First Days Children'S Charity

This week marked a huge moment for First Days - we officially finished our move from our old office in Woodley to our new home in Hurst.
We therefore need to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has helped. To the generous supporters who donated to our moving fund; to everyone who has been so patient and understanding about why we have had to put donations on hold for the moment; to our referrers (especially those recently who didn't know where or when they could collec...t their items); to those who came to the Relocation Sale and to everyone who offered ideas and words of encouragement, support and advice.
A special thanks also goes to our volunteers (both individual and the numerous corporate teams) and staff who have packed boxes, moved boxes (including boxes of boxes!), sorted through what felt like millions of clothes and baby vest, taken desks apart, moved washing machines, dryers, cabinets, racking, cupboards, desks and more, gave us space in their cars and trailers, helped set up and run with the sale, and loaded/unloaded our van, all in temperatures over 30 degrees and down steep, enclosed stairs.
See More

Were you listening to BBC Berkshire this morning? We were talking to them about the 400,000 children in the UK who don't have a bed to sleep in.
In the last year we have given out 286 beds - but we are just, sadly, scratching the surface. The charity Buttle estimates that in our area (Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell, Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead) there are 3574 children who do not have a bed, out of the 32,769 who are living in poverty.
We think this is a disgrace. We are working hard to provide as much as we can to ease the financial burden to families in need by providing beds and brand new mattresses when they are requested. If you can support us, please do.

Are you up for a challenge in 2019? Fancy taking it on to raise money for First Days and help make a real difference in the lives of local children?
Join us at one of these two amazing events:
Reading Half Marathon (17th March 2019)... Run the 13.1 mile course around Reading - one of the best supported half marathons in the country with a stadium finish! Early Bird registration fee £20 (ends 31st July) and only £200 sponsorship target
RideLondon (4th August 2019) 100 miles of cycling around the iconic sights of London and the Surrey countryside with a finish on The Mall Early Bird registration fee £20 (ends 31st August) and £500 sponsorship target
For more information or to book your place please comment below or email challenge@firstdays.net
All participants will receive First Days kit, training and fundraising support and advice from experienced staff members.
See More

Last but certainly not least, our third cyclist, Referrals Manager Maria, has crossed the line after cycling for 8hrs 11mins.
What a massive achievement by all our cyclists, and over £2000 raised to help First Days support local families. Congratulations to all our riders.
A massive thank you as well to CompleteChildcare NurseriesLimited who sponsored our cycle jersies.
... If you are interested in taking part in 2019, email challenge@firstdays.net or you can support this year's rider via the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- child…/ridelondon2018
See More

Fantastic job by rider number two, Nick, who arrived back on The Mall in 6hrs 37minutes. Brilliant!
If you are interested in taking part in 2019, email challenge@firstdays.net or you can support this year's rider via the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- child…/ridelondon2018

Our first rider home is Neil in 6hrs 10mins. Amazing job!
If you are interested in taking part in 2019, email challenge@firstdays.net or you can support this year's rider via the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- child…/ridelondon2018

It's raining, windy and the riders have been going for nearly 4 hours now. All three are past, on or near halfway and so into the hills. We are so proud of their efforts. Go team!
If you are interested in taking part in 2019, email challenge@firstdays.net or you can support this year's rider via the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- child…/ridelondon2018

It's not just Geraint Thomas who is a winner today. All three of our RideLondon100 cyclists have now set off in their respective waves on their epic journey for First Days. We'll be tracking them all day and sending them all our virtual support.
If you are interested in taking part in 2019, email challenge@firstdays.net or you can support this year's rider via the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- child…/ridelondon2018

A HUGE good luck for tomorrow to our three intrepid RideLondon cyclists - Maria, Neil and Nick. These amazing athletes have been training in ridiculous temperatures to take on the 100 mile (you read that right!) course from the Olympic Stadium in East London, through Surrey and finishing up on The Mall.
Little Alex is showing off a message of support on the wall at the pre-event expo in London, but you can give the team a boost by sponsoring them via the link below.
A specia...l mention as well to our fourth rider, Emma, who was set to take part but a training crash means she isn't able too. Get better soon Emma!
https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- child…/ridelondon2018
See More

School's out for summer!
If you are wondering what to do with the kids outgrown uniform, we would like it (as long as it's clean and in good condition please!). Whilst First Days fulfills referrals from across the county, our sister project, School Days, specifically helps struggling families living in Norrey's Ward in Wokingham.
Uniform donations can be taken to a number of collection points across Wokingham. For details of where these are, what we are looking for and the work that School Days does please take a look at their dedicated Facebook page.

Wow, what a difference!
The first shot is our Woodley office this day last year, after a donation day. The second is the same view today, after we moved some of the last items out of Woodley to take to our new home at Hurst.
We are not accepting donations at the moment as we are still in the process of sorting and assessing the stock that we have. We will be posting what items we are short of in the near future. In the meantime, the best way that you can help is by contribu...ting to our moving fund via the link below.
https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- childrens…/movingfund
See More

Even in the middle of moving, our team are still working on providing school uniform for children - 40 referrals put together in the past two days alone!

We are still in full swing moving offices - not quite finished yet despite the best efforts of our wonderful helpers (including use of a van from Launchpad Reading and a team of corporate volunteers from Sage in Winnersh yesterday and today).
Even though we should be in soon, until everything is sorted and allocated new spaces (and we can see what we have again!) we won't be able to accept any new donations. If you would like to help, the best way you can is by donating to our moving fund via the link below. https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- childrens…/movingfund

JOIN OUR TEAM AND CHANGE LOCAL CHILDREN'S LIVES
The 2019 Reading Half Marathon is 8 months today (Sunday 17th March 2019) and we are looking for runners to join our team and raise money to help make a real difference to the lives of local children.
*Early Bird registration fee of only £20 until 31st July*
... Sponsorship target of only £200 per person
Reading Half Marathon is a fantastic race with amazing support throughout the 13.1 mile course. We can't wait to have a team out running again next year.
All our runners will receive: Charity 'gold wave' start place Free First Days running vest Training and fundraising help Support from our experienced staff Regular updates on the charity and the work we do and how your fundraising is helping
To sign up, or for more information, email challenge@firstdays.net or comment below
See More

From teddies to waistcoats, grab the important bits from First Days Boutique before the match tonight!

Wow. We got huge amount done today. Massive thanks to the fabulous five from IHS who joined us on a corporate volunteering day and were worked very hard, and to our friends at Launchpad Reading (especially the lovely Jacob) for use of their van.
Looking forward to more of the same tomorrow!

Big News! We're moving!
We have found a new home! We're just crossing the t's on the new lease and then we can tell you where we're going (don't worry, it's nearby) - but we are very excited about this new start for First Days as it means we can continue to support as many families as possible and grow our service to carry on reflecting the needs of the local community.
We would love your support at this time - as little as a few pounds (or as many as you can spare!) will m...ake a huge difference to us as we work hard to raise the funds we need to sustain our work in our new premises. Think of it as a House Warming Gift! We wouldn't be where we are today without the individuals and businesses who support us financially. Thank you so much.
Here's the link to the fundraising page to give us a moving gift! Just £25 will help us support one of the 18,000 families requiring our help in our area.
Thank you!
https://www.justgiving.com/…/firstdays- childrens…/movingfund
See More

É um trabalho maravilhoso . E pessoas maravilhosas trabalhando pelas crianças.

Firsts days children's charity is an amazing charity, the volunteers are so friendly and could not be any more helpful. I'm am so grateful for the donations I received today my children are so happy and so proud. Thanks again x x x

Fantastic shop this morning in First Days they have such beautiful stock and polite staff. It makes shopping with a 3 year old easy.