Children's holidays to resume after funding boost

The Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre will reopen after a fundraising campaign raised £150,000

A charity that has provided holidays for disadvantaged children for more than a century will resume trips in 2026.

Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre announced it will reopen its site in Skegness after reaching a fundraising target of £150,000.

The charity was unable to run trips in 2025 as rising costs hit its finances.

Chief executive Janine Holmes said she was "blown away" by the support the charity had received.

The charity says it will be able to take up to 34 children each week to Skegness

For more than 130 years, it has been taking groups of children whose families cannot afford a holiday to its centre in Skegness for a five-day break.

Ms Holmes added while the centre would reopen, it still needed £27,000 for next year's holiday programme.

The charity said children would be able to enjoy holidays at the centre during half terms and the summer holidays, with up to 34 staying each week.

It added it was planning to offer weekend lettings for guides and scouts groups, as well as low-cost residential stays for schools when it was not otherwise in use.

Ms Holmes added: "We would like to thank everyone who has supported us so much in 2025 – it's thanks to you that we can make hundreds of children very happy again next year and give them a brilliant week's holiday by the seaside."