Sadly, this year Kids Out event has had to be cancelled because of the Coronavirus crisis, along with our Easter Egg Hunt, and most of the rest of the events we run or attend. It was due to be held on Wednesday 10th June. For anyone not familiar with this annual event, Rotary clubs across the UK pay for thousands of children to experience an exciting day out at various locations, accompanied by Carers and a handful of members from our Club to assist. Whether they live with critical health issues, in refuge or with a disability, children across the country are taken on a fun day out to the zoo, a theme park or even the seaside, often for the first time in their lives.
KidsOut was founded by Rotary and members from all of the clubs in Brighton & Hove get involved every year. The event that our district takes part in is a visit to Chessington World of Adventures. To make the National Rotary Kids Out Day the success that it is, more than 10,000 Rotarians volunteer at over 100 venues.
The first National Rotary Kids Out took place 25 years ago on the 13th June 1990 for only around 200 children. Organised as a trial day by Kingston Rotary Club and Lady Grantchester, of the Moore’s family and owners of Littlewoods organisation, it proved so successful that the next year it was spread across the UK. Today KidsOut partners with Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) to take more than 25,000 disadvantaged children on the second Wednesday in June each year. Since then nearly 736,000 children have been taken on a fun day out. It has turned into the biggest single outing for disadvantaged children in the UK, with more than 30,000 children participating in 2018.
In 1999, KidsOut registered as a charity to better comply with new legislation, but this new status also helped organisers to negotiate cheaper access to theme parks for the children and open up new opportunities to reach out to the UK’s most vulnerable children in other ways.
We are always keen to expand the National Rotary KidsOut Day even further. If you would like to make a donation, please visit this website – http://www.kidsout.org.uk/how-you-can-help/donations/
If you would like to offer a venue or facility for the day, please contact the KidsOut charity direct at info@kidsout.org.uk