Child and Provide
Providing opportunities for the Clacton and Jaywick community
Initially just providing the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme in the Clacton area, Child and Provide have expanded across Tendring to reach new residents, delivering different programmes and partnerships, helping to enhance families and children’s skills around physical activity and cooking.
Set up in 2021, Child and Provide have flourished in the Tendring area, supporting the local community through holiday clubs in Clacton and Jaywick, which offer physical activity, enrichment and food education, to support residents’ wellbeing. Their work has been widely recognised, and 2024 will see them also deliver a club in St Osyth.
In 2023, winter holiday clubs saw Child and Provide embed themselves into their local community because of developing relationships with local businesses who gifted free Christmas dinners to more than 100 children. They also received support from a well-known, local restaurant, to cook Christmas dinner for the children.
In addition to this, a child who attends Child and Provide approached his school to hold a bake sale, helping to raise awareness of the holiday club offer, so that other children could experience the club as well. Each young person was gifted a food hamper to take home to their family over Christmas and by working closely with Jaywick foodbank, local families that were in vital need of support also received a hamper from the foodbank.
Additionally, Child and Provide have been successful in receiving funding for the Food Education programme in Clacton and Jaywick. Physical activity is also provided in the sessions, showing residents’ how both healthy eating and being active offers huge benefits to their wellbeing. Elderly people from the local area attend the sessions as they enjoy the social element which has allowed friendships to form and increased community engagement in a warm environment.
A new parent and toddler session for ages 18-40 has brought families together over healthy recipes and movement with their children. This has encouraged a positive morale around physical activity within the local area, reducing social isolation. The majority of these residents are younger parents who need inspiration with creating healthy meals and cooking for their family on a budget.
Child and Provide have been successful in receiving Find Your Active funding, expanding their reach to larger families and elderly people, helping to improve physical activity levels through different age targeted classes such as Seated Aerobics for 60+ and Legs Bums and Tums for 40+, widening opportunities in the Tendring area.
They have also embedded themselves into the Organisational Development programme with Active Essex, allowing them to learn and develop skills and access a range of opportunities to enhance their learning within their organisation.
