Creating Lifelong Memories: Sykes and Time Away Partnership

by Steph Boal / Impact

Here at Sykes Holiday Cottages, we are proud of our partnership with Time Away and of our wonderful owners who have donated free holiday accommodation to families caring for a child with a life-changing condition.

In 2022, Sykes piloted a scheme with eight generous owners to donate their holiday accommodation as part of our commitment to enable at least 100 disadvantaged families to go on holiday every year.

Since the scheme started, we have donated 200 breaks. Due to the scheme’s continued success and its impact on families, Sykes is continuing its work with the Cheshire-based charity Time Away.

Discover more about the importance of this partnership and its heart-warming impact on families below…

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The Importance of the Time Away Partnership
The Impact on Families
The Impact on Owners
The Future and How You Can Help

The Importance of the Time Away Partnership

Time Away is a charity committed to supporting families caring for a child with a serious medical condition, often struggling financially and emotionally, by providing a holiday or short break to help them create precious memories together.

"We're proud to have worked with Time Away to make this a reality for more families this year. A big thanks must go to our amazing owners who have opened up their properties too, helping to provide more families with the opportunity to experience the benefits of travel."

Graham Donoghue

CEO of Sykes Holiday Cottages

"We are delighted to be partnering with Sykes to give some of the families we support the opportunity to enjoy a much-deserved holiday this year.

At Time Away, we want to help people take a break from any of the daily challenges they may face, and we are committed to making that a reality for those who need it most."

Alex Braun

Founder of Time Away

The Impact on Families

The Gee Family

After a particularly difficult few years, Time Away helped send The Gee family on holiday. They stayed in a property in South Wales, an area they mentioned they wouldn’t typically have travelled to. This experience offered them the opportunity to explore somewhere new!

The family received lots of sight-seeing ideas from the wonderful owner of the property; with highlights including a day trip to Tenby followed by a boat trip around Caldrey Island, a visit to Laugharne Castle and a day spent on the shores of Pendine Beach.

"We went to Tenby for the day and went on a boat around Caldery Island, it was amzing! My son was so so excited and happy ... this is something we have never done before and wouldn't normally do as we don't live near the coast."

Gee Family

See some highlights of the Gee family’s holiday below…

When asked about what this holiday meant to them, the Gee family had this to say…

"Time Away helped us heal and have fun as a family again, we laughed, we slept, we ate ice cream and fish and chips! We ran barefoot on the beach. Listened to the birds singing in the garden, took a boat ride, stream train ride and climbed to the top of the castle! The last 2 years had been just heartbreaking and this holiday helped us heal and laugh and smile again, I will be forever grateful."

Gee Family

The O'Brien Family

Their story:

The O’Brien family’s son was born unexpectedly at 32 weeks, and the family were given the heart-breaking news that they should say goodbye, as there was nothing more the hospital could do.

In a last-ditch attempt to save their son, the hospital managed to operate, giving him an airway that ultimately saved his life. Despite this, their son spent the first year of his life in hospital where he endured countless operations including two open heart surgeries.

"If things were different, we would certainly have been abroad by now and likely have had numerous UK holidays as a family. Given our situation, not only is that practically difficult, it's also a huge financial challenge because as you can imagine taking so much time off work has taken its toll."

O'Brien Family

Time Away helped send the O’Brien family to Thrang View, a beautiful cottage in the village of Langdale in Cumbria. Nestled close to both Grasmere and Windermere Lake the family loved everything about the cottage and the location!

On their holiday, they explored local attractions, enjoyed picturesque walks through the hills and tucked into picnics. They even visited the famous Lake Windermere where they paddled and took a boat trip, which their son loved!

"The cottage was perfectly located and big enough to allow us to take some family for support and our carer so we could sleep and enjoy the break together as a family.

Time Away and the generous cottage owners have provided us with memories we will forever be grateful for and at one point, we never thought possible.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you."

O'Brien Family

The Foden Family

"The whole Time Away process is so easy, it's not stressful. The break we had is something we definitely would not have been able to afford to go to. It gave us time to relax with each other away from 'home' life in a beautiful setting, which suited my daughter so much.

The property and grounds were so gorgeous, peaceful and calm. We lived in a little bubble for the week.

It's an amazing thing you offer families and we have made some lovely memories and are very grateful for every one of you who made it possible"

The Foden Family

The Impact on Owners

Thrang View (Ref. 1041456) in Cumbria

"Giving a week at Thrang View to help a family like the O'Briens was really no hardship or inconvenience to us and if we can make such a difference to a family in such a simple way then it is something we would like to repeat every year."

Thrang View

Owners

The Wee Lodge (Ref. 997046) in Perthshire

"I am usually really well booked so to offer a week is easy for me, it doesn't impact my income and more importantly it's lovely to give some thing back.

I have had lovely thank you letters/emails from families letting me know how much the holiday meant to them, some people don't get the chance for a holiday due to financial difficulties or ill health and I am delighted to think I can help in this little way."

Heather Whyte

Owner of The Wee Lodge

12 Manor Farm Close (Ref. 1079812) in Oxfordshire

"Deep down I am fortunate to be able to give something back to these families. I don't know their personal situations and sadly I don't get to meet them, but I do read their reviews in the visitor's book and online and can see how grateful and how important the holiday has been to them and their families and it is nice to be in a position to offer something that helps."

Simon Doolan

Owner of 12 Manor Farm Close

The Future and How You Can Help

Sykes Holiday Cottages is thrilled to continue this partnership with Time Away and is committed to helping families like the Gees, Fodens and O’Briens make cherished lifelong memories.

We would also like to extend thanks to our owners who donated and continue to donate their cottages; these unforgettable experiences would not be possible without their generosity.

If you’d like to get involved as a Sykes owner, you can head here to donate a stay to the Time Away charity!

You can also go over to the Time Away website to donate funds to the charity.

If you’d like to learn more about Sykes Holiday Cottage’s Impact mission head over to the Impact section of our blog. You can also read more in our Impact Report for 2023.

by Steph Boal / Impact

5th December 2024

Creating Lifelong Memories: Sykes and Time Away Partnership

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The Importance of the Time Away Partnership