Over three months, from October to December, KidsOut teamed up with Rotary International volunteers to help pack Toy Boxes in time to deliver to children in refuge for Christmas.

It comes as no surprise that Rotary jumped at the opportunity to support KidsOut this Christmas as they are the reason why we are a charity today. Lady Grantchester approached Rotarians Peter Jarvis and Graham Child, from the Rotary Club of Kingston, to hold a day out for disadvantaged children in 1990. Over 800 Rotary Clubs signed up and the first Rotary International Day Out was born. From 1999 KidsOut became a registered charity.

We are very proud to be a volunteer led charity with thousands of volunteers helping KidsOut with various initiatives and activities across the UK.

KidsOut is a strong believer that every child should have a toy to call their own. Our Toy Box service ensures that every child in refuge received a brand-new box of toys, worth over £80, to play with and improve social engagement and family interaction.

We had volunteers from Rotary Clubs surrounding our warehouse in Luton who selflessly gave their time to help the KidsOut staff sort, categorise, pack and load three artic lorries full of Toy Boxes. All Toy Boxes were delivered to children across the United Kingdom in time for a magical Christmas to remember.

KidsOut would like to extend a HUGE thank you to all involved. If it were not for their dedication and commitment, come rain or shine, our Christmas initiative would not have been possible. It was a pleasure to meet each volunteer and swap experience, stories, knowledge, and business cards.

We hope to see you all again in the near future where we will have more Toy Boxes to pack. If you would like to get involved and help the KidsOut staff audit and pack Toy Boxes, please click HERE or email [email protected].

In the words of Rotary International – Every refuge, every child – a Rotary Christmas Toy Box.