National Family Week (UK)
Encyclopedia
National Family Week is an annual event in the UK taking place throughout the Summer half term holiday (England/Wales/Ireland), in late May/early June. The campaign aims to celebrate family life, encourage families to spend more time together and highlights the important role families play in society. The week consists of thousands of local events organised across the UK by supporting organisations including local authorities, sports clubs, charities, community and religious groups. In 2011 the week sees the launch of The National Family Week roadshow which tours the UK's major cities throughout the Summer half term holiday. National Family Week is endorsed by but does not receive funding from the UK government so funding for the initiative comes through commercial sponsorship.
which has been established since 1985. Unlike the Canadian week which is funded by taxpayers, the UK week is supported wholly by commercial sponsorship and the support of a large network of local, regional and national organisations with Family Week Ltd co-ordinating the activity .
donated £150,000 to go towards turning the winning ideas into a reality. 2009 also included a successful Guinness World Record attempt for the largest picnic across multiple venues which was attended by ambassadors Sally Gunnell
and Antony Worrall Thompson
amongst other celebrities achieving 12,934 participants in 79 venues across the UK. Sponsors of the 2009 campaign included Sainsbury's, Bupa
, Vue (cinema)
, Outwell, Seat and Legoland
.
, Hasbro
, Chrysler
and Vue (cinema)
.
2010 Family Survey
UK parents spend on average 49 minutes a day together with their children.
Websites such as Facebook have become a major influence in the lives of teenage girls - much more influential than television, magazines, celebrities and even their own brothers and sisters.
Organisers
National Family Week was founded in 2009 by Nick Henry of Henley Media Group and is run by Family Week Limited. It mirrors the established Canadian National Family WeekNational Family Week
National Family Week originated in Canada and takes place the week before Thanksgiving every year. It was proclaimed an official week by the government of Canada in 1985. National Family Week is celebrated throughout the country with special events put on by community organizations...
which has been established since 1985. Unlike the Canadian week which is funded by taxpayers, the UK week is supported wholly by commercial sponsorship and the support of a large network of local, regional and national organisations with Family Week Ltd co-ordinating the activity .
National Family Week 2009
National Family Week 2009 consisted of over 4,000 events nationwide including a favourite family recipe competition, Family of the Year competition and search to find the next Big Family Idea where the Big Lottery FundBig Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund is a grant-making non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom created by the Government to administer the funding of "good causes" following the creation of the National Lottery. It has an annual expenditure of £630 million...
donated £150,000 to go towards turning the winning ideas into a reality. 2009 also included a successful Guinness World Record attempt for the largest picnic across multiple venues which was attended by ambassadors Sally Gunnell
Sally Gunnell
Sally Jane Janet Gunnell OBE is a former British Olympic champion in the 400 m hurdles...
and Antony Worrall Thompson
Antony Worrall Thompson
Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson is a British celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.-Biography:...
amongst other celebrities achieving 12,934 participants in 79 venues across the UK. Sponsors of the 2009 campaign included Sainsbury's, Bupa
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
, Vue (cinema)
Vue (cinema)
Vue Entertainment , formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded...
, Outwell, Seat and Legoland
Legoland
Legoland is a chain of Lego-themed theme parks. They are not fully owned by Lego Group itself; rather they are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainment.The chain currently consists of:* Legoland Billund...
.
National Family Week 2010
Over 5,000 events took place during National Family Week 2010 and competitions were launched to find the best family photo and most talented family pet. A new Guinness World Record was also set for the largest three-legged race across multiple venues which included Twickenham stadium and the City of Manchester stadium with at total of 1,860 participants at 18 venues across the UK, on 5 June 2010. Sponsors of 2010 included Tesco MobileTesco Mobile
Tesco Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Slovakia. It is operated by Tesco, using the O2 network as its carrier.-United Kingdom:...
, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
and Vue (cinema)
Vue (cinema)
Vue Entertainment , formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded...
.
2010 Family Survey
UK parents spend on average 49 minutes a day together with their children.
Websites such as Facebook have become a major influence in the lives of teenage girls - much more influential than television, magazines, celebrities and even their own brothers and sisters.
Merchandise
Free National Family Week goodie bags are handed out at major events and contain freebies for kids, a voucher booklet and Family Time! magazine. Organisations co-ordinating events under the umbrella of National Family Week are also supplied with free merchandise, balloons, stickers, posters and banners to help promote their events.Political supporters
- National Family Week is endorsed by many of the UK's high-profile political figures including:
- David CameronDavid CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
- Nick CleggNick CleggNicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
- Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
- Alex SalmondAlex SalmondAlexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
- Boris JohnsonBoris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
Celebrity supporters of National Family Week
- Richard MadeleyRichard MadeleyRichard Madeley is a British television presenter and columnist. With his wife Judy Finnigan, Madeley has presented This Morning and later the weekday chat show Richard & Judy...
and Judy FinniganJudy FinniganJudith "Judy" Finnigan is a British television presenter and columnist. She has usually co-presented with her husband, Richard Madeley, and the two are collectively known, informally, as Richard and Judy... - Jo FrostJo FrostJoanne "Jo" Frost is a British nanny and television personality. She was the central figure of the reality television program Supernanny...
- Terry WoganTerry WoganSir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
- Sally GunnellSally GunnellSally Jane Janet Gunnell OBE is a former British Olympic champion in the 400 m hurdles...
- Antony Worrall ThompsonAntony Worrall ThompsonHenry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson is a British celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.-Biography:...
- Amanda HoldenAmanda HoldenAmanda Louise Holden is an English actress and presenter. Among her roles are Mia Bevan in Cutting It, Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart, and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award...
- Esther RantzenEsther RantzenEsther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma...
- Gillian McKeithGillian McKeithGillian McKeith is a Scottish nutritionist, television presenter, and writer. She is the former host in the UK of Channel 4's You Are What You Eat and Granada Television's Dr Gillian McKeith's Feel Fab Forever, and as of 2010 presents Eat Yourself Sexy on the W Network in Canada...
- Joe SwashJoe SwashJoseph Adam Swash is an English actor and presenter. He once played Mickey Miller in the British television soap opera EastEnders. He is the older brother of Shana Swash, who played his on-screen younger sister Demi Miller until July 2006. He also won the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me...
- Sian LloydSiân LloydSiân Lloyd is a Welsh television presenter, best known as a ITV Weather presenter.-Biography:Lloyd was born in Maesteg, Bridgend, Wales, the daughter of two teachers. She attended Ystalyfera Bilingual School and performed at the Eisteddfod where she won the Crown...
- Pauline QuirkePauline QuirkePauline Perpetua Quirke is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Sharon in the comedy series Birds of a Feather, alongside her lifelong friend and frequent acting partner Linda Robson...
- Jo WhileyJo WhileyJohanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...