Amazing! And of course we were more than delighted to raise a staggering £350 on the day which will make a huge difference to us.
Please visit the website to learn more about what they do and how you can help; donations are always welcome, along with volunteers to help in fundraising.
www.dchc.org.uk
Here's to another 135 years of providing holidays to disadvantaged children from Derbyshire.
Janine Marie
Simon Evans
Lee Jepson
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Five days of noise, lost shoes and sand,
Of counting heads and lending hands.
But in between the fun and play,
We gave them memories to take away.
A chance to laugh, to feel they belong,
To know they matter, to feel strong.
Just one short week beside the sea,
And give them the freedom to simply be.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to make sure these holidays happen again in 2026.
If you want to help us keep proving holidays like these, please donate to our crowdfunding campaign where your donation is tripled by The Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation. Yes that’s right TRIPLED and ! A £10 donation becomes £40 and £100 becomes £400 with pledged funds from The Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation 💙
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/multiply-the-magic-the-4x-holiday-fund
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Loved my holidays there when a kid .it was for 2weeks then
Day 3 at DCHC – Seaside Smiles, New Adventures & Growing Confidence!
What another fantastic day we’ve had in Skegness!
This morning the children made the most of the beach, splashing through the waves, sitting in the surprisingly warm sea, building in the sand and enjoying the freedom that only a day by the coast can bring. There were plenty of laughs, happy faces and even some kite flying as the sea breeze helped send them soaring across the sky.
Later, we visited the aquarium where everyone was fascinated by the incredible sea life. One of the highlights was watching the diver inside the huge tank waving and interacting with the children through the glass – a magical moment that had everyone smiling.
As part of our 5 Days to Thrive programme, kindly developed especially for us by Bridge the Gap CIC, today’s session focused on self-esteem. Together we explored what makes each of us unique and practised using positive affirmations, learning that the way we speak to ourselves matters just as much as the way we speak to others. The children created beautiful affirmation mirrors to take home as a reminder of just how amazing they are.
From jumping waves to growing confidence, today has been filled with fun, friendship and memories that will last long after the holiday ends.
Every smile you see is made possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters and volunteers. Thank you for helping us give Derbyshire children the opportunity to thrive. 💙
#DCHC #ChildrensHolidayCentre #Skegness #5DaysToThrive #BridgeTheGapCIC #BuildingConfidence #MakingMemories #EveryChildDeservesAHoliday #SeasideSmiles #DerbyshireChildren
4 CommentsComment on Facebook
Magic to see something that meant so much to me almost 30 years ago
Happiness in those faces is worth its weight in gold. X
Looks like everyone is having a great time. Brilliant photos. 👍
Holiday Update – Fun, Friendship and Learning by the Sea! 💙
What a fantastic start to another Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre adventure!
Yesterday, after arriving, unpacking and settling into the Centre, we headed straight down to Skegness Pier. The children were completely fascinated by the tiny gaps between the wooden boards where they could catch glimpses of the sea beneath their feet!
Of course, no visit to the pier would be complete without a stop at the famous 2p falls. There was plenty of excitement as everyone tried their luck. 😊
Today has been another brilliant day, with a trip to the beach followed by lots of fun at the open-air swimming pool. There have been smiles, laughter, splashing and plenty of happy memories being made.
But our holidays are about much more than just having fun.
Each day we take part in 5 Days to Thrive – a bespoke emotional wellbeing programme created especially for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre by Bridge The Gap CIC.
Yesterday’s session explored friendship and what makes a good friend. The children shared ideas about kindness, trust, listening and supporting one another.
Today we focused on anger and other big emotions. Together we explored how anger can feel in our bodies, how to recognise the situations that trigger those feelings, and practical ways to calm ourselves when emotions arrive like a storm. One of today’s activities was making beautiful glitter shakers to help children pause, focus and regulate their emotions. Each child will be taking their glitter shaker home at the end of the week as a reminder of the coping strategies they’ve learned. ✨💙
Watching children grow in confidence, make new friendships, learn valuable life skills and simply enjoy being children is exactly why these holidays are so special.
Thank you to everyone who supports Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre and helps make these unforgettable experiences possible. ❤️
#DCHC #DerbyshireChildrensHolidayCentre #Skegness #5DaystoThrive #BridgeTheGapCIC #ChildrensCharity #EmotionalWellbeing #MakingMemories #Friendship #Resilience #HolidayMagic
4 CommentsComment on Facebook
I enjoyed all my holidays there when I was a kid .Mr and Mrs Smith and there dog Mr woo xx
Love that. The experiences you give the kids is just priceless. Corey cant wait to holiday with you again xx
What a brilliant way to teach children about life and to deal with problems when they arrive. Also a memorable time at the seaside which will stay with the children for the rest of their lives. Well done to you all who are over at Skegness. David and Ann.
WHAT A BRILLIANT WAY TO ENHANCE YOUR DONATIONS.
MULTIPLY THE MAGIC x4
Starting today and running for the next 12 weeks you can make 4 times the difference through a wonderful Crowdfunder.
Interested? Then let’s explain about how it works.
Thanks to the Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation (MABF), every individual donation made on our Crowdfunder page will be tripled, which means your £10 donation would give £40 to Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre or a magic £25 donation generates £100 for our charity. The MABF will continue to do so until it reaches £5000 in donations.
Funding from the “Multiply the Magic: 4x Holiday Fund” will directly support the delivery of free, lifechanging seaside holidays for children across Derbyshire who are facing poverty, trauma, or challenging circumstances.
Specifically, the funding will be used to:
Provide fully funded 5-day residential holidays that will be covering
Accommodation
Food
Activities
Transport to our centre in Skegness from various locations in Derbyshire.
Ensure safe and high-quality care
Supporting trained staff and volunteers to deliver a safe, nurturing environment for every child.
We will deliver our ‘5 Days to Thrive’ programme, which is a structured social and emotional learning programme that builds confidence, resilience, and emotional wellbeing.
We will able to provide enriching experiences and activities, including beach trips, creative activities, group challenges, and opportunities many children would not otherwise access.
Cover essential operational costs such as:-
Utilities, insurance, cleaning, laundry, and maintenance required to run each holiday safely and effectively.
Remove financial barriers for families
Ensuring that every place is free at the point of access, so no child misses out due to cost.
By clicking the link below you’ll be taken to the site and also be able to see our newly created video that puts a thousand words into pictures, we hope you like the video.
Thank you for your support; however you can support us we’ll be grateful.
Multiply the Magic: The 4x Holiday Fund
www.crowdfunder.co.uk
Funds from the “Multiply the Magic: 4x Holiday Fund” will directly support the delivery of free, lifechanging seaside holidays for children.1 CommentComment on Facebook
We are delighted to be able to support such an amazing project. Good luck to everyone involved.
It's time to get to know another member of our brilliant team!
This week, we would like to introduce you to Kirsty Holmes who has kindly answered our questions - over to you Kirsty!
❓ What's your role at the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre?
With DCHC I am a holiday activity leader.
❓Why did you get involved?
I wanted to get involved as I work with kids throughout the year and you meet children you want to be able to help more than your job role allows. Working with DCHC means providing an opportunity to kids who may have never had the chance for a holiday before and we get to give them a week of fun, memorable moments and making new friends.
❓What does your role involve?
My role as activity lead is to run the activities around the centre and off site, while sharing the responsibility of site lead when needed but also provide a nourishing and creative environment for the children.
❓Best moments?
I don’t have any best moments just yet as we haven’t started but I’m sure I will have many by the end of the season.
❓Best thing about Skegness?
Skegness’ range of actives gives such a great option to experience as many things as possible in a short time period.
❓Coast or countryside?
As I am based in the countryside I am biased but a holiday by the beach is my favourite.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
National Open Garden Scheme | Horsley | August 2nd 2026
The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. These events help to support charities across the UK.
The Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre have over many years been fortunate enough to provide refreshments at an open garden event in Horsley, Derby. We have traditionally provided cream teas, cakes, coffee and a variety of refreshments.
Today with the sun blazing, the garden opened in Horsley at 13.30hrs and the sun shone. And what a beautiful day it was, all framed by an outstanding garden.
Our refreshments stall performed miracles, presenting a lot of hungry garden visitors with homemade delights. Like so many events, it takes a small army behind the scenes to make it happen, and in particular Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre would like to thank:-
Alison Napier - such a lovely garden and surrounds
Dave and Ann Harris - sublime carrot cakes
Lynne - for organising us into regimented precision for on time deliveries to the customers, mostly scones related
Bev Crighton - for slicing and dicing the cakes
Michelle Breffitt - for taking orders from the customers and giving orders to ensure we met their expectations
Alison Evans - for organising with tremendous precision all the elements that made the day run smoothly
In particular we would like to say a huge thanks to everyone that visited the garden, your patronage is very much appreciated.
Was it worth it?
Undoubtedly and categorically yes it was. The footfall was up from last year, 115 people, and of course we were able to meet so many different people from all over the county and beyond. Of course many had prior knowledge of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre and it was fantastic to provide updates on last weeks holiday experience where 20 children had a wonderful time at our centre in Skegness.
Amazing! And of course we were more than delighted to raise a staggering £350 on the day which will make a huge difference to us.
Please visit the website to learn more about what they do and how you can help; donations are always welcome, along with volunteers to help in fundraising.
www.dchc.org.uk
Here's to another 135 years of providing holidays to disadvantaged children from Derbyshire.
Janine Marie
Simon Evans
Lee Jepson
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Five days of noise, lost shoes and sand,
Of counting heads and lending hands.
But in between the fun and play,
We gave them memories to take away.
A chance to laugh, to feel they belong,
To know they matter, to feel strong.
Just one short week beside the sea,
And give them the freedom to simply be.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to make sure these holidays happen again in 2026.
If you want to help us keep proving holidays like these, please donate to our crowdfunding campaign where your donation is tripled by The Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation. Yes that’s right TRIPLED and ! A £10 donation becomes £40 and £100 becomes £400 with pledged funds from The Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation 💙
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/multiply-the-magic-the-4x-holiday-fund
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Loved my holidays there when a kid .it was for 2weeks then
Day 3 at DCHC – Seaside Smiles, New Adventures & Growing Confidence!
What another fantastic day we’ve had in Skegness!
This morning the children made the most of the beach, splashing through the waves, sitting in the surprisingly warm sea, building in the sand and enjoying the freedom that only a day by the coast can bring. There were plenty of laughs, happy faces and even some kite flying as the sea breeze helped send them soaring across the sky.
Later, we visited the aquarium where everyone was fascinated by the incredible sea life. One of the highlights was watching the diver inside the huge tank waving and interacting with the children through the glass – a magical moment that had everyone smiling.
As part of our 5 Days to Thrive programme, kindly developed especially for us by Bridge the Gap CIC, today’s session focused on self-esteem. Together we explored what makes each of us unique and practised using positive affirmations, learning that the way we speak to ourselves matters just as much as the way we speak to others. The children created beautiful affirmation mirrors to take home as a reminder of just how amazing they are.
From jumping waves to growing confidence, today has been filled with fun, friendship and memories that will last long after the holiday ends.
Every smile you see is made possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters and volunteers. Thank you for helping us give Derbyshire children the opportunity to thrive. 💙
#DCHC #ChildrensHolidayCentre #Skegness #5DaysToThrive #BridgeTheGapCIC #BuildingConfidence #MakingMemories #EveryChildDeservesAHoliday #SeasideSmiles #DerbyshireChildren
4 CommentsComment on Facebook
Magic to see something that meant so much to me almost 30 years ago
Happiness in those faces is worth its weight in gold. X
Looks like everyone is having a great time. Brilliant photos. 👍
Holiday Update – Fun, Friendship and Learning by the Sea! 💙
What a fantastic start to another Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre adventure!
Yesterday, after arriving, unpacking and settling into the Centre, we headed straight down to Skegness Pier. The children were completely fascinated by the tiny gaps between the wooden boards where they could catch glimpses of the sea beneath their feet!
Of course, no visit to the pier would be complete without a stop at the famous 2p falls. There was plenty of excitement as everyone tried their luck. 😊
Today has been another brilliant day, with a trip to the beach followed by lots of fun at the open-air swimming pool. There have been smiles, laughter, splashing and plenty of happy memories being made.
But our holidays are about much more than just having fun.
Each day we take part in 5 Days to Thrive – a bespoke emotional wellbeing programme created especially for Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre by Bridge The Gap CIC.
Yesterday’s session explored friendship and what makes a good friend. The children shared ideas about kindness, trust, listening and supporting one another.
Today we focused on anger and other big emotions. Together we explored how anger can feel in our bodies, how to recognise the situations that trigger those feelings, and practical ways to calm ourselves when emotions arrive like a storm. One of today’s activities was making beautiful glitter shakers to help children pause, focus and regulate their emotions. Each child will be taking their glitter shaker home at the end of the week as a reminder of the coping strategies they’ve learned. ✨💙
Watching children grow in confidence, make new friendships, learn valuable life skills and simply enjoy being children is exactly why these holidays are so special.
Thank you to everyone who supports Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre and helps make these unforgettable experiences possible. ❤️
#DCHC #DerbyshireChildrensHolidayCentre #Skegness #5DaystoThrive #BridgeTheGapCIC #ChildrensCharity #EmotionalWellbeing #MakingMemories #Friendship #Resilience #HolidayMagic
4 CommentsComment on Facebook
I enjoyed all my holidays there when I was a kid .Mr and Mrs Smith and there dog Mr woo xx
Love that. The experiences you give the kids is just priceless. Corey cant wait to holiday with you again xx
What a brilliant way to teach children about life and to deal with problems when they arrive. Also a memorable time at the seaside which will stay with the children for the rest of their lives. Well done to you all who are over at Skegness. David and Ann.
WHAT A BRILLIANT WAY TO ENHANCE YOUR DONATIONS.
MULTIPLY THE MAGIC x4
Starting today and running for the next 12 weeks you can make 4 times the difference through a wonderful Crowdfunder.
Interested? Then let’s explain about how it works.
Thanks to the Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation (MABF), every individual donation made on our Crowdfunder page will be tripled, which means your £10 donation would give £40 to Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre or a magic £25 donation generates £100 for our charity. The MABF will continue to do so until it reaches £5000 in donations.
Funding from the “Multiply the Magic: 4x Holiday Fund” will directly support the delivery of free, lifechanging seaside holidays for children across Derbyshire who are facing poverty, trauma, or challenging circumstances.
Specifically, the funding will be used to:
Provide fully funded 5-day residential holidays that will be covering
Accommodation
Food
Activities
Transport to our centre in Skegness from various locations in Derbyshire.
Ensure safe and high-quality care
Supporting trained staff and volunteers to deliver a safe, nurturing environment for every child.
We will deliver our ‘5 Days to Thrive’ programme, which is a structured social and emotional learning programme that builds confidence, resilience, and emotional wellbeing.
We will able to provide enriching experiences and activities, including beach trips, creative activities, group challenges, and opportunities many children would not otherwise access.
Cover essential operational costs such as:-
Utilities, insurance, cleaning, laundry, and maintenance required to run each holiday safely and effectively.
Remove financial barriers for families
Ensuring that every place is free at the point of access, so no child misses out due to cost.
By clicking the link below you’ll be taken to the site and also be able to see our newly created video that puts a thousand words into pictures, we hope you like the video.
Thank you for your support; however you can support us we’ll be grateful.
Multiply the Magic: The 4x Holiday Fund
www.crowdfunder.co.uk
Funds from the “Multiply the Magic: 4x Holiday Fund” will directly support the delivery of free, lifechanging seaside holidays for children.1 CommentComment on Facebook
We are delighted to be able to support such an amazing project. Good luck to everyone involved.
