Andy Owen

Andy runs respite projects for inner city children who are in desperate need of a break from difficult home lives. The charity, Campus Children's Holidays, for which Andy is currently the longest standing trustee, takes referrals from Social Services for more than 200 children each year. For some of the children it is their first taste of the countryside; for others their first view of the sea, or their first chance to try canoeing, climbing or ice skating. The children are aged six to thirteen and their backgrounds are diverse; some are young careers, others have lost parents or are in long term care and some have suffered other forms of abuse during their upbringing. The aim of Campus is that all the children will enjoy a safe, caring environment in which to spend a week with a group of children their own age, free from the troubles of their home life.

Andy has committed over 25 weeks to the projects over the last 8 years, as well as considerable additional time for fundraising, volunteer recruitment and the training of younger helpers to be volunteers in the future. Andy finds the time to do this by giving up his personal holidays from his full-time job. Recently, Andy also restructured the projects to accommodate 30% more children all of whom would otherwise not receive a break.