A Delicious Day filled with Coffee, Cake, and Catch-ups

The SNAP Centre was a hive of excitement on 6th November as its doors were open for SNAP’s annual Coffee, Cake and Catch-up!

Mayor of Brentwood Mark Haig with Family Support Advisor Natalie South and volunteer Penny Hollington

The whole centre is transformed for this event to welcome families, old and new, supporters, funders and the general public to chat to The SNAP Team and find out the latest goings-on of the charity. There were even some special guests of the day with the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Janet Nicholls, and the Mayor of Brentwood, Mark Haigh.

Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex Janet Nicholls with SNAP CEO Karen Boath

Upstairs hosted areas for our Services Team to chat and explain the impact SNAP has in the local community and the opportunities we give to Essex families who have a child or young person with an additional need or disability. The Fundraising Team were updating attendees on supporters’ fundraising endeavours and ways to get involved towards the end of 2024 and the start of 2025.

This year, SNAP went bigger with a Christmas Market boasting 13 stalls for local businesses to showcase and share their Christmas stock. There were many festive delights including Christmas decorations and homeware, jewellery, clothing, home scents, homemade toys & much more! Stalls included: Bear & Buddy, DeeDee Handicrafts, ÉLAN Home Fragrances, Filli London, House of Colour, Jewel Bunny, Just Joules, Kate Mayo Ceramics, Little Black Cat Jewellery, Retro From Scratch, Sejli Luxury Candles, Tropic Skincare, Victoria’s Memory Bears

The downstairs Activity Hall was transformed into a pop-up tearoom. Trustees Denise Langdon, Paula Hills and Julia Gray served a delicious array of homemade cakes, generously donated by SNAP families and supporters. There was lot of buzz and joy as friends of old caught up and, The SNAP Team filled guests in on the year’s highs and lows.

Trustees Denise and Julia ready to serve the beautiful homemade cakes

Many volunteers help to run this event and SNAP are very grateful for their continued support. Without volunteers, SNAP wouldn’t be able to support so many families across Essex. We are looking to grow our volunteer base in the new year, register your interest by emailing [email protected] to find out more.

“It was a fantastic day! We are so thankful to everyone who came along to show their support of SNAP. It’s been such a special year celebrating our 30th anniversary and this event helps us to look back and reflect on all we’ve done. It’s sad the need for SNAP is greater than ever before. We hope to be here for another 30 years and beyond”.