Youth charity calls for more young people at free Summer Holiday programme
By Barrie Hudson - 1 August 2025
CharityCommunity
BEST founder and CEO Don Bryden, left, with Deputy Manager and Designated Safeguarding Lead Laura Frankham-Gething and Operations Manager Craig Hiscock
BEST - Be a Better You wants to welcome as many young people as possible to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.
The organisation, founded in 2020, and based at the Elgin Industrial Estate, is best known for working all year round to offer bespoke one-to-one mentoring programmes for people aged 11-25 who are at risk of falling into damaging circumstances.
It also has also has enrichment programs for schools and holiday activities for people aged 5-16.
In the realm of school holiday activities, it is a provider of entirely free vital, life-enhancing and potentially life-changing services for young people as part of the HAF - Holiday Activities and Food - programme run by Swindon Borough Council, and which is open to children receiving free school meals during holiday periods.
At BEST, HAF sessions run from 8.45am to 3.15, and all feature a wealth of activities to choose from, together with freshly-cooked food from the kitchen (which has a top ‘Scores on the Doors’ rating), healthy snacks and an ever-available hydration station.
There are various themed events. For example, this week has been sports hero week. There are mini-Olympics, a reading den, games, boxing, football, cricket, tennis, table tennis and arts and crafts.
BEST is anxious to send out the message that it has room for far more people to take part, and is urging parents and guardians to take advantage of what is on offer.
Quite apart from the countless benefits for the young people taking part, the funds received by BEST in exchange for being a provider in the Whitehall-backed programme enable it to make even more of a difference and be more cost-effective.
The charity was founded by Don Bryden, who said: "We rely on numbers,” Mr Bryden explained. “That's the most important thing because if we've got 10 people our costs are high, but if we've got a hundred our costs are lower.
"What I've found is that there is a lot of confusion with HAF out there. There are people out there who are not even using their HAF vouchers, which charities like BEST and others in jeopardy.
"But not only that, it takes away the opportunity of another child having something warm to eat for the day, or another parent having that HAF ticket to enable their young child to use the facilities.
"What we are trying to do is raise awareness that the HAF programme is there. If parents don't use us correctly, everyone is going to lose it. The budget will not be there in years to come.
"We really want to put it out there that with this HAF programme, what we're doing, amongst other organisations doing the same thing, how important it is for parents and guardians of young persons who are receiving these free HAF vouchers to use them."
Such has been the success of BEST that its reputation has spread far beyond its home town. Last September, for example, the Prince of Wales made an official visit alongside the then Mayor of Swindon Cllr Barbara Parry and other dignitaries, and heard at first hand about BEST and its work.
The Government-funded HAF programme was rolled out nationwide in 2021 following successful pilots, and about 8,000 children in Swindon are eligible for free holiday provision from various providers.
The programme aims to benefit children by ensuring they:
- develop a better understanding of food, nutrition and other health-related topics
- feel happy, have fun and make new friends
- feel safe and secure
- get access to appropriate support services
- maintain a healthy level of physical activity
- participate in engaging activities that support development and well-being
-receive healthy and nutritious meals
-return to school feeling engaged and ready to learn
HAF sessions will run at BEST throughout the summer holidays until the end of the month.
Further information about the charity, the many facets of its work and how people and organisations can help can be found at
www.bestrust.co.uk.
Further information about the HAF programme can be found
here.
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