1891
Established
29
Schools in 2024
368
Holidays in 2024
Welcome to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre
Since 1891, Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has given children facing challenging circumstances in their daily lives, the chance to experience something many of us take for granted – a holiday by the sea. We are a small but determined Derbyshire charity with a big impact, built on the belief that every child deserves joy, adventure, and memories to cherish.
Why we do what we do
Too many children in Derbyshire are growing up in poverty or difficult circumstances. Many will never enjoy a holiday, feel sand between their toes, or experience carefree time away from daily struggles. These missed opportunities don’t just take away fun – they limit confidence, wellbeing, and hope for the future.
What we do about it
We provide free, fully supported seaside holidays at our centre in Skegness. Here, children are cared for by our dedicated staff and volunteers, enjoy good food, laughter, trips to the beach, and activities that nurture their confidence, resilience, and friendships. These holidays give children a break from challenges at home and the chance to return happier, more confident, and ready to thrive.
Why we’re needed
For many children, this is their very first holiday. The difference is lasting – they come home with memories, smiles, and a sense that they matter. With rising child poverty, our work is more needed now than ever.
How you can help change a child’s life
Donate – just £384 funds a holiday for one child. You can do this by using either our ‘Go Fund Me‘ or ‘Just Giving‘ appeal pages,
Fundraise – take on a challenge, hold an event, or join one of our campaigns.
Volunteer – give your time at our centre or support us locally. Email: [email protected]
Partner with us – schools, businesses, and community groups can work with us to bring hope to children.
How you can help change a child’s life
- Connect & share with others – follow our journey on social media as we plan for a brighter future. Share our mission and story to help us raise awareness.
- Share your story – have you or a close family member visited our Centre for a holiday? Share your story with us – we would love to hear from you! Email us [email protected]Come along and join in – look at our events page to see what’s going on, where and when, come along, have a chat about what we are up to and how you might be able to help.
Together, we can continue to make a lasting difference in their lives. Every contribution, big or small, creates brighter futures for Derbyshire’s children.
Join Us in Making a Difference: The Comeback Appeal 2026
For over 130 years, we’ve been offering children the chance to create cherished memories, build confidence, and enjoy the magic of a seaside break. These holidays provide so much more than fun—they offer a vital boost to the well-being of children who need it most. But rising costs have been no secret and so we have taken the decision to pause holidays at our centre in 2025, with the aim of coming back bigger and stronger in 2026.
So the goal of our 'Comeback Appeal' is to raise £75,000 to bring back our life-changing holidays to disadvantaged children in Derbyshire and spread joy and hope to even more children in 2026.
This year, we need your help to make this possible. By contributing to The Comeback Appeal, you’ll be helping us bring sunshine back into the lives of children who might not otherwise experience a holiday.
Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to giving these children the gift of happiness, hope, and unforgettable memories.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and support for this cause that means so much to all of us. Together, we can make 2026 a year to remember for Derbyshire’s children.
Let’s make the comeback stronger than ever.
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Some of Our Valued Supporters
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Saturday 9th May 2026 | Mayor of Amber Valley quiz | Heanor Grammar
The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre are extremely grateful and proud to have been selected by The Mayor of Amber Valley - Cllr Steve Marshall-Clarke as his nominated charity for 2025-2026.
As Steve's tenure as Mayor comes to an end on Wednesday 13th May 2026, we were invited to the final fundraising quiz at Heanor Grammar, Heanor.
The event was a great success, a full compliment of quizzers coupled with great buffet were able to enjoy a fantastic evening.
Bringing the local community together whilst having fun and raising funds, a truly brilliant combination. As you'll see in the image attached to this post, Steve was joined many other Mayors, affectionately known on the night as 'the chain gang' including Barbara Anne Hastings-Asatourian M.Sc B.Nurs who was elected as High Peak Mayor on 7th May 2026.
The event raised over £700 for the charity, that’s absolutely amazing and will help with the holidays that will start again this month.
Thanks go to everyone who attended, again special thanks to Steve for creating the event and to Laura for making it possible.
There's more...........
We have provided links to our website along with current activities that are focused on fund raising where you can make donations to help support our wonderful charity:-
COMEBACK APPEAL 2026
www.justgiving.com/campaign/comeback2026
COSY BIKE AND HIKE
www.justgiving.com/campaign/cosy-bike-and-hike-2026
BOOK HOLIDAYS WITH RIVIERA TRAVEL
When you book a river cruise, yacht cruise or solo holiday, 10% goes to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre – helping give Derbyshire children a life-changing seaside break. 🌊💙
📞 Call 01283 893 550 (mention DCHC)
💻 www.rivieratravel.co.uk/?sourceid=DCHC
Alternatively if you have some spare time and want to be part of a well loved charity and volunteer please send us an email at [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you.
We hope you'll find time to look into everything we do at the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre using the link provided, thank you.
dchc.org.uk/what-we-do/ ... See MoreSee Less
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Great Northern Classics Derby | Family Fun Day | 9th May 2026
On Saturday the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre were delighted to have a family fun day at Great Northern Classics, where on our stall we ran a Teddy Tombola, a guess the birthday and a super raffle with some fantastic prizes to be won.
Dubbed 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' the event featured some great stuff including:
- An FI simulator
- A train simulator
- A visit - and regular firings up - of the famous Rolls-Royce Merlin engine (of Spitfires and Hurricanes fame)
- A plethora of Rolls Royce cars from the enthusiasts at the club
- Giant slot car racing (seriously good fun, and competitive!)
- Breakfasts, pizzas, nachos, hot dogs, sweet treats and drinks
Our thanks once again go to LEAD I.T Services and Manthorpe Engineering Limited for sponsoring the event.
On the day we were excited to see so many people coming along to the event, the big draw being the Rolls Royce Merlin engine, and that was closely followed by the Teddy Bear Tombola where we were able to make the day of 34 people who walked away clutching their new best friend, their new Teddy!
Watch this space for more details on the money raised during the event, and thank you to everyone who came along, supporting the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to learn more about our charity.
Lee Jepson
@top fans
Simon Evans ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
It was a lovely day!! We really enjoyed it, thank you to all involved in organising and running it ❤️
A brilliant day, and I know two of those bears have a good home!
📣 NINE DAYS TO GO!! 📣
Not long now until we get to one of the highlights of the year - the COSY Bike and Hike 2026
This fantastic walk and cycle on May 16 raises so much money for ourselves and our friends at Derby Kids' Camp.
Just a reminder to all those taking part that if you haven't set up a fundraising page yet it's quick and easy to do so.
It's all about raising as much money as we can so we can give holidays to as many children as possible.
For everyone taking part - please do ask for support from family, friends, the person you've just met, every little bit really helps us.
Either ask people to donate via the link below or you can easily create your own fundraising page.
Here's how:
- Visit the JustGiving page
- Click on the orange 'Start Fundraising' button
- Are you taking part in the event? - Just fundraising
- Are you fundraising for an occasion - Skip
- How much would you like to raise? - Set your own amount
- Personalise your page - get those training photos up there!
- Launch my page
Simples! And - as always - from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for taking part.
hashtag#charity hashtag#fundraising
This link gives you all you need to get those donations rolling in!
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Cosy Bike & Hike 2026
www.justgiving.com
Cosy Bike & Hike - 16th May 2026 Raising funds for Derbyshire kids’ holidays! 🚴 SkegVegas100 – 100 mile cycle, or 🥾 Amble to Ashbourne – 13 or 20 mile walk Join us to support Derby Kids' C...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Could it be you?!?
We need just one more volunteer (18+) to complete our team for our first holiday week - Monday 25th to Friday 29th May (Half term week) to help to provide a fantastic fun filled holiday and create memories for a life time at our Centre in Skegness for 20 children who have been referred to us by their schools who are in need of a break. Only requirement is a willingness to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in (DBS checks and references needed of course). If you know anyone who could help please put them in contact with me! [email protected] ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
I got a DBS
Let me no need any help
🚴 Big shout out to all those signed up for the Cosy Bike & Hike!🚶♂️➡️
A huge thank you from all of us and our friends at Derby Kids' Camp for taking part.
We hope the training is going well and that you're all enjoying this fabulous sunshine.
It's just over two weeks before this fabulous charity day involving a 100-mile bike ride from Derby to Skegness; a 20-mile walk from Derby to Ashbourne and - new for this year - a 13-mile 'Hamble' into the bargain.
Every year this fantastic event raises thousands of pounds.
As you pound and pedal those miles of training, now's the time to get all your friends, colleagues and family behind you and get those fundraising totals rolling in so we can help give as many children holidays as we can.
We're sure lots of people will want to support you as you put the training in and prepare to take part in what is a truly memorable fundraising day for Derbyshire.
Taking part? Have you signed up with a fundraising page yet?
Here's the link to set one up or donate to the main page if you haven't:
www.justgiving.com/campaign/cosy-bike-and-hike-2026
Meanwhile, here are some photos from last year's event to inspire you!
Roll on the Cosy Bike & Hike 2026 on May 16.
We're sure with the help of everyone taking part and all those supporting them with donations, it'll be the best yet! ... See MoreSee Less
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📰 We're in the news again! 📰
It's good to see news of a fabulous 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' fundraiser at Great Northern Classics Derby gaining traction in the media.
The event on May 9 will feature some great stuff including:
- An FI simulator
- A train simulator
- A visit - and regular firings up - of the famous Rolls-Royce plc Merlin engine (of Spitfires and Hurricanes fame)
- Giant slot car racing (seriously good fun, and competitive!)
- Breakfasts, pizzas, nachos, hot dogs, sweet treats and drinks
Great to see Derbyshire Times and @harity Today covering the story.
Thanks once again to LEAD I.T Services and Manthorpe Engineering Limited for sponsoring the event.
Here's a picture of the giant slot car racing from last year - who doesn't want to have a go at this?
Link to the coverage in the comments ⬇️ ... See MoreSee Less
5 CommentsComment on Facebook
www.charitytoday.co.uk/fundraiser-boosts-childrens-charity-ahead-of-summer-reopening/
Book here for tickets - it's advisable that anyone coming by car books a space in advance: www.greatnorthernclassics.co.uk/planes-trains-automobiles/
Great picture, thank you for that 😂 Track is all ready for action. 👍👍
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