To celebrate National Ice Cream Day on 16 July, the charity is asking people to buy one for themselves and then donate £3 – the average cost of an ice cream in the UK – to support its work and “share your moment of joy with a family who really needs it”.

The FHC is hoping to raise £12,000 through the summer appeal to support 20 families across the UK feel the benefits of time away from life’s difficulties.

Kat Lee, chief executive of the FHC, said: “Ice cream is so often associated with being away on a summer holiday and relaxing and enjoying time together with friends and loved ones, but for so many families across the UK, this just isn’t possible.

“Many of the families we support are juggling additional caring responsibilities, bereavement, long-term illness, isolation and mental health challenges, or are survivors of abuse. For them, that moment of peace that comes as they eat an ice cream at the seaside is just out of reach.”

Kevin and his family from Immingham in Lincolnshire were one such family helped by the FHC this year, as he and his six daughters spent three nights in Mablethorpe in April, a resort he had often visited as a child with his mum and dad.

Kevin said: “The holiday helped me get my mojo back; we came home, and I faced the tasks that had once felt like impossible obstacles. It was more than just a holiday or ice creams at the beach, it was exactly what we all needed.”

To donate to the FHC, or find out more about the charity’s work, visit familyholidaycharity.org.uk/icecream