We hope you’ve been able to dodge the downpours and find some sun and blue sky, or at least a few dry days if you’ve stayed in the UK this summer. We might be biased but the UK has some beautiful places to holiday, as shown by the growing number of properties on our portfolio. The good news is that we’re adding to the list all the time and bringing A Bit of a Break to new corners of the UK.
We’re one big team at ABOAB so huge thanks to all of you for helping more people with a terminal illness to have a holiday.
Worth Valley Supporters Group fabulous fundraiser!
The brilliant Worth Valley Supporters Group welcomed visitors from near and far to their August ABOAB fundraising Craft Fayre at Haworth’s Old School Rooms. Dodging the showers and braving the unseasonal chilly August air visitors browsed stalls full of handmade jewellery, crafts and woodwork items. There were rails of preloved clothes not to mention the bric a brac stalls – perfect for discovering that special one-off for the mantlepiece or kitchen shelf.
As well as being a lovely sociable event, WVSG raised a magnificent £1,289 for ABOAB. Watch this space for more news from WVSG and future fundraising plans!
If you have a fundraising idea – whether you’re going it alone or with friends and family – simply download your sponsorship form here and drop us a note to let us know what you’re planning. We’ll then do our bit to support you too!
Properties galore!
It’s thanks to your help in spreading the word and Paula’s tenacity that we now have an amazing 42 properties on our books, and at the time of hitting send there are another dozen or so more in the pipeline.
What’s exciting though is that we’re branching out, thanks to new properties in Cornwall, the Scottish Highlands and West Wales. A long journey might not be possible for all our families, but we hope some will be well enough to enjoy a complete change of scenery and all the other benefits a holiday brings.
It’s a testament to all your hard work – from the talks, the branded hoodies and t-shirts, Project Lighthouse, Worth Valley Supporters Group and all the other fundraising activities. Your enthusiasm, support and energy for ABOAB is helping us no end, and we know it’s making a difference because of the opportunities coming our way. So please keep talking about us!
Property Hunt
Our focus on finding new properties is ongoing because without a range of holiday homes we simply can’t deliver for our families who need a break. It’s the properties that make the ABOAB wheels go round!
Right now we’re on the lookout for properties in our core areas of the Northumberland and Yorkshire coasts, Lake District, north west and north Wales coasts. Properties with at least one ground floor bedroom are always a bonus.
So, if you have a holiday home or know someone who has a holiday home that fits the bill, we’d love to hear from you.
Celebrating our property partners
Thankful Thursday on Facebook is all about our properties and property owners. Every Thursday we share one of our properties and say a massive thank you to our cottage, caravan, lodge, bungalow and apartment owners showing how different each one is and how they offer a unique and memorable holiday experience for a family living with terminal illness.
So far, we’ve featured Heart of the lakes, 2 Kiln Cottage (also in the Lake District) as well as The Blacksmiths in Northumberland (shown in the images below) and Ilkley Moor Cottages and Apartments but like us on Facebook for more in the coming weeks!
Stay warm in a ABOAB hoodie!
A gorgeous photo of Ange’s nieces looking so cosy and warm in their oversized ABOAB hoodies? Perfect for this changeable weather, we still have a few T shirts (£12) and hoodies (£25) for sale, just add £3.49 for postage. But be quick because they’re flying off the shelf!
You can order yours from Paula: paula@abitofabreak.com
ABOAB in the Yorkshire Times: Helping families coast to coast
With around 250,000 regular readers, the opportunity to be featured in the Yorkshire Times was too good to miss. It came up after Deputy News Editor, Jan Harris, heard Rachel, our Operations Co-ordinator (who does a brilliant job of matching families with properties) gave a ABOAB talk at Skipton Women’s Institute.
Jan got in touch and the result was a feature article ‘Helping families coast to coast’ that topped the Lifestyle section in the 5 August weekend edition. Not only that, but the feature made it into its sister titles Lancashire Times, Cumbria Times and North East Post too. It was brilliant to be able to share our story with so many readers.
We’ve learned with the press coverage and presentations this year that you just never know who’s reading or listening! There might be potential referrers, property owners or supporters with fundraising ideas who want to get involved. So, if you’re part of a community group and want to invite ABOAB along or have another awareness raising idea, just drop Paula a note.
Thank you!
Thank you for reading and for your support, next time round we’ll focus on our referrers, and how our partnership helps them and the families they support. We’ll also catch up with our Project Lighthouse cyclists and see what two-wheeled adventures Matthew has up his sleeve for Winter 2023 and beyond.
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