Fun filled day at free family fête (in Flitwick)
Wednesday, 3 August 2022
Over 80 young carers from Central Bedfordshire had a fun-filled day in Flitwick on Wednesday (27 July).
Young carers fête 2022
Our Early Help Plus team, which runs activities for young carers, organised a free event for them and their families.
The team organised the fête at Flitwick Football Centre to give the young carers a chance to have fun with their families and take a short break from their caring responsibilities.
Among the activities on offer at the fête were a raffle, a tombola, a penalty shoot-out and fairground games including hook a duck and splat a rat.
The young carers also had the opportunity to have their faces painted and have temporary glitter tattoos, and meet animals including goats, pigs, a donkey, chickens and sheep. The Mayor of Flitwick, Andy Snape, and Susan Lousada, Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire also attended to lend their support to the event.
One parent said:
It was absolutely brilliant. The staff were amazing and the stalls being free was a massive bonus because not having to pay meant it took the pressure off me having to find the money for things. It was just such a brilliant day out. Thank you so much for another fantastic event which all of us loved.
Councillor Sue Clark, our Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said:
Our local community were fantastic; Flitwick Football Centre in particular continue to be incredibly supportive of our young carers, and we are incredibly grateful to them and to the other organisations who helped us put on such a great event.
Our young carers provide such important support for the people they care for, and it is really important that they have opportunities like this to have a little bit of time where they don’t have to think about their responsibilities and can have fun. It also gives them the chance to mix with other young carers, who understand what they are dealing with.
The Early Help Plus team have also been praised by another parent, whose 14-year-old daughter is a young carer and gets involved with some of the activities offered by the team. The parent said:
[It has] helped improve her confidence a great deal. She always finds that her friends struggle to understand what it is like to be a young carer. The opportunities you give her to meet with others who can relate to her is a massive lifeline for her. Young Carers has given our teenagers a chance to be just that again, a teenager! We can’t thank you enough for the difference it has made.
If you know a young carer who would benefit from support, please email youngcarers@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.