With Kids Ladies Lunch - 29Glasgow

With Kids would like to invite you to be part of our inaugural Ladies Lunch, taking place in 29 Private Members Club on Sunday 27th January 2013. With Kids seek to break the cycle of deprivation by intervening in the lives of young children with play therapy schemes that seek to strengthen their self esteem and bring out their innate gifts.

The Ladies Lunch promises to be an afternoon you and your guests will not forget and you will help raise funds for some of Glasgow and Edinburgh’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

The afternoon, hosted by With Kids Ambassador Kathleen McDermott, will begin with a champagne reception, followed by a delicious 2-course lunch, and will include entertainment by the fabulous Edward Reid - semifinalist on Britain’s Got Talent and tribute band Could it Be Take That.

The event will be organised by Fatbuzz in aid of With Kids, the charity that seeks to offer a new approach to help vulnerable children and families.

There are a variety of ways in which you can help. You could become a sponsor for the afternoon or you could take a table. A table for 10 is priced at £500 or individual tickets can be bought for £50.

If you are unable to attend perhaps, you could help in some other way? We are looking for auction and raffle prizes or maybe you would simply like to make a donation?

To book a ticket, or table, please email events@fatbuzz.com

You can now follow With Kids Glasgow and Edinburgh on Twitter, where you can keep up to date with our latest news and information.

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With Kids article in The Guardian

Here at With Kids it is extremely important for us to highlight that austerity and poverty can hit anyone at any given time, no matter what their background or circumstance is.

Over the past few months we have tried to stress how vitally important your donations are to our Christmas Appeal - but Kevin McKenna's column in The Guardian on December 9 articulated it better than we could have ever hoped for.

The reality of real poverty can be witnessed all over Glasgow this Christmas which is why we work with vulnerable and isolated families in the East End of Glasgow. At any one time, we are in contact with 120 families caring for 336 children.

But to reach all of the children and their families who will need emergency help this Christmas there would need to be another 10 charities such as With Kids. We have witnessed massive reductions in the disposable incomes of the families we help due to a combination of increasing food prices, huge increases in fuel costs and the UK Government's cuts in welfare benefits, as outlined recently by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

If you have yet to read the article then I highly recommend you do. This is a very interesting and sobering article that hits home with families across Glasgow and beyond - which you can read here. Via The Guardian.

Thank you Kevin for highlighting these issues that are closer to home that many may know.

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Your help goes a very long way...

Christmas is a time of the year that can be really tough financially. Each year we provide families that are struggling by providing presents, food hampers and credit towards utility bills for families that will otherwise go without.

Here at With Kids, we hear some heartbreaking stories of people left in desperate situations with literally nowhere to turn.

Last year we worked with many families who were in great need of support.

One particular family had 6 children and the mother had become so severely ill with MS that the father had to give up work to care for her and the kids.

Another woman's husband had walked out on her and their 3 kids taking every penny with him and leaving them with nothing. They'd planned to use his wage to go out shopping at the beginning of December but he used it to set up a new flat. She tried desperately to get loans but couldn't and finally heard about us 5 days before Christmas.

One woman had bought presents for the kids but at the expense of her electricity. She had a meter but every time she spent £10 on her card, £7 was taken towards her debt leaving her with just £3. She couldn't afford it in the run up to Christmas so stopped buying the cards, cutting herself off and leaving her without any heat or light.

Sadly, these stories aren't isolated incidents, you hear variations of them time and time again.

All families, regardless of background find that they have difficulties from time to time and too often parent's may not be aware of available support or the best action to take. With Kids aim to fill that gap and to provide flexible support that is suited to the needs of children and parents.

That is why we wanted to  take the time to thank our friends who have supported us and donated to the charity. We could not do it without you so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

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Charity Casino Event

Do you want to spend the night in the style of 007 or one of his glamorous Bond girls AND raise money for a good cause at the same time?

Have you watched the latest Bond film, Skyfall in awe and wanted to live that glamourously exciting life for just one night?

If so, some of With Kids' supporters have very kindly organised a fantastic James Bond themed casino night that will leave you shaken AND stirred.

The night has been organised by Paula Anderson, Ines Fertig, Dounia Cherif, Shelby Dorrian and Tiphaine Le Gouis from The University of Strathclyde - and we can't thank them enough for their support.

The night will be held on Wednesday the 28th November 2012 at Glasgow's O'couture, and will start at 7pm.

Tickets are £6.50 and include fun money to buy chips for the games, a buffet and entry to O'couture ALL night.

You will get the chance to play black jack, poker, roulette (not Russian) and of course wheel of fortune.

A prize of a bottle of champagne will be presented to the person with the most chips at the end of the night, and there are also plenty of prizes to be won at a raffle on the night.

If you want to find out more about the night, you can click HERE to view the event on Facebook.

Sponsorship Opportunities

The organisers of the event are looking for companies to kindly sponsor tables on the night.

Sponsorship will cost just £100 and in return, they will ensure to have the company's name and logo on the table, on all tickets and posters and all advertising of the event.

If you want to enquire about sponsorship, or if you can donate any prizes for the raffle, please get in touch with Paula Anderson on paula_anderson30@hotmail.com.

Alternatively, you can get in touch with any of the organisers on the Facebook Event page.

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JCI Glasgow 75th Anniversary Dinner

JCI Glasgow has been helping young business people and entrepreneurs grow and develop for the past 75 years, and to celebrate their 75th Anniversary Dinner, they are lending some support to With Kids.

Formed as Glasgow Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1937, JCI Glasgow is a not for profit organisation run by its members, for its members.

JCI Glasgow is affiliated to Junior Chamber International and is part of an international network of 200,000 business people in their 20s and 30s across more than 100 countries.

The 75th Anniversary Dinner, in support of With Kids, will be held in the Grand Room of Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Friday 16th November 2012.

The evening of dinner, drinks and entertainment will start at 6:30, and tickets are available now, priced at £60 for JCI Members, £75 for non-JCI members, and £750 for a table of 10.

Included in the price of your ticket is:

• Champagne reception
• 4 course dinner and half bottle of wine per person
• Corporate gift bag
• 20% off room rate at Grand Central Hotel for attendees
• Charity raffle and auction

Sponsorship

For anyone interested in sponsoring the 75th Anniversary Dinner, sponsorship opportunities are still available:

Main Sponsor - £3,000

1 x Top Table guest from your organisation 2 x Premier Table for 10 (closest to speaker’s podium)

Branding on all advertising material, tickets, front page of official programme, on big screens on stage and on small TV screens

One full page advert in official programme, mentioned in all publicity, 10 x premier goodie bag and opportunity to include advertising material in same goodie bag.

Major Sponsor - £1,500

Premier Table for 10, one full page advert in official programme, advertising on small TV screens, 10 x premier goodie bag and opportunity to include advertising material in same goodie bag.

If you require more information on sponsorship, or want to book tickets, please contact Iain Brown, at iain_brown@jciglasgow.com or visit the JCI Glasgow website.

Alternatively, you can book online HERE or download the booking form HERE.

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Christmas Appeal 2012

We know it's only October and that you don't want to hear the word but it's only 10 weeks till Christmas! And it's that time of the year where we need your help!

Christmas can be really tough financially for many families. Each year we help families that are struggling by providing presents, food hampers and credit towards utility bills who would otherwise go without.

Last year we provided 101 families with presents, food and credit for utility bills. Our Christmas party was attended by 106 kids and 71 adults. All the kids received a present from Santa and a hot turkey dinner. Nearly all of that was donated although we still had to go and buy them presents.

This year we really need your help to make sure that we can help as many families as we can in having a happy Christmas. By donating just one gift this would make all the difference!

We depend on your help and donations to make this possible. There's still time to fundraise or even collect those unwanted tins and packets at the back of the cupboard. With your help and support no family will go without this Christmas.

The type of items that go a long way in making a difference are:

• Non perishable food items- to help with winter hampers
• Stocking fillers- for the little extras on Christmas day that make a difference
• Party food- to help make our Christmas Party the best yet
• Wrapping paper/ sellotape/ gift tags- the little things that go a long way
• Gifts for adults (toiletries, perfume, make up) Donations of any kind are always greatly appreciated.
• We also take monetary donations which also goes a long way to help us provide our services at With Kids.
• Toys

All of your donations really do go a long way in helping out families who are in great need, especially at this time of the year so thank you from all of the families and With Kids!

If you know someone who can assist then please contact us on 0141 550 5770 or drop us an email at info@withkids.org.uk

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Come along if you dare...

As the nights get longer and leaves begin to fall off the trees this can only mean one thing - Halloween is almost here!

This year we are having our first ever spooky Halloween Party at With Kids and there will be plenty of tricks and treats to look forward to!

The party takes place on Wednesday 31st October from 4.30 - 6.30pm, and there will be lots of spooky tricks and devilish treats on the evening.

If you would like to come along to our party, please get in touch as soon as possible - and remember to bring your fancy dress!

As ever, we are looking for donations of treats and sweets to help make our party even more fun.

We are also looking for volunteers to help us out on the night.

Do you know anyone who can help? If so, we would love to hear from you.

If you would like more information, or if you think you or any of your friends could lend us a hand, you can contact us on 0141 550 5770 or drop us an email on info@withkids.org.uk.

You can also contact us by joining us on Facebook or on our Glasgow and Edinburgh Twitter pages.

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