A university student has devised an innovative scheme to help parents who are visiting the Island on holiday, and raise funds for The Children’s Centre’s charitable projects in the process. Joe Murley, who is studying economics at Newcastle University, has set up the ‘Kit 4 Kids’ project in conjunction with The Children’s Centre. Parents visiting the Island on holiday can use the scheme to hire equipment such as pushchairs, cots, prams, high chairs, car seats and stair gates. It saves them the expense and hassle of having to bring equipment with them – especially important to families looking to save money by avoiding excess baggage charges. Joe says:
“Travelling can be a stressful time, even more so when you have young children to look after. You want to have all of your children’s equipment with you but this is not possible due to the number of items that are required. Kit 4 Kids makes things much easier for parents and can make any visitors you have coming to stay feel much more relaxed about travelling. It saves parents the ordeal of getting all of their equipment to the airport and checking it in whilst trying to manage travelling with children at the same time. The service goes live on August 18, and all proceeds from it will go towards The Children’s Centre’s charitable projects.”
Items for hire under the Kit 4 Kids scheme can be collected from the charity’s HQ at 94 Woodbourne Road, Douglas. Payment is by cash or card at the time of collection. The rentals will be available from three days upwards, and each item costs the same amount to rent with all prices starting from ?10 for a three day rental. All of the equipment for hire has been donated to The Children’s Centre by parents from across the Island. While there is a good range of equipment already available to hire, Joe would welcome more donations of good quality items which can then be put to use to support the Kit 4 Kids scheme.
Joe, who is shortly to start the third and final year of his BSc course, teamed up with The Children’s Centre by taking part in Isle of Man Government’s STEP programme. Every year the scheme recruits the brightest and most enterprising undergraduates and matches them with the specific needs of small organisations to undertake a skill-centric project. Each student works over the summer to complete their project within eight weeks. All the STEP scheme undergraduates then present their projects and an award for the ‘most enterprising student’ is given to the winner who is chosen by a judging panel.
To hire equipment, or to donate items for the Kit 4 Kids scheme, phone The Children’s Centre on 676076 or email info@thechildrenscentre.org.im.
Photo - Joe Murley with some of the equipment available to hire from the Kit 4 Kids scheme which is raising funds for The Children’s Centre.
