Young Carers Festival 2023

Helping with the annual Young Carers' Festival is the highlight of Hamble Valley Rotary's service. 

The Young Carer's Festival is a huge annual summer weekend event at Fairthorne Manor organised by the YMCA and the Children's Society who organise

• groups of young carers who come along
• tents, showers and toilets, marquees
• activities such as abseiling, kayaking, paddle boarding, craft workshops and fireworks
• tuck shop, fairground rides and music
• three good meals a day and snacks and drinks served from the Rotary Cafe
• a large tented venue where the young carer's can tell their stories and people from the Parliamentary Children's Commission are invited to listen

It's a wonderfully humbling experience to be involved in this hugely important event, one of the largest of it's kind, which provides a weekend break for young people with caring responsibilites at home. During the weekend young people have an opportunity to have fun, make new friends and have their say on issues that affect them. 

Hamble Valley Rotary Club's role is to run the refreshmant tent. To enable us to do this we are supported by over 60 volunteers from our club and other Rotary Clubs, family and friends. Some volunteers have the early shift starting at 5.15am ready to serve bacon baps at 6am, whilst others take on the late evening shift until midnight. The task is made all the easier by the young carer's who are unfailingly grateful and polite, and who so richly deserve a well-earned break from their cariing responsibilities, for some it is the first holiday they have ever experienced!

A big thank you to everyone who joined us in helping make this a success. If you'd like to become involved in future years, please get in touch, you do not have to be a member of Rotary to take part!