Trefoil and Glasgow Children's Holiday Scheme

In December 2021, Trefoil awarded Glasgow Children’s Holiday Scheme (GCHS) £3,500 towards the running cost of their adapted caravan for people living with disabilities, which marks the start of a yearlong collaboration project between the two charities

For more than 60 years GCHS has provided holidays for thousands of disadvantaged children and their families from across the Greater Glasgow area. For many families a holiday is simply out of reach without the help that GCHS can provide. A break can help improve mental health, broaden experiences, and promote wellbeing for the whole family.

GCHS own and run 5 holiday caravans at Wemyss Bay Holiday Park. They are open from mid-March until end October each year with almost 100% capacity during that period. One of these 5 caravans is adapted for wheelchair users and was newly replaced in 2020. It has a wet room, portable helper frame, raised beds, dropped level work surfaces and disabled ramp/balcony. In any one year, their adapted caravan provides around 30 families and 80 children with a holiday. The caravan site itself is also inclusive, whatever the child or young person’s disability, they can take part in activities and have fun, while parents and carers have the chance to relax.

The work that GCHS do allows children who would otherwise potentially never be able to go on holiday the chance to get away, escape their usual routine, build positive memories, experience new things, and most importantly have fun. The feedback that GCHS receive from parents highlights the benefits of a holiday not just for the child but for the whole family, with one father commenting:

“We love Wemyss Bay. Love the caravan, the park, the people and the kids just have a great time. They love going to Wemyss Bay. You can do a lot more together.  Our son is in a wheelchair. The Holiday Scheme is so good with that! They get the wheelchair friendly caravan for us. Our son doesn’t eat, he gets fed artificial nutrition. With going to the caravan park, our local supplier delivered a fridge to the park and the park keeps it year-to-year for us. When we go, they just put it into the caravan, which is absolutely amazing.”

Trefoil are delighted to be able to embark on a partnership with GCHS this year, to support the amazing work that they do in providing holidays for families in need across the Greater Glasgow area.