Community

Simply Limitless 

March 31, 2026By

New heating system supports vulnerable individuals facing isolation, homelessness or financial hardship

The Axis Foundation has awarded £10,000 to Simply Limitless towards a new heating and hot water system for its community centre in Kidderminster.

“This support helps us create a safe, welcoming space where our community can thrive” — Ralph Pars

Simply Limitless delivers programmes supporting over 250 people weekly, including mental health support, employability training, and inclusive fitness sessions.

The new heating system is essential to make the new centre fully operational, enabling services to return under one roof and provide a warm, safe space for individuals facing isolation, homelessness, or financial hardship—particularly critical during winter months.

Learn more about Simply Limitless here

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Community

Open Hands Compassion Centre 

March 31, 2026By

New Van Powers Support for Vulnerable Families

The Axis Foundation has awarded £8,995 to Open Hands in Leicester to support the purchase of a replacement van for their furniture service.

“This funding will make a real difference, helping us continue to provide essential support to those who need it most” — Matt Tomlin, Furniture Service Manager

“Your donation made a big difference in not only helping us to purchase the van, but to being able to do so quickly” – Heather Berry, Communications and Marketing Coordinator

Open Hands provides furniture, clothing, food, and household essentials to individuals and families in crisis. The van is critical to collecting and delivering donated items across the city.

With 9% of UK adults unable to afford basic furniture, demand continues to rise. The charity supported 380 individuals and 170 households in the past year through its furniture service alone.

A new, reliable vehicle will increase delivery capacity, reduce maintenance costs, and ensure continuity of service. It will directly support around 400 individuals annually, with wider indirect benefits.

Open Hands is a Leicester-based organisation tackling poverty and hardship through practical support. Learn more here 

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Disability

Enhancing Independence

March 31, 2026By

Specialist Mobility Chair Enhances Independence and Safety

Charlotte lives with congenital spinal stenosis linked to achondroplasia, requiring highly specialised seating and mobility support.

Charlotte’s current mobility chair, in use since 2007, was damaged in a road traffic accident and is no longer safe.
On hearing of her situation, the Trustees of the Axis Foundation awarded £4,235 to Charlotte to complete the purchase of a specialist Balder powerchair and extended warranty.
The new chair will enable Charlotte to travel safely, attend medical appointments, continue physiotherapy, and maintain independence in daily living.
Charlotte says: “Thank you very much for your contribution toward my new powerchair, I am extremely grateful for the generous grant. It wasn’t until I began using my new Balder that I realised how worn out my old one was.”
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Disability

Family Support through Specialist Equipment

March 31, 2026By

Specialist Equipment Provides Lifeline for Young Boy and his Family

Axis Site Supervisor Christian Florin Bagacian applied to the Axis Foundation through our Eyes and Ears initiative, on behalf of resident Gemma Wilson and her son Harvey Turrell in Sidcup.

While delivering works to adapt the family home, Christian identified urgent needs as Harvey receives end-of-life care.
The Axis Foundation awarded £1,750 to fund a specialist buggy, storage solutions, and custom footwear, alongside additional financial support for the family. These items will significantly improve daily care and mobility.
“Thank you so much for all your support on this good cause. Harvey’s mum received the news with such great happiness and gratitude for everything that we have done for them” — Christian Florin Bagacian
Harvey lives with multiple severe conditions, including Cri du Chat syndrome, profound learning disability, microcephaly, hypotonia, and sight impairment. He currently lacks suitable footwear due to delays in clinical decisions, limiting his ability to practise walking and standing. The buggy will support safe mobility, while storage will help manage essential medical equipment.
The support will ease physical and emotional strain on Harvey’s mother, particularly during temporary relocation while home adaptations are completed. It also ensures Harvey can move safely and comfortably.
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Care

Newport First Responders

December 17, 2025By

Life-saving, community-based emergency support

Newport Community First Responders plays a vital role in safeguarding the health of people living in and around Newport in Shrophsire. Operated entirely by trained volunteers, the group responds directly to 999 calls passed through the West Midlands Ambulance Service Control Room.
The Axis Foundation has awarded them £10,000 towards a new Community Response car to replace the group’s ageing existing vehicle.
“That’s absolutely fantastic news thank you. Switching to a plug-in hybrid will reduce fuel costs significantly and create long-term environmental benefits. The new vehicle will secure the future of the First Responders’ Scheme for the next decade, ensuring volunteers can continue bridging the widening gap between the 999 call and ambulance arrival.
“With emergency services stretched and delays increasingly common, the new vehicle will strengthen support for some of the area’s most vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with complex health conditions who require frequent urgent care.
“It will ensure that lifesaving, community-based emergency support remains available whenever it is needed most” – Russell Brooks, Community Response Co-ordinator
More about Newport First Responders
Since its formation, Newport First Responders has treated more than 11,000 people across a catchment area of 50,000 residents. Their community-based model enables them to reach patients quickly, particularly in remote rural areas where ambulance response times can take an hour or more.
Responders attend the most critical emergencies, including cardiac arrests, strokes, paediatric cases, falls from height and severe road traffic collisions. Equipped with lifesaving tools such as a defibrillator and oxygen, they can assess patients, deliver urgent treatment and relay vital information back to both the Control Room and receiving hospitals so clinicians can prepare treatment plans without delay. In the past year alone, their intervention has helped save the lives of two people in cardiac arrest.
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disadvantaged

The Nest

December 16, 2025By

Sweeter sleep for families facing severe financial hardship

The Nest supports families with young children who are facing severe financial hardship. Their aim is simple: to ensure every child has the best possible start in life and that no baby sleeps without safe, suitable essentials.

The Axis Foundation has donated £3,000 to The Nest to purchase 30 cot mattresses, 35 cot-bed mattresses and 35 Moses basket mattresses.

“Wow, thank you so very much. We are so grateful for this incredibly generous support. As a small charity it is extremely hard to secure funding, and this donation will make a life-changing difference to the families we help. Thanks to the Axis Foundation, we can ensure babies across our community have a safe and healthy place to sleep including baby who is currently sleeping on a pillow which is less than ideal safety wise” – Victoria Blythe, CEO

The new mattresses will have a powerful impact on families across Bath and North East Somerset. They will give up to 100 babies and young children a safe, hygienic and supportive place to sleep—reducing the risk of SIDS, preventing exposure to mould or bedbugs, and improving posture and comfort. Better sleep will also benefit parents and siblings who are often sharing beds or sleeping on floors due to lack of resources.

For more information visit The Nest’s website

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Donations

Mayfield School

December 16, 2025By

Sensory stimulation for children with multiple learning difficulties

Mayfield School is a large Special Needs School in Torbay. Of their 180 pupils, many have Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD).

The Axis Foundation was delighted to approve an application for support with a donation of £11,091 to help the Friends of Mayfield School buy media projectors which support sensory stimulation and learning.

“We are grateful to the Axis Foundation for awarding a grant to Mayfield School. Your donation will be used to purchase a set of media projectors for the Immersive (sensory) room.

“The projectors will create a wrap-around effect when used alongside edge blending software and Showmagic software allows different themes and environments to be used (both software is included). Wrap around projections allow children to be ‘in’ the ocean when learning about the ocean, for example.

“Thanks to your support we are closer to launching a new and immersive sensory environment, harnessing the power of technology to support sensory stimulation and learning, especially for our children with profound and multiple learning difficulties” – Adam Tapp, Treasurer

The new sensory rooms will support up to 460 children over their lifetime, offering a calming, accessible space for pupils, families and community groups. They promote cognitive and language development, emotional regulation, reduced anxiety, social interaction and creativity. By providing a safe, soothing environment, the rooms help children build resilience, confidence and essential communication skills.

There’s more about Mayfield School here

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Donations

Build Up Foundation

December 16, 2025By

Helping young people gain practical skills, confidence and routes into employment

Build Up Foundation works across deprived London neighbourhoods, delivering youth-led construction projects which help young people gain practical skills, confidence and routes into employment meanwhile transforming neglected spaces.

The Axis Foundation has awarded £7,400 to Build Up to contribute to essential construction materials needed to deliver a build project in Hackney, enabling young people to design and construct a high-quality community space alongside professional trades and construction mentors.

The donation will directly support around 30 young people, with over 1,000 local young people benefiting each year from a permanent, inclusive community space.

“This is amazing news and we are incredibly grateful to the Axis Foundation for this support. The team is thrilled that the Hackney Marshes project can go ahead, particularly because the young people involved are so committed and inspiring. This flexible funding shows real belief in our work and in the potential of young people to lead positive change in their communities. It will make a lasting difference to both the participants and the space they are helping to create” – Huan Rimington, Founder and Director

For more information visit Build Up’s website here

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Care

Bromley Brighter Beginnings

December 16, 2025By

Sweeter, safer sleep for children – a bed for every child

Bromley Brighter Beginnings supports families across the London Borough of Bromley, providing essential items to reduce child poverty and ensure children have a safe, dignified start in life.

The Axis Foundation has donated £15,000 to Bromley Brighter Beginnings for its Bed For Every Child Project. The donation will fund new beds, mattresses and essential bedding, including pillows, duvets and mattress protectors, all delivered and professionally assembled in family homes across Bromley.

The funding will provide safe beds for 30 children, improving sleep, wellbeing and educational outcomes, while positively benefiting entire families across the borough.

“Thank you ever so much for this incredible support. We were absolutely delighted to receive the news, and Bromley Brighter Beginnings is hugely grateful to the Axis Foundation for this level of funding. It will have a profound impact on our Bed For Every Child project and the families we support. This funding means children will have a safe, comfortable place to sleep, restoring dignity, improving wellbeing and giving families much-needed peace of mind” – Rhian Arrenberg, Grants and Fundraising Lead

For more information, visit Bromley Brighter Beginnings’ website here

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disadvantaged

Extra Mile

December 16, 2025By

Safe sleep and vital baby transport

Extra Mile is a volunteer-led charity based in Hampton, supporting vulnerable families across Richmond, Hounslow and neighbouring boroughs with essential baby and child equipment.

The Axis Foundation has donated £4,000 to Extra Mile to purchase 15 cots with mattresses, 15 prams and 10 double buggies to provide safe sleeping spaces and vital transport equipment, enabling families to care for young children with dignity, safety and independence. Our donation will directly benefit 50 children, reducing family stress, improving wellbeing and helping children get a safer, healthier start in life.

“Thank you so much. This support has come at the perfect time as we celebrate 10 years of The Extra Mile. It will mean so much to many struggling families, and we are incredibly grateful. This funding will make a real and immediate difference to parents who simply cannot afford these essential items” – Liz Windaybank, Volunteer

“Being able to use The Extra Mile for the families we support is often a real lifeline. Knowing help is available brings huge relief. One family who had fled domestic abuse said, ‘It’s been like Christmas has come early for us’” –  Family Centre Outreach Worker

“We cannot thank The Extra Mile enough. Families supplied with cots and pushchairs feel enormous relief. Pushchairs also help reduce isolation. The Extra Mile responds quickly and with compassion. One mother told us, ‘I don’t have words to thank you'” – Family Centre and Home-Start

For more information, visit Extra Mile website here

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