If you ever wonder if what you do for Jesus is wasted. Then think again. Chaplain Steve Cowles started small a few years ago with a family fun day that has now grown to 1,350 people! He fundraises and encourages church members to make cakes for the officers and their families and just blesses people. As the event is held in a bible college, people are surrounded with Christians just loving on them and there is the opportunity to visit the excellent bookshop. I went and took in the atmosphere which was just amazing, especially as the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I thought I would share in the hope that someone somewhere may be inspired to start small, give it to God and see what happens.
From Steve: Hi Brother. I don’t know if I have already sent this to you or not. Forgive me if I have. Just some good feedback to the fun day and if you’re still writing something up you might want to read them. Thanks Steve
Thank You Emails for Police family fun day 2023:
Hi Steve
I just wanted to convey my thanks to yourself and everyone, who worked so tirelessly to deliver another successful year of the Lancashire Police Family Fun Day. I have been informed by so many across the force what a brilliant event it was, with many of our police families really appreciating your efforts in putting together an outstanding day of activities.
I send my personal thanks to every member of your supporting team on the day. These events would not be possible without their time and enthusiasm.
Thank you,
Chris
Chief Constable Chris Rowley M.St. (Cantab)
Steve, I just wanted to take this opportunity to send my thanks for organising the family fun day, it was brilliant and everyone we spoke to or interacted with was brilliant and so friendly with our little girl.
I am going through a separation at the moment and my sister is end of life with cancer, so my personal world is bit upside down at the moment. It was just lovely to have this day where myself and my ex could unite and spend time as a family together for the sake of our little girl, enjoy this and forget about the current personal stresses and upsets.
Thank you again, this event means so much to the police family who sometimes neglect family life and let the stresses of work interfere with home I sure know I do. I find it very difficult to switch off and feel comfortable in my surroundings as after years of this job I always expect the worst and this is only heightened when I have my little girl me. After a few minutes I felt the weight of the world lift for that short time and for me that was heaven.
I just wanted to say that Saturday was a fantastic day, my family and I really enjoyed it. The effort that you have gone to, to organise such an event is outstanding and I genuinely look forward to attending again next year.
The day really provided the opportunity to forget about the challenges faced day to day in work and the negativity of current media on the police and allowed you to focus on the positives of being part of the policing family.
I also wanted to add a big thank you and appreciation to all the young volunteers you had their they’re positive attitude and interaction was a very refreshing..
Hi Steve,
I wanted to say thank you for the family fun day that you and your team put on over the weekend.
I was feeling pretty unwell on Saturday but I dragged myself out of bed to bring my girls, it’s something they look forward to all year. I think when they are all grown up it’s probably the main thing they will remember about their dad being a police officer.
It disappoints me that you have never been acknowledged by the organisation and given some sort of recognition for the wellbeing gift you have given to so many staff and their families. I hope you know how much we as individuals appreciate what you do.
Firstly, it was great to see you on Saturday. It’s been a while!
I am just writing though to thank you, and everyone involved in the organisation and delivery of the Lancashire Police Family Fun Day on behalf of my family who had the best day ever! We were unable to attend last year as I was working so it has been a few years since we had been, but our daughters have talked about the last one we attended ever since and have looked forward to this years since the date was announced. Both of our girls had an amazing time, the activities were brilliant and well thought out and every person involved in the activities were amazing with the children (and us of course!). We all felt so special and welcome throughout the day from a wonderful friendly greeting to being passed some sweets for the journey home. As such if you could pass on our sincere thanks to all at Capernwray on the day as well as those who will have been behind the scenes with organising, setting up, baking and so much more, we would be very grateful.
On a more personal note, it seems to me that a societal narrative of police bashing is now quite normal and seemingly amplifying as I get further into my service which really is draining to someone who cares about what they do and just wants to be able to police fairly without constant criticism. It really is easy to forget that there are a lot of people out there who do appreciate what we do, and the fun day has been a wonderful reminder of that and will certainly keep me going for a bit, so to everyone involved, Thank you!
Hi Steve,
Just wanted to send my sincere thanks to you and your team for a wonderful day on Saturday – we attended last year and were so excited when we heard it was on again this year.
Glorious weather again and what a fantastic fun packed day we had – the children especially loved finding out which country/region everyone came from and Nanna loved the cake and brews . We especially loved how happy and welcoming everyone was – it definitely got us smiling for the whole day and we made so many memories. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts
Apologies this is a little late but I just wanted to say a huge thank you for another successful family fun day.
It’s the second one I’ve been to and it was brilliant – the range of activities on offer was great and you even booked the sunshine 😉
You, and all the people looking after us at the event, do an amazing job and everyone I spoke to was having a fabulous time with their own families and the wider Constabulary family, making some lovely memories.
Thanks again to you both, and to all at Capernwray who looked after us on the day.
Thank you so, so much for the absolutely wonderful time that we all had at Capernwray.
Thanks to your unstinting commitment, dedication and desire to provide an escape from the pressures and struggles of everyday life for the staff and families of Lancashire Constabulary, we are able to look forward to, and be immersed in, the peace and tranquility of this wonderful occasion.
I cannot convey what this means to me, and more so to us as a family, in improving general wellbeing.
As always, please convey our gratitude to the staff associations, plus the numerous volunteers who make this possible, who helped out with the preparations beforehand, on the day, and who tidied up afterwards. We tried to go around and thank as many as we could before we left, but there are so many behind the scenes who we were unable to speak to.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to both of you for organising the incredible family fun day last Saturday. My two young daughters (and my wife and I), had an amazing time and they haven’t stopped talking about it since. The event was truly exceptional, and it was great to witness so many families having an enjoyable time together. The friendly atmosphere created by the staff and students made the day even more memorable. Their kindness and dedication were truly commendable.
I am extremely grateful for your generosity.
I Just wanted to say thank you very much for a wonderful day on Saturday. The day was brilliant and my kids had a great day, they are already talking about what they will go on next time!
The volunteers were all fantastic, enthuiastic and really helpful as always and it was great to see so many smiling faces.
Hi Steve – I attended the police fun day at Capenwray on Sunday with my two godchildren…I just wanted to say WOW! What an awesome day – the three of us had a wonderful day! The girls have not stopped talking about it!
Thank you all so much for organising it and please pass my heartfelt thanks on to all of the young people who volunteered and made our day magical..
Thank you for yet another brilliant day on Saturday – everyone, bar none, couldn’t speak highly enough of your fundraising efforts and the kindness of the staff at Capenwray. I met loads of colleagues there for the first time, and it brought everyone together. So a massive thank you from me – I know it was loads of work on your part but we really appreciate it!
My son slept all the way home, and he is nearly 13 – a true sign of a great day out!!
I hope you are well. I just want to say thank you for another fantastic day on Saturday, you put in so much effort to make us all feel welcome. You have a fantastic group of people who are so happy and friendly and can’t do enough to help, it’s great to see. As we wandered around your beautiful home and grounds it was like we had left the ‘real’ world behind for the day.. what a great feeling! As ever the cake stall was unbelievable and again a credit to everyone involved. As we drove out, disappointed that a great day was over, my little girl asked ‘if it’s on next year, please can we come’.
I would have loved to thank each and every person involved in making us feel so special for the day so please pass on our thanks.
Just a quick one to thank you for the fun day over the weekend.
The weather was kind to us again and my son and I had another great day at Capernwray. The whole event is fantastic and I am very grateful for the efforts you go to to make it happen for us all.
Please pass my thanks to the staff and students at Capernwray, they are the kindest, friendliest people and really make the day.
I’m hoping to overcome my gaga ball fatigue in the next few days!
Many thanks once again for putting on another amazing Police Family Fun day.
Myself, my wife and children had a brilliant day as ever, with seemingly more activities on this year than ever before. Axe throwing was a new one for us and we all loved having a go.
The staff and students at Capernwray once again went above and beyond to make us all feel incredibly welcome and it was so nice to bump into and catch up with some colleagues who I haven’t seen for 15 years or so.
How you manage to sort the weather out year on year is beyond me, but needless to say we all went home with pink faces.
Thank you so much, and assuming I’m still on the Regional Crime Unit next year, I will make sure HR send out a message to all Seconded officers to make them aware that the event is on.
