Before Autumn, a look back at Summer

With Autumn now upon us and the historic period in world history we have just experienced now passed, I want to briefly recap on some of the important moments of the last few weeks before we start to look ahead to another busy few months at Caudwell Children .

The summer period, especially during the school holidays, is both busy and disruptive for the charity. This period of annual leave and Government recess gives the team and I cause for a shift in focus, particularly in the fundraising and campaigns teams.

Where we usually have a high level of corporate and political engagement throughout the year, during August we tend to focus more heavily on our interactions with individuals and families as they too are less restricted by school and work.

This shift has a really positive and uplifting effect on the communications and themes that we use, embracing the summer mood and ensuring everyone can enjoy supporting the charity during the holiday period.

One opportunity that this period gave me was to spend a wonderful day with our Ambassador and a great friend to the charity, Lady Wilnelia Forsyth and her son JJ, who took the time out of their busy schedules to visit us at the Caudwell International Children's Centre in Staffordshire. The visit coincided with the anniversary of the untimely death of her late husband, Sir Bruce Forsyth, and served as a fitting tribute as we spent the day laughing and enjoying precious time with the children and families Sir Bruce cared so much about. We are truly grateful and humbled by their support and Winnie's enduring?commitment to her role as ambassador.

Next up, and a first for this summer was our new 'Butterflies on the Lake' event at the stunning Quinta do Logo resort in Portugal. Our latest addition to the international Butterfly Ball events, Portugal now joins London and Monaco in hosting these spectacular gala dinners.

As with any new event, particularly in a new country, we headed into the new August fixture with a certain level of trepidation. Our reputation for hosting these type of events always precedes us, and with it so does the expectation for a certain level of hospitality, entertainment and philanthropy.

Despite some of the usual last minute challenges that events have a habit of throwing at you, the team once again managed to pull out all the stops to ensure our guests had an unforgettable night under the stars and the event raised an incredible 300,988Euros to help fund our vital services in 2022 and beyond.

Special thanks must go to the staff at the Quinta do Logo Resort and our wonderful friends and committed supporters Duncan Bannatyne and Nigora Bannatyne for your assistance in making this inaugural event such a success, not to mention every single person who donated and contributed on the night. Thank you!

Meanwhile, back in equally sunny Birmingham, the eyes of the world focussed on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and it was our absolute pleasure to be involved in what turned out to be an absolutely incredible event. As an official affiliate of the United by 22 legacy charity, we took great pride in delivering the All Roads Lead To Alexander project in association with Spirit of 2012 .

Eighteen months of community engagement, workshops and practice ultimately culminated in a series of fantastic music and dance performances with film screenings at venues across Birmingham which celebrated equity, diversity and inclusion in the City. Congratulations to Charlene and the charity team that delivered the project, as well as our partners and the wider #birmingham2022 team who showcased the very best that Birmingham has to offer.

The summer also brought together two more wonderful partnerships, in the Gloworm Festival and our Holiday Activities and Food programme with Staffordshire County Council .

We were delighted to be named as the official charity partner for the 2022 Gloworm Festival, a brilliant 3 day festival in Nottinghamshire that has been especially created for families.?In partnership with Merlin's Magic Wand we provided entertainment and character meet & greets, while also delivering the important sensory area for children and visitors with SEND, including expert support on-hand from our clinical multi-disciplinary team.

Back at the Caudwell International Children's Centre me and all of the team enjoyed the frequent sounds of laughter and play that filled the air as we hosted a summer-long programme of healthy eating and cooking workshops for children and families.

Commissioned by the Council to deliver the Department for Education initiative, we teamed up with Cris Cohen at F E A S T E D to deliver our 'Eat Well Spend Less' workshops which saw children learning how to make tasty, nutritious meals in our teaching kitchens and learning about where ingredients and different types of food come from.

As August reached its end and the children started returning to school, we still had time to for two very special events before summer was gone completely.

First was the Parliamentary Reception to mark the launch of the fourth and final report published by Children's Alliance , which this time focussed on 'Family & Community' and I had the great honour of co-authoring.

Each of the series of reports has focussed on a key area of childhood and development, collating expert evidence and testimony from across the UK to identify key policy recommendations for Government to help address the health and wellbeing challenges facing future generations.

You can download and read the full reports here: https://childrensalliance.org.uk/working-group-reports/

I was joined at the launch by our ambassador, Peter Andre who has been a vocal advocate for the campaign since its launch in 2019. There were also powerful and moving speeches from the event host, Anna Firth , Baroness Frances D'Souza , the wonderful Alison Franks and sponsor Paul Thompson from Water Babies Ltd .

Finally, it gave us great pleasure to host not one, but two grand unveilings at the CICC recently.

The vital work we do at Caudwell Children is only ever possible because of the trust and belief that our supporters and donors generously bestow upon us, and while every single penny that is donated to the charity means a lot and is very gratefully received, there is also times when outstanding contributions deserve to be recognised.

That is why when one generous donor pledged to sponsor one of our assessment rooms at the CICC, and six other couples joined John Caudwell 's Life Changers Circle by pledging to donate at least ￡1million each to the charity - we planned something extra special.

It was a wonderful few hours in the company of people who all care deeply about what the charity is striving to achieve and just a very small token of our appreciation.

As well as unveiling their dedications and receiving bespoke specially designed gifts (thanks to Modern Glass & QPS Print ) our special guests spent time making a song with children in our Music & Media Suite and joining in to make bread & butter pudding in the kitchen.

With all of this (and more) happening over the summer it might seem like I wouldn't have time for some important family time myself, but I'm pleased to say I did and we enjoyed a family holiday in Egypt as well as our annual pilgrimage to a camping site in Shropshire which becomes our base while my daughter trains with her gymnastics club.

As every parent does at this time of year, I look at this year's 'back to school/college' photo and wonder where the time has gone, but I'm immensely proud of the young people they have become and know that they too understand and believe in the work we do at Caudwell Children.

Thank you as always for your messages of support and for taking the time to read my diary, I truly hope it helps you gain a better understanding of the breadth and diversity of work that goes in to achieving a charity's mission.

Coming up in the next few weeks I will look ahead to the Butterfly Ball, Monaco & Cycle with Champions events, an update on the work we are doing with the APPG on Cerebral Palsy and the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, as well as a very special birthday!

Thanks for reading. Trudi x

#DiaryofaCharityCEO