Group of people round table HeadwayDisability

Headway West London

July 31, 2023By

Supporting brain injury survivors

Headway West London helps brain injury survivors and their families, helping them reconnect with their local communities.

The Axis Foundation’s donation of £3783 will support their computer/ mobile contact work including one-to-one support, online workshops, educational support work and health talks.

“We are very grateful to all at the Axis Foundation for their kind donation. This will assist us in providing our linkworkers with the best possible infrastructure to carry out their work with our members as efficiently as possible, and therefore enable us to support as many people as possible. Thank you from us all” – Laura Murphy, Chair of Trustees

More about Headway West London

A brain injury can happen to anyone: through a fall, a road accident, a sporting incident, an assault, a tumour or haemorrhage. Acquired brain injury is often known as the hidden disability. Survivors are often lonely, isolated, bewildered and very distressed by the sudden and dramatic changes to their lives.

Affiliated with Headway – the brain injury association, Headway West London helps ensure vulnerable, isolated brain injured survivors do not fall through the net, supporting them through one-to-one sessions, targeted training pathways, return to work support as well as health and wellbeing sessions, in-person and online.

They work in the west London boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster and have established close links with St Mary’s Hospital Paddington and Charing Cross hospitals, Hammersmith trauma clinics and Brain Odysseys, a performance arts intervention group designed with people living with brain injury to support recovery through song writing, music, dance and performance.

“HWL offers a great service supporting our patients and their families, particularly in the early days when things can be very overwhelming. They are able to offer advice and in particular help families with both emotional and practical needs. As a therapist it is so helpful to have their service to help support us in educating families and offering support when you can at times feel helpless as a clinician” – Natalie Marroney, Neuro Trauma Therapy Lead at St Mary’s Hospital

There’s more about their work here

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child playing with coloured balls in model boatDisability

Petts Wood Playgroup

July 21, 2023By

Providing specialist tactile equipment for children with sensory issues

Petts Wood Playgroup for Children with Special Needs provides pre-school education for children with special needs from birth to five years.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 to purchase a sandpit and an alphabetical and numerical frieze: this interactive and tactile equipment will help children with sensory issues and those on the autistic spectrum or with a motor disorder.

“Oh wow, that is amazing news!  It is an amazing sum and will make such a difference to our children and the service we can provide. Thank you so much. We – and all the children who will benefit from using the sandpit and frieze –  are deeply grateful to the Axis Foundation” –  Larry Simpson, Manager

More about Petts Wood Playgroup for Children with Special Needs

Petts Wood Playgroup for Children with Special Needs provides care and education for children with clinical, emotional, developmental, social and additional needs aged from birth to five years. The special needs also include physical disabilities, developmental delay, behavioural and social problems that can cause difficulties for children and parents alike.

Attendance at the Playgroup is free. Their mini-bus picks up and drops off children to and from their homes in most local (Bromley, Kent) areas each morning. In addition to contributions and donations, support comes from Bromley Department of Education which provides services from an Educational Psychologist and Teachers from the Sensory Impairment Service.

More here

 

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Disability

Building for the Future

July 21, 2023By

Contributing to music therapy for children and young people with disabilities

Building for the Future was founded in 2007 by a group of parents of disabled children. In 2014, they opened Our House, a specialist, accessible play centre where families can meet and disabled children can relax, have fun and be truly valued and accepted for who they are.

The Trustees of the Axis Foundation agreed to donate £460 towards starter packs (mainly to purchase musical instruments) for their new music therapy group.

“Thank you so so very very much for supporting us. The children and parents will be delighted with the new musical equipment. Results from our trial sessions were phenomenal. Not only have the children enjoyed the sessions but they have learned something new, were engaged and focused for the entire time and learnt to relax. The parents couldn’t believe the transformation.

“It’s a really tough climate out there at the moment and small charities like ours are struggling to provide services for the most needy members of our society. Due to the pandemic and the rising cost of living crisis our services are even more in demand than they ever were before and we are busier than we ever have been. The success of the music therapy group is an example of this demand and we are so pleased to be able to take what was a one-off session and offer it on a more permanent basis for our families” –  Jane Holmes, CEO

More about Our House/Building for the Future

Winner of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, Our House offers a range of facilities, including soft play, a sensory room, teen chill-out zone, PCs, gaming and free play area as well as activities such as Saturday clubs, after school clubs, holiday activities, physiotherapy and a youth group.  Parents and carers find support, solace and strength from one another; siblings can make friends with other children in similar situations; carers and grandparents can chat over a cup of coffee. Our House today helps over 500 children and young people with disabilities.

There’s more here:

 

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team of people with disability in powerchairsDisability

Farnham Powerchair Football Club (FPFC)

July 4, 2023By

Helping people with disability enjoy the sport of powerchair football

Farnham Powerchair Football Club (FPFC) offers children and adults with physical disabilities the opportunity to experience team-based sport and play powerchair football. Many are often excluded from clubs – and even school-based PE – due to their physical disabilities and lack of specialist equipment.

The Axis Foundation donated £6,775 to buy the club a new power wheelchair for their squad. Up to now, the club has been borrowing wheelchairs: owning their own Powerchairs enables them to help a growing number of children and adults, disadvantaged by their disabilities, enjoy a team sport in a safe, inclusive environment

“Thank you so much for this, we are thrilled, this will make a real difference to the Club, especially when we enter the South East League season in September. We have already seen massive benefits with many of the players gaining confidence, enjoyment and improvements with their mental health through powerchair football. The new powerchair we can buy with your donation means more players progress their skills and confidence both within the club environment and at matches. Massive thanks once again!” –  Sue Barnley, Secretary

More about Farnham Powerchair Football Club

Farnham Powerchair Football Club, based in Waverley, Surrey has a squad of 10 players and attracts other family members as well as players from the surrounding counties and London, some travelling 50 mins to come and play each week.

There is more about their work here.

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Disability

Axis Employee helps deaf children and their families

April 24, 2023By

Axis QS helps deaf children with Foundation grant

Axis’ Jocelyn Tritton, a Trainee Quantity Surveyor working on our Croydon contract, supports The Dorset Deaf Children’s Society (DDCS) – and applied to the Foundation on their behalf.

The Axis Foundation’s grant of £3274.50 made to DDCS on behalf of Jocelyn will buy 150 Phonak Junior paediatric hearing aid care kits. The kits will help deaf children in Dorset for years to come by teaching and enabling them to maintain their hearing aids.

Jocelyn is passionate about helping the hearing-impaired lead a normal life. This is because Jocelyn’s mum is profoundly deaf, which stems from a horse-riding accident at a young age. Jocelyn’s family started learning British Sign Language last year to better include his mum in family life. He was overjoyed by how much communication improved; and this inspired him to help other families with deaf members to learn BSL too.

Thanking the Foundation Jocelyn said: “Growing up it was always a struggle to communicate with mum, who has 30% hearing in her left ear and near zero in her right, but I couldn’t see how things would ever change. Then the family discovered BSL and, all of a sudden, we could hold normal conversations! I wanted to help out other families with hearing-impaired members and raising funds for the small yet impactful DDCS by running a marathon seemed perfect. Overall, I’m delighted the Axis Foundation agreed to donate over £3000 to purchase hearing aid care kits!”

Jocelyn additionally ran the Milton Keynes Marathon raising £6222 for DDCS!

“We cannot thank Jocelyn enough for the work and effort he is putting in to raise money for our deaf children. We are a small local charity run by volunteers and without the support of people like Jocelyn we could not continue to support the deaf children and their families, providing them with somewhere to go to meet and make friends with children just like themselves. The money Jocelyn is raising is so important for us and we are very grateful’ – Shirley Sorbie, DCSS

More about DDCS

DDCS is an all-volunteer charity which helps children with mild to profound deafness by providing them with hearing equipment and BSL grants. DDCS events connect deaf families, including them in a community which understands their struggles, and serves as an important point of contact where families with deaf children can receive advice, as well as talk to and support each other. There’s more here

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Disability

Bolton Deaf Society

April 24, 2023By

Protecting deaf people from scams

Bolton Deaf Society provides an accessible information and advocacy service for deaf and deafened people primarily in Bolton and surrounding areas.

The Axis Foundation has donated £3,500 to Bolton Deaf Society to help protect deaf and deafened people from scams. This project which will benefit deaf people and professionals working with deaf people across the UK, will include training dedicated Scambassadors and the production of e-materials and webinars.

“Our Deaf-inclusive scams awareness work ensures that deaf people in all their diversity are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to protect themselves from scams. We are super grateful for the Axis Foundation’s support – John Hesketh CEO

More about Bolton Deaf Society

A full range of services includes translating documentation to BSL, completing forms, making telephone calls and appointments, booking Interpreters, preparing benefit appeals, pursuing help with legal costs, and providing support for training and employment. The society additionally supports social groups including Darby and Joan and a choir and delivers Deaf/Interpreter Awareness and BSL training to public sector service providers, and Deaf Inclusive Employment courses to employers.

 

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Disability

Sailability at Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club

April 24, 2023By

Our donation brings enjoyment of sailing to people with disability

Sailability at Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club Ltd gives all local people with a disability across East Sussex the opportunity to sail, to gain confidence on the water and develop new skills, so improving mental and physical health and wellbeing. They offer accessibility to sailing and boating for those with a disability and 20% of their participants are wheelchair users

The Axis Foundation’s donation of  £9,800 means Sailability can purchase a new specially-designed Hansa dinghy so a sailor can take those with a disability out on the water.

“A new dinghy will help us offer a better experience to participants, to grow as a group, meet the increasing demand for sailing and thus offer more participants with disabilities the opportunity to experience sailing and its many benefits”  – Chris Turner, Sailability Lead

More about Sailability

Sailability (a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) initiative) was founded at Newhaven and Seaford in 2021 and last year helped 32 participants over 124 sessions enjoy the benefits of sailing. This number is growing. They operate within Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club Ltd (not for profit), a registered Sailability Centre, as part of their RYA Training Centre. Their boats are in full use for much of the year, sailing on an inland lake at Piddinghoe East Sussex.
There’s more here 

 

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Disability

Axis employee applies to Foundation to help resident with MS

April 24, 2023By

Helping MS sufferer write her book supporting other sufferers and their carers

Elma Gredelj, Axis Resident Liaison Officer, helped Anna, an MS sufferer, by applying to the Axis Foundation. As a result of Elma’s application, the Axis Foundation donated £300 and purchased a laptop for Anna so she can complete a book about her experiences of MS to help other sufferers and their carers too.

More about Elma’s application

Whilst conducting cyclical works on behalf of our client, Elma met Notting Hill Genesis resident, Anna. Anna wants to write a book to support others who suffer from MS. But as she was unable to access a laptop, Anna was writing it out by hand.

Elma tells the story of their friendship here:

“I met Anna whilst conducting window surveys for the Notting Hill Genesis contract. Once I got speaking with Anna it felt like we knew each other for years. I was very moved by her life story. She shared her positive and negative experiences of being a young lady with MS. She had so many goals that she wanted to accomplish but was very limited due to not having the facilities to do so. One of her main dreams was to write a book to raise awareness for MS. By having limited facilities to do this she has struggled to progress further in this.

“I felt like I couldn’t walk away from that property without trying to help this young lady and reward her for the confidence and strength she has shown to open up to me and share her heart-breaking experiences.

“I contacted the Axis Foundation and applied for a laptop for Anna to help her with her dream of writing a book. This was accepted and I felt so happy for her because I knew how much this would mean to her. I delivered the Laptop to Anna, and she was speechless and felt like ‘her dreams came true’.

“I want to advise anyone working with residents if you find that you can go that extra mile to help someone then please do apply through the Axis Foundation; the sense of reward it made me feel to help someone achieve their lifetime dream especially for such an important topic to raise awareness and knowing this will have an impact for many individuals, it was well worth it !

I wish Anna all the best: and want her to keep her head held high. She’s an inspiration.”

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Disability

The Woodland Centre Trust (Camp Mohawk)

January 20, 2023By

Providing work experience for children with cognitive and physical disabilities

Through Camp Mohawk, The Woodland Centre Trust offers secure, supportive and stimulating woodland space to over 1,000 children and young people with a wide range of cognitive and physical disabilities every year.

The Trustees of the Axis Foundation awarded a grant of a grant of £5,000 to The Woodland Centre Trust towards a small cafe/ tuck shop for their ” Working Together” work experience project at Camp Mohawk.

“On behalf of the Trustees and management team of Camp Mohawk I’d like to offer our sincere thanks to the Axis Foundation for your support for children and young people with special needs… The addition of a cafe is going to provide fantastic work experience opportunities for our young people and this fantastic new provision will be beneficial to all our families attending. Many of our children and their famiies have experienced extreme isolation and exclusion during the pandemic. They will benefit tremendously from the inclusive play, social interaction, learning opportunities and support that Camp Mohawk provides” – Charlotte Webb, Fundraising Manager

More about Working Together

For some young people with cognitive and physical disabilities, finding work experience that meets their needs is very difficult so Camp Mohawk creates structured opportunities within its familiar environment. For the first stage of this project they propose to provide customer service work experience by creating a small cafe/tuck shop on site to serve the needs of visitors. The Trustees of the Axis Foundation were delighted to support this project.

More about The Woodland Centre Trust (Camp Mohawk)

Based in Berkshire, The Woodland Centre Trust supports children, young people and families affected by a variety of diagnosed conditions including Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC), Downs Syndrome, sight and/or hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, brain injury, genetic disorders and various other life-limiting inherited, acquired or medical conditions. Whilst the majority of visitors come from  Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and West London, the service is open to all who might benefit from the experience. Schemes include Family Support, Short Breaks, Shared Play and Open Sessions.
In addition, the centre provides:

  • facilities which stimulate co-ordination, communication, socialisation and imagination
  • educational and recreational projects that help equip young people with special needs for eventual independent living
  • support network for young carers whose siblings have special needs
  • support for whole families affected by special needs to reduces stress and isolation and improve quality of life
  • a superb venue for local voluntary disability support groups, special schools and care centres.

There’s more here 

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Disability

Incredible Kids

January 19, 2023By

Providing toys and accessible activities for children with additional needs and disabilities

Bristol-based charity Incredible Kids enables children and young people with additional needs and disabilities to make friends, have fun, and play, increasing their mental wellbeing, and improving their confidence and social skills. Parents set up the charity to support each other and help reduce the social isolation typically felt by 72% of families with a disabled child.*

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 towards purchasing new ‘bright and engaging’ toys and an accessible activity table for approximately 500 children.

“The funding from the Axis Foundation has already transformed our sessions with a new wheelchair-accessible activity table and a whole host of beautiful new toys and activities for the children at Incredible Kids to enjoy. We are so grateful for the opportunity to add new toys for the families that visit us. Thank you Axis!” – Jennie Prewett, Trustee

More about Incredible Kids

Incredible Kids offers support for the whole family in order to reduce feelings of isolation and increase overall mental wellbeing of disabled children, their siblings, and their parents/carers.

In 2019, 600 families accessed Incredible Kids’ services. Numbers of individuals attending have more than doubled since COVID-19 (from 1000 individual members to 2200).Through their own data collection, in-person interviews, and online surveys Incredible Kids show that after attending their sessions:

  • 83% of parents and carers made friends,
  • 76% of disabled children made friends.
  • 89% of families said they no longer feel isolated.

*The Hidden Isolation Report commissioned by Contact a Family states that “72% of families with a disabled child will experience mental ill health such as anxiety, depression or breakdown due to isolation.”

There’s more about their work here

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