Thanks to everyone who celebrated Family Day with us on Sunday 13 May to support Family Diversity- thousands joined us in the Iveagh Gardens – and many more held their own events around the country. There is still time to enter our art competition til 31st May – if you are under 18 you could win €500!
See the full line up for Sunday’s picnic here Family Day Picnic.
What is Family Day?
Family Day is a big annual celebration of the diversity of families and family life in Ireland. As broadcaster Ian Dempsey explained at the launch, ‘Families come in all shapes and sizes and Family Day is a day for everyone to celebrate their family, no matter what its make-up, and to think about what family really means.’
Family Day is brought to you by One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, in association with EBS. It is One Family’s 40th anniversary this year, so we want your support to make Family Day 2012 bigger and better than ever.
On Sunday 13 May 2012 One Family and EBS hosted a wonderful family event with free entertainment, family sports activities, face painting and arts and crafts workshops in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens – over 5000 people joined us – many bringing their own picnics to celebrate family day – or visiting our food village to keep hunger at bay. And parents visited the One Family tent for some free treats like shoulder massages and make-up sessions.
Throughout the day famillies joined in our races, goal scoring, face-painting, balloon modeling, juggling, drama workshops, puppets, dancing and story-telling workshops – they played dress-up with Off The Rail’s Sonya Lennon and saw a fire engine up close – the list goes on – see Family Day Picnic for updates and performance times.
This year, if you are under 18, you could win €500 in our art competition by drawing or painting your family portrait and dropping it into any EBS office – or by posting it to One Family, 2 Lower Pembroke St, Dublin 2. The closing date for portraits is 31 May. They are already rolling in!
Those who didn’t make it to Dublin could hold their own event and register and tell us all about it. The type of family event is entirely up to you and can be held any time during the week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 May. Organisations often organise a family-themed arts and crafts project, or a storytelling hour or even a formal talk – families may prefer to have a family outing such as a treasure-hunt, or a family X-Factor competition. See here for loads of ideas.
Why Celebrate?
We believe all families matter, and that individuals who feel cared for and supported by those around them – whether families or others in their lives – help to make stronger communities for us all. We know that families are not all the same. We define a family as two or more people, related by blood, marriage, adoption or commitment to care for one another. We celebrate all types of family – blended, extended, adoptive and foster families, and those with one-parent or same-sex parents.
Why not turn your event into a fundraiser for One Family?
One Family is the national organisation for people who parent alone or share parenting, because sometimes it isn’t easy being mum and dad. Monies raised will go to our askonefamily national helpline which gives support, information and a listening ear to lone parents going through a difficult time. See here for details on how to hold a fundraiser.
Who supports Family Day?
Family Day is brought to you by One Family in association with EBS, with media support from Today FM and The Evening Herald. It is supported by community and voluntary groups, schools and charities around the country, see partners and supporters for how to sign up your group’s participation or add your support.
Next steps…
Register your own Family Day event
Enter our art competition to win €500*
“Like” our Facebook Page and mark yourself as attending the Family Day Picnic on our Facebook Event page
See which individuals and organisations are supporting Family Day 2012.
Watch the One Family Stories video to see why we support one-parent families.
Tell us your story – what family means to you and why family is important to you.
*Terms and conditions apply
