On Sunday 7 July 2019 we were very pleased to host our IMAGINE ID Family Fun Day. Held in Coventry, we wanted to create a relaxed day for our fabulous families with lots of hands-on craft activities for the whole family based around our children’s book, Avery.
Avery is not alone
We were so pleased to be joined by Marta Altés, author and illustrator of Avery. Marta’s enthusiasm, creativity and big smile made our day even more special. She encouraged the children and adults to create a wonderful wall mural where lots of colourful birds came to land and to cleverly make flying birds from family hand prints. The children also made feather bookmarks and decorated a sky mural with more birds. One grandparent said he “hadn’t had this much fun in ages” – he made three birds, beautifully decorated with sparkling sequins!
Several families told us their favourite activity was making capes, just like Avery wears in the book. It was lovely to see colourful capes flowing behind happy children as they left the venue at the end of a fun family day.
Nearly 200 family members were able to join us and the feedback we have received so far has been very positive. One family said:
“We didn’t want the day to end!”
UNIQUE
Beverly Searle, CEO of UNIQUE, also joined us for the day. Beverly said it was a “great opportunity to meet many Unique families in person.” We held a raffle during the day to raise money for this brilliant charity which supports families living with a rare chromosome disorder. We are delighted to say we raised £125.15 for UNIQUE – thank you to everyone who bought tickets.
Other Activities
The silent disco headsets we hired for the event went down a treat. It was lovely to see some children dancing and others listening to the music in their own space. We also had some soft play, sensory equipment as well as lots of games, puzzles and books. For older siblings and family members we set up a number of “science tables” with various games, challenges as well as posters about some of the study’s findings.
Thank you
It was lovely to meet so many families but we also want to say thank you to all the families who have taken part in the IMAGINE ID study. The information you have provided and the support you have given will help with the care of children and their families, both now and in the future.
