AN eight-year-old boy from Warrington is set to star in an animated film, narrated by David Walliams, bringing to life his family teatime tale, as part of the McCain Partnership with Family Fund.
Benjamin Lane, aged 8 from Warrington features in Teatime Tales, a series telling the stories of three children, whose families have been helped by the charity Family Fund, through the eyes of the children, such as Benjamin, sharing family ‘little moments’
Premiering across Sky Media’s channels, the films come after new research from McCain and Family Fund found almost 9 in 10 families raising disabled or seriously ill children (87%) reported that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mealtimes, while for families without disabled children this figure was much lower at 45%
Teatime Tales is the latest chapter in the McCain Little Moments campaign, following a £1m pledge from McCain to Family Fund to help Family Fund achieve its goal of providing grants and services to 150,000 families and providing them with essential items that allow them to enjoy the simple things in life – like coming together at mealtimes
The series focuses on the story of Benjamin and two further children, Anjola and Maddie, whose families have all been helped by Family Fund, to reveal the importance of the little moments together as a family.
The three 60” animated films will air at teatime across Sky Media’s family channel portfolio to help raise awareness of leading childhood disability charity Family Fund, an organisation that provides grants and services to families raising disabled or seriously ill children.
Each of the films brings to life the ways that Family Fund grants can benefit disabled or seriously ill children in a story. For Benjamin (8), who has had cerebral palsy since he was born,
Family Fund has helped by providing a games console to help with hand coordination and fine motor skills, as well as holiday grants which have allowed the family to spend quality time together.
The Family Fund grants provide families with essential items to help their day-to-day lives and spend more time together, such as during mealtimes, enabling them to take time for the little moments. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected these families, and the ongoing partnership between McCain and Family Fund aims to offer support and take meaningful action so families can enjoy the little moments that matter.
As part of his Teatime Tale, David Walliams recounts Benjamin’s favourite hobbies, including football and helping his parents with the cooking, where he also has his own special saucepan.
Benjamin’s dad, Alan, said “Family Fund is like a cherished member of our extended family – they have been there since Benjamin was born, helping to make his life more comfortable and allowing us to feel like any other family when we come together.
“We first used Family Fund’s grants service to apply for special sensory toys for Benjamin and received a holiday grant which helped us get away together as a family. Accessible accommodation sends the costs up – but their help meant we could get the break we really needed. Recently, Family Fund have also provided a grant for a Nintendo Switch which Benjamin plays his favourite sport on, football! The hand control can be adapted for his needs so he can join in and play the game he loves!”
Mark Hodge, Marketing Director, at McCain, commented: “McCain know the impact a Family Fund grant can have for families. By bringing these benefits to life through the lens of the child who receives, there is an added emotional power that we hope will further increase awareness of the great work that Family Fund do. Each grant has huge potential to transform the lives of these children and their families to be able to spend more quality moments together.
Running in parallel with our new McCain and Family Fund advert, Teatime Tales provides a platform for the voices of children and families who will be helped by Family Fund and the funding from McCain so they can reveal the importance of mealtimes moments together as a family. We hope Teatime Tales will encourage as many people as possible to consider joining us in supporting Family Fund, in whatever way they can, so that more families have a heartwarming tale to tell.”
Cheryl Ward, Chief Executive of Family Fund, said: “Family life is busy and finding moments together at the best of times is often not easy. When raising a disabled or seriously ill child these moments can be even more fleeting. The uplifting stories of Benjamin, Anjola and Maddie showcase just a few of the many ways a Family Fund grant can help families like theirs to enjoy the little moments that matter to them. We’re thrilled that, through our partnership with McCain and through the creative lens of Teatime Tales, we can raise awareness of the extra support families raising disabled children need, how our work makes a difference, and give a snapshot into the everyday lives of families.”
This partnership with Sky Media, comes as part of the McCain Little Moments campaign, which launched at the start of April with a primetime TV advert, featuring six real-life families from around the UK who have been helped by Family Fund.
To coincide with the advert going live, McCain and Family Fund also released the McCain Nation’s Conversations “Mealtimes For All” Report, exploring how mealtimes for families raising disabled children have been affected during the pandemic. The research found almost 9 in 10 families raising disabled or seriously ill children (87%) reported that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mealtimes, while for families without disabled children this figure was much lower at 45%.
The campaign is the fourth instalment of the ‘We are Family’ series which aims to champion real life British families and readdress the misrepresentation of families in popular culture. The new advert also follows the recently announced £1 million pledge from McCain to Family Fund, which will help support the charity’s goal to provide 150,000 grants and services per year to families raising disabled or seriously ill children.
For further information on the Family Fund and McCain partnership and ways to donate, please visit www.mccainfamilyfund.co.uk.
