KidsOut Days
The Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper is a keen participant in The Rotary KidsOut National Day Out. This is the largest single day out for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. Over 28,000 children from all over the country take part - thanks to over 750 Rotary Clubs throughout Great Britain and Ireland who work with local schools and special groups to make this happen.
Visit the KidsOut website to find out more about the KidsOut charity.
On June 13th 2018, the annual local KidsOut Day trip took place at the Cotswold Wildlife Park. A large number of disadvantaged children from special schools in our area, accompanied by their carers, enjoyed a day away from school in beautiful surroundings and were able to meet many animals at close quarters.
On June 10 2009, National Kids Out Day, The Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper teamed up with other Oxfordshire Rotary clubs to host some 200 children and carers for a visit Cotswold wildlife park for the day. Vesper invited three schools - Kingfisher from Abingdon, Fitzwarryn of Wantage and Mulberry Bush of Standlake. The children had a wonderful time exploring the park, looking at the wide range of animals and riding on the train. Messages after the event included “Thank you all for a wonderful day - we took some very happy children back to school” and “Thank you so much for today. The children had a wonderful time and had lots of fun. Could you also thank everyone involved as everyone was so friendly.”
Vesper Rotarian Carol Hall and her husband Martin have long been keen sailors and they put their skills (and boat!) to good use in June 2009 when they joined some 40 other vessels to take children on a never to be forgotten trip around Chichester harbour. The day, known as KidsOut on the Water, was organised by the Sussex fleet of the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotary and involved children from special schools throughout Sussex. Highlights of the day included mooring at East Head, a beautifully scenic bay, for lunch and a low level fly past by the coastguard helicopter.