Family Holiday Charity

Family Holiday Charity, founded in 1975 by Joan and Patrick Laurance (originally as the Family Holiday Association), is a UK-wide organisation dedicated to providing funded holidays to families facing adversity, offering respite, family reconnection, and positive memories to combat stress, isolation, and hardship. Rooted in the founders' personal experience, its mission emphasises dignity, hope, fairness, and the belief that every family deserves a break, with an evolved focus on advocacy against "holiday poverty" through partnerships with governments, local authorities, NHS trusts, schools, and referral agencies.

It prioritises families experiencing deprivation, including low-income households, single parents, young/kinship carers, those affected by domestic violence, bereavement, illness, disability, mental health issues, or living in social housing. Support consists solely of direct, fully or partially funded UK holidays—typically 4 nights of self-catered accommodation, plus limited travel and food contributions—aiming to boost mental wellbeing, family bonds, resilience, and childhood experiences. No grants are made to organisations; all aid is delivered directly to beneficiaries via referrals.

Eligibility requires referrals from registered professionals (e.g., social workers, teachers, health visitors) at charities or statutory bodies, with no geographic restrictions across England, Scotland, and Wales, and no organisational income or size limits. Applications are referral-only via an online form after referrer registration, processed on a rolling basis with no deadlines—remaining active up to 12 months as funding matches families. Typical support per family totals £500–£900.

Distinctively, it excludes project/core grants, capital costs, capacity building, or self-referrals, focusing uniquely on holidays' transformational impact with rigorous safeguarding, ongoing referrer support, and evidence-based outcomes, setting it apart in addressing wellbeing through leisure for vulnerable UK families.