One hundred years since the completion of Salford Children’s Holiday Camp in 1926, the charity has this year gone through some changes as it heads towards a revamp midway through its centenary year. Part of the changes are adding to the team, increasing influence through additions to the board of trustees and putting in place infrastructure to support the renovation of the site over the next two years.

The camp’s board of trustees has appointed Justine McGuinn who also works for SEC Newgate on a part time basis as its administrator and ambassador. Justine’s role will involve working alongside the board of trustees to ensure that the charity is effectively administered and to continue to raise the profile of the charity, alongside the trustees.

Justine grew up in Salford and still lives in the city and whilst she didn’t personally visit the camp as a child, she was aware of it being known locally in the 1970’s and 1980’s as the “Jam Butty Camp”.

Justine’s background is in marketing and public relations specialising in the built environment sector where she’s worked for the last 40 years. She served on the Board of Trustees for 42^nd Street for a few years, a charity that supports young people under stress aged 11-25. Before working at Salford Children's Holiday Camp and SEC Newgate, Justine has worked in PR and marketing in the built environment since 1996.

“After 18 years of self-employment, I felt it was time to re-engage with the market in a different way. I wanted to be part of something meaningful alongside my other commitments and work with fantastic people making a difference to the children of Salford.

“There is something very compelling about connecting alongside others with a common goal based in integrity and purpose, not just profit, and I’m enjoying being part of the next phase of Salford Children’s Holiday Camp’s journey.”

In addition to Justine’s appointment, the trustees have also brought in a professional fundraising consultant, Five Thousand, which is steadily applying for grant funding for the proposed renovation project. Five Thousand Fundraising provides practical, flexible fundraising support for charities, CICs and community organisations that need high-quality funding applications, clearer fundraising plans and stronger routes into sustainable income. The service is led by Joe Hildred, an experienced fundraising consultant with a strong track record across various other charities and foundations across the North West.

The camp has been in operation for 100 years, originally set up to support “the poor children of Salford” and has successfully adhered to that mission and continues to do so. The buildings on site require replacement with new flexible accommodation to encourage families alongside keeping other buildings maintained and, to complete the project, a more sustainable team has been engaged.

The board of trustees has also been extended recently with the addition of several well-connected individuals within the construction sector who have a connection to Salford. These include Danny Johnson from Intrastack, Richard Coffey from FT Terrix, Zoe Brooke of The Save Construction Initiative / Ezrah Consulting, Charlotte Glover of Aldrock and Claire Bennett from Fiore Consulting.

Nick Abbott, who is the Chair of Trustees at Salford Children's Holiday Camp and Partner at Simon Fenton Partnership said;

“We’ve maintained the provision of holidays for young people from across Salford since we took over the camp from Salford City Council in 2014. It’s now time to create more modern facilities to cater for the changing needs of children, young carers and families in our community.

“We hope to increase our visibility and fundraising efforts as we near a start on site for ‘Salford by the Sea’, to maintain momentum up to a start on site. I’m excited to have Justine, Five Thousand and to have the support of our board of trustees as we move into the next 100 years of Salford Children’s Holiday Camp.”

Salford Children’s Holiday Camp is also currently seeking a teacher or someone with safeguarding expertise to join the board of trustees. Those interested in applying should email justine_mcguinn@hotmail.com to arrange a meeting with Nick Abbott.

The camp is seeking to raise a further £200,000 to complete the works on site and anyone, as an individual, or through corporate sponsorship wishing to donate to the camp should contact justine_mcguinn@hotmail.com or  bookings.schc@hotmail.com.

Salford Children's Holiday Camp was established in Prestatyn, North Wales in 1926. Since then, it has provided a holiday home for over 80,000 Salford children from all walks of life. Salford schools and groups always have priority booking up until October of the previous seasonal year, but any dates left after this period can be booked by schools and groups from outside of Salford.

Salford Children’s Holiday Camp (Charity Number 1200444) has a strong tradition of supporting vulnerable young people. In offering activities in a calm and supportive environment, reducing stress and social isolation. It is apparent that since the pandemic and entering a cost-of-living crisis, with reports of young people, experiencing social isolation and increasing mental health issues, there is still a great need to support vulnerable children. The camp earnestly wants to carry on its tradition of supporting young people and their families. To do this we urgently need your support. Please help us by donating towards the cost of a young person enabling them to experience a moment of ‘wellbeing’, away from the pressures they are experiencing at home.

We need your help! Are you or your company able to help us with sponsorship or donations? If you think you can help, then please get in touch by calling or texting us via Paul Blain 07798 726251 (Vice Chairman & Trustee) / Eddie Lewis 07802 225704 (Trustee) or alternatively contact by email: bookings.schc@hotmail.com.

 Please help us to ensure the children can have holidays in the future, DONATE HERE https://www.justgiving.com/charity/salfordchildrensholidaycamp

This year marks 100 years since Salford was granted official city status and the creation of Salford Children's Holiday Camp — an important milestone in the city’s proud history.

Steve OHara's great great grandfather played a significant role in that achievement during his time as Mayor of Salford. Alongside his civic work, he also founded the Salford Children’s Holiday Camp, helping provide opportunities and experiences for local children and working families at a time when such support meant so much.

Although his contribution to the city and its people is still remembered by some, sadly his grave and headstone at Weaste cemetery have deteriorated over the years.

As his family, we would love to restore his resting place so that his memory — and the part he played in Salford’s history — can be honoured properly during this centenary year.

We are raising funds to:

* Restore or replace the existing headstone

* Carry out any necessary grave restoration work

* Ensure the site is preserved respectfully for future generations

* Excess funds to SCHC

This is not only about remembering one individual, but about preserving a small piece of Salford’s civic and community history.

Any contribution, no matter the size, would mean a great deal to our family and would help us give him the dignity and recognition he deserves 100 years after helping shape the city we know today - see link below.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/stephenohara-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Our Halloween ball 2025 is on the 31st October at The Lowry Hotel with special guest Peter Hook who will be interviewed by Mike Sweeney. We also have the Absolute Diva's singing live and a freaky horror show act that will also do a walkabout on the night. So please come along and help us raise funds for children to have a holiday by the sea - ticket details email nick.abbott@sfp-mcr.co.uk

A huge thank you to the team at Rosgal Ltd for their recent sponsorship and donation. From the bottom of our hearts, we are so very grateful for your support.

It costs over £80,000 each year to keep our camp open and provide a holiday experience for young people of Salford and the neighbouring GMCA boroughs. Your contribution will make such a difference in giving a child a memory for life!

Huge Thank You to Mayfield Flooring and Tarkett UK!
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mayfield Flooring, Stockport and Tarkett UK for their incredible generosity in supplying and installing beautiful new vinyl flooring in our community room at the Salford Children’s Holiday Camp, Prestatyn.
This much-loved holiday camp has been creating cherished memories for generations, providing vital breaks for children who might not otherwise get the chance to enjoy a holiday. Thanks to Mayfield’s support, the refreshed space will help us continue this work in an even more welcoming and uplifting environment.
A special shoutout to the installation team, whose professionalism, cleanliness, and attention to detail were second to none. You did a truly outstanding job!
We are deeply grateful for your contribution and would highly recommend Mayfield Flooring and Tarkett UK for any future projects - your care and commitment to our camp is an incredible demonstration of Social Value and how it impacts the work we do.
Thank you for helping us make a difference!

....also a great job by our Trustee Charlotte Glover upon sourcing and arranging with Mayfield Floors and Tarkett UK.

Thanks to everyone who donates, fundraises and supports the children's camp we have been able to install a new slide and play equipment this year, this highlights how much of a difference we all can make to our young visitors lives as they spend a week away from home.

Many thanks to one of our community cafe regulars Robyn Clayton who created and personally funded our new amusement garden 'THE TEAPOT CAFE', its really created a buzz for all our young visitors thoughout the season. Robyn is set to work on a new garden area at the main entrance next and again this will be funded by himself so a massive thank you from everyone associated with Salford Children's Holiday Camp.

What a great day Trustee's Paul and Eddie had at Hydrofest 2024, thanks to Holland Hydroponics as we raised over a thousand pounds on the day and this will go towards giving children a holiday by the seaside. Many thanks to Jimmy Livingstone for the invite and your continued support of the charity, it is very much appreciated.

Hydrofest 2024 will be held at Hollland Horticulture, 17/19 Rondin Road, Manchester M12 6BF on May 4th and again we are t be the beneficiaries.

Last time we were given a cheque for £5675 from the event and its all thanks to everyone involved.

Why not pop long, live music, food, lots of giveaways and more....

Jo and Doug our on-site Managers collected an award from the Mayor of Prestatyn for helping within the community by hosting and supporting the warm hub initiative.

The warmhub is a place for people to meet, keep warm and have a chat over some soup and a bread roll.