Purple Elephant is waving goodbye to a busy summer as it plans for an exciting autumn, with plenty of offerings to ensure both children and adults get to enjoy time playing and learning together. The charity offered a wealth of activities over the summer holidays, to local families who are both referred and self-referred, and who need support.
Ranging from family cookery to bouldering to outdoor game-playing, cricket, arts and craft, a day out including a zip wire and campfire-cooking, as well as multi-sports, nature and river fun, this year’s activities for 307 people were funded by Somerset Council, Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) and the Dept. for Education, with healthy food for all participants provided by Fair Frome.
The summer activities were run in partnership with Fair Frome and can only happen thanks to the funders, the staff of both organisations and a team of much-valued volunteers who support the events onsite. As Purple Elephant Founder, Sue Willis explains, “We believe that all children should have the same opportunities to learn, have fun and become the best they can be. It’s been a great summer and now we’re planning for October. Families need support all year round.”
Offering services for babies right through to teenagers, focusing on supporting families facing any kind of disadvantage, the organisation’s year-round offerings include Befriending, early-years parent-support, Stay-and-Play sessions, the Frome Children’s Festival and Toy-Library-Lending with over 50 reusable ‘Playsacks’ which can be borrowed from the town library and taken home for a fortnight, meaning the thrill of ‘new’ toys all year round.
October half term will bring a distinctly autumnal focus on 29th October from 1-3pm as the team joins with the Seed Library for fun and games as well as our “Play-and-Take-Away” – where you are invited to play with the toys and then take them home and keep them!