Gingerbread members across England and Wales have been making the most of the spring weather and the school holidays, with some fantastic Easter-themed activities. If you’re not already a member of a local group, why not see if there’s a group near you? Here’s a round-up of what’s been going on:

Our fantastic volunteer Alison put on an amazing Easter party for her group, with members of the group also supporting with activities. The event was a a heartwarming success, thoughtfully designed with dedicated areas for SEN children and allergen-free food options, ensuring everyone felt included and celebrated. We absolutely love that one of the mums dressed up as the Easter Bunny!  

It was wonderful to see single parents connecting while their children enjoyed a safe and welcoming environment tailored to their diverse needs – Emma 

We loved the party – the kids didn’t want it to end!  Love to look forward to the events Alison puts on.  Being a single mum can get lonely at times, so this group is amazing - Jade 

Joanne’s group in Nottingham continues to be a positive beacon of light for single parents in the area.  They meet regularly in and around Nottingham, they recently went to a light night show where 11 families came together to enjoy their time with each other.  The group is supportive on WhatsApp with each other, and enjoy taking their children to different places such as parks, walks, farms and local activities.  

Joanne brought together 6 single-parent families this Easter, including 3 people who were new to the group.  The families had brunch and cake and afterwards headed to the park where everyone enjoyed themselves.   Joanne says it was lovely to see everyone, great to meet new people and everyone is looking forward to more hang-outs in the future!   

Our super volunteer Ema put on an Easter extravaganza Gingerbread meet-up for her group in north-west London with tea, chocolate, crafts, and Easter story-book reading for a diverse range of ages. 

We know from Ema’s members how valued these regular meet-ups are. Together, the group have created the feeling of a Gingerbread family.   

A very warm welcome from all the Gingerbread team to Hema and Sarah. These 2 fabulous volunteers have stepped up to take over the Havering Gingerbread Group.  

 Hema says: 

I chose to volunteer with Gingerbread to create a welcoming space where single parents and their children can connect, feel understood, and build lasting friendships—because as a single parent myself I believe every family deserves to feel seen, supported, and valued. 

Please get in touch with Hema and Sarah if you would like to join the group.

Rachel has developed a lovely group in Durham.  She really saw the impact the group is making when at her last meet-up. 2 single parents who are isolated due to having no family in the area, and no other single-parent friends came along and made a positive connection with each other. 

Rachel has also secured a venue for future meet-ups in Durham Family Hubs, where there will be resources for children to play with. This is a great potential partnership and all the group members feel positive about their meet up there.  Rachel is going to use the £50 groups budget to buy some craft activities and refreshments for the group. 

For the last year, Newcastle University have partnered with Gingerbread and run a really successful and super-supportive Gingerbread Single Parent Group as a subgroup of their NU Parent and Carer Network.  The group has over 20 members.  We celebrated the group’s first anniversary at the end of March. 

Through a partnership approach, we’ve co-produced a group model and the team at Newcastle has subsequently shared best practice with other universities.    If you’re interested you can read more about our delivery partner offer here.