A local charity is providing activity camps for children from underprivileged areas of Bristol.
Avalon Camps is a based in the village of Mark near Burnham-On-Sea. It gives deserving children between the ages of 8 and 9 from the Hartcliffe and Withywood areas of Bristol an opportunity to have a holiday in the countryside.
All the children come from Bristol BS13 which is in the lowest 5% of deprived areas in the UK. The children selected by their schools are children who would gain the most from a free residential experience.
Avalon Camps has a new Trustee, Tim Weigold, who originally helped when he was a Young Leader sleeping under canvas, looking after 32 lively children from some of the most underprivileged areas of Bristol.
Now, Tim is a fully qualified Paramedic. He works on the very streets those children come from, and has recently stepped up to become a full Trustee of the Charity.
Tim says: “My time volunteering with Avalon Camps greatly influenced my career path and now I am in a position to really make a difference on the streets of Bristol as both a full time paramedic and by helping to guide the work of the charity.”
“Having completed two Ultra Marathons I am planning a little run from Hartcliffe to Mark as a fund raiser for Avalon Camps”
George Osborne, Chair of the Trustees, adds: “It’s fantastic that a young person – Tim is only 26 – who volunteered as a leader some 9 years ago is now prepared to help the charity move forward into its fifth decade.”
The cost of running the annual camp this year for 64 young children will be around £18,000. None of the Camp Leaders – young people and adults – nor the Trustees, nor any of the nearly 200 volunteers receive a penny.
Therefore, fundraising is critical and in today’s digital society a modern website is essential. Avalon Camps is grateful to Falcon Digital for providing £5,000 worth of design time to the charity to produce its new site at www.avaloncamps.org.uk.
The charity – Reg Charity #1172169 – is seeking to enlist more local sponsors to help support its work.
