Two small children Kaiden Burman and Marla BurmanDisability

New bed for little Kaiden

June 10, 2024By

Helping little boy with Dravet Syndrome – and his family

Axis’ Fleet Manager Taylor Burman applied to the Axis Foundation to acquire a specialist cot bed for his son Kaiden who suffers with Dravet Syndrome, a very rare and complex form of epilepsy.

Taylor told us: “We are always looking for ways on how keep Kaiden safe. He only sleeps about three hours a day and can be up all night. He needs monitoring systems constantly overnight. When we are at Demelza, he uses a specialist bed. It is electrically operated and has perspex panels and padding and is really great for him. So, I applied to the Foundation for help to buy something similar.”

The Trustees of the Axis Foundation were completely unanimous in their decision to support Taylor and his family and have made a donation of £11,000 to buy the bed.

Thanking the Foundation, Taylor said: “From the very day I started with Axis just under three years ago now, I’ve been supported by such a fantastic company. Axis is a company you want to stay with, there are no other companies like Axis, Axis is like a family, The Axis Family.

Taylor told us: “It was only two years ago, Kaiden caught Covid from hospital, at just one of his many visits, and due to his condition, we nearly lost him. It was extremely touch and go and unfortunately he had to be medically induced into coma. I remember ringing my manager at the time, David Crampton, and broke down in tears on the phone.

“The words and support I received from the board of directors, managers, colleagues and operatives were amazing. It was a tough time, but strangely that support helped us, helped Kaiden.

“I was later introduced to the Axis Foundation, constantly being told by [Foundation Founder, Axis CEO] John Hayes: ‘Taylor, the Foundation is your Foundation, use it.’

“I had always turned it down: my reasoning was, Axis does enough for me, and I wasn’t sure there is anything that could help Kaiden. I was WRONG!

“Kaiden started going to Demelza in Sittingbourne last year. We were extremely anxious about leaving him over night. He has no sense of danger at all. Our hospital consultants explained it like this: ‘If you put an item in fire, a normal person would keep away from the fire, but Kaiden would walk into the fire and sit in the fire to play with that item.’

“And because he also has epileptic seizures, it just wasn’t safe to have him in a normal bed. Demelza had a purpose-built specialist bed just for him, for children like him, something we have not seen or heard of. So I enquired with Demelza about the bed, the safety of the bed and most importantly, does Kaiden like it (he does!).

“When we were in the process of moving home, our wonderful [Foundation Trustee/Axis Divisional Finance Controller] Claire Pearce reached out to me asking if there is ANYTHING the Foundation could do for my family. The rest is history.

“My family and I would just like to thank the Foundation their support in providing the bed, it has taken a humongous amount of pressure off me and my wife. It’s very hard to put in words how thankful we are. Thank you!”

More about Kaiden

Kaiden, suffers with a disability called Dravet Syndrome, which is a rare and complex form of epilepsy. He requires 24/7 care at home and school and needs regular assistance at our charity partner Demelza’s hospice in Sittingbourne. Demelza’s home care team provide respite for the family too. including his sister Marla.

Because of related co-morbidities (including autism, mobility and sleep issues, low immunity and oxygen levels) and vulnerability to SUDEP (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy) Kaiden is also treated frequently at specialist hospitals including Evelina and Great Ormond Street as well as the family’s local hospital, Medway in Kent.

Up till now, he has slept in his parents’ room along  with all his vital equipment including Oxygen machine and bottles, medication, and seizure and oxygen monitoring systems.

As Kaiden, now five, grows and gets heavier it is increasingly hard to lift and carry him so the local council are re-homing the family to a larger home with hoists and lifts – and where he will have a room of his own.

And, thanks to the Axis Foundation, he now has a practical, safe cot too.

 

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Disability

Burton Wheelchair Rugby Club

June 4, 2024By

Gaining confidence through wheelchair rugby

Burton Wheelchair Rugby Club helps wheelchair-bound people enjoy the physical and mental benefits of a community team sport.

The Axis Foundation agreed to donate £3,650 to fund a new specialist wheelchair so more members can participate in the team sport, gaining independence, confidence and empowerment. A further donation of  £6550 in 2025 enabled the club to purchase a new, made to measure wheelchair.

“That is brilliant news – thank you so much. Our heartfelt thanks to the Trustees” – Richard Williams, Fundraising Coordinator

Richard added: “Most of our members have suffered some form of trauma in their lives and lack confidence to continue feeling part of our community. We have already seen members who had given up hope join our club, be part of a team and feel whole again. We know there are hundreds of disabled members of our society who could join our club. Our plan is to expand the club to include junior members, so they don’t have to wait to become adults to be included.”

As well as supporting individuals’ wellbeing and health, Burton Wheelchair Rugby Club additionally engages with the local community to raise awareness of disability sport and also helps disabled people who are not permanently wheelchair bound too.

There’s more about the club which is based in Staffordshire, here

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Care

The Thomley Hall Centre

May 2, 2024By

Enhancing the lives and experiences of people with a disability

The Thomley Hall Centre is a lifelong learning and leisure centre which exists to enhance the lives and experiences of people with a disability, their families and the wider community. Thomley enhances the well-being of disabled people through delivering activities that helps develop the skills they need to run their day-to-day lives.

The Axis Foundation donated £10,000 so Thomley can build an eco-friendly Interactive Water Feature (IWF): a safe, fun and accessible place where people with and without disabilities in Buckinghamshire can enjoy water-based play.

Ewan Shinton, Thomley’s Chief Executive, told us: “A huge thank you to Axis, the interactive features of the IWF will offer experiences that are a huge amount of fun and developmentally important for our visitors. The majority of the people who visit Thomley are children with autism who have difficulties processing and integrating sensory input. The multi-sensory experiences provided by the IWF and water will be uniquely beneficial for them. We expect the IWF to quickly become our most-popular attraction and be used by everyone who visits Thomley.”

There’s more about The Thomley Hall Centre here

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Disability

Sussex Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus

May 1, 2024By

Helping young adults with complex disability

Sussex Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (SASBAH) provides lifelong support for over 1,000 children and adults affected by spina bifida, hydrocephalus and related disabilities.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,760 to purchase eight precision cutters for members of Saspire, the charity’s work experience and training project for young adults with complex physical and learning disabilities.

“This is really wonderful news, thank you so much. New precision cutters will enable the Saspire team to fulfil their contracts with local businesses, through our accessible and supported workshop. Saspire supported work experience enables people with complex disabilities to gain confidence, learn new skills and increase independence. These new machines will be a tremendous boost” – Laura Cecil, Trusts Fundraiser

Laura told us: “SASBAH’s mission is to enable people affected by physical and learning disabilities to lead the lives they want to. We do this by providing lifelong support to over 1,000 people through a range of joined-up services including local support groups; advice and advocacy; a youth club; residential breaks and community engagement. We work across Sussex to offer socially inclusive activities such as meet-ups, exercise and art workshops, lunches and excursions, and we have Saspire, our popular and unique work experience project.”

There’s more about SASBAH’s work here

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Disability

Disabled Sailors Association (DSA)

January 30, 2024By

Spirit of Axis brings joy to disabled people

Our donation of £10,000 helps Disabled Sailors Association (DSA) purchase new state-of-the-art dinghy. And she is named after us!

The Axis Foundation is very proud of Spirit of Axis. She was launched in 2024 and joins the fleet of unique craft that have been specially adapted by DSA so that disabled people can experience the joys of sailing.

“We are very grateful to the Axis Foundation for their very generous grant, enabling us to build another innovative dinghy to replace and increase our fleet. Thanks to the generosity of charitable foundations like the Axis Foundation we have now funded seventeen new dinghies that cannot capsize or sink, due to their unique foam-filled hulls” – Mike Wood MBE, Chairman and Founder

More about Disabled Sailors Association

Unique in the sailing world the Disabled Sailors Association (DSA) helps disabled people enjoy the benefits of sailing in a unique fleet of specially-designed yachts and dinghies. 25 years of research and development have enabled them to innovate a state-of-the-art dinghy design, which caters for all disabilities and is equally appealing to able-bodied carers and family members.

Over 40,000 people have sailed the yachts since the charity was founded in 1993. So the DSA needs to replace craft to maintain safety compliance and increase their fleet so even more disabled people can enjoy the sport of sailing from Port Solent Marina Office, Lock Approach, Portsmouth.

There is more about DSA here.

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Disability

Mobility for Little Kit

December 20, 2023By

Accessibility and mobility for little boy in wheelchair

Kit was an able child until he was 18 months old in 2021, when he suffered a 2-hour long seizure. This caused significant brain damage and visual impairment. Kit is now five. He cannot walk, talk or crawl and needs constant care and hoisting.

Kit’s family have struggled to pay the cost of adapting their home: they plan to build an extension with fully hoisted bedroom, bathroom and storage area.

They needed to build an access path and ramp as part of these adaptations – and also so that Kit can use his motobility vehicle. The Trustees of the Axis Foundation were delighted to help the family. And so the Axis Foundation’s first donation of £7,000 created an accessibility ramp for the family home.

“We’re so grateful, you have no idea what this will do for our family (especially Kit!). We’re desperate to keep our son at home with us: but without the path we’re not allowed the extension and without the extension he will not be allowed to live with us (in the future). We want to give him the best life we can” – Katherine, Kit’s mother

The story continues

The Trustees, agreed to a further donation in 2025 of £3,000 to purchase a special hydraulic bath for Kit.

His mother Katherine explains the benefits: “The bath with water in can rise up so we can stand comfortably and bath him. Currently we have to lift him, and stand over a normal bath, which is very bad for our backs! It has extras including hot air jets, underwater speakers and lights. This is to make a bath a sensory experience for Kit. He can’t enjoy a lot of the world. He either can’t see it, or can’t understand it (such as watching football match or TV).

Again, the grant is life changing for all of us. It provides safety and basic care needs for Kit, as well as an incredible immersive sensory experience. Then it makes caring for him safe and easier for us, as it has a built in changing mat.”

You can support Kit here

 

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Disability

Red Eagle Foundation

December 19, 2023By

Multiple Donations Support Children with Severe and Complex Needs

The Red Eagle Foundation empowers disadvantaged children and grants wishes to children with life-limiting illnesses. There’s more about their work here.

The Axis Foundation’s donations to Red Eagle Foundation include:

  • £3,750 to purchase Hercules Prime Car Seat for a little girl, Lucy who has severe scoliosis.
  • £2910  to buy a Lecky My Way walker for Lyla who is two years and has a rare genetic condition which affects her muscle tone in all four limbs and trunk. She is impaired visually and unable to sit or roll by herself.
  • £5,000 to help buy buy both an electric wheelchair and all-terrain buggy for Arthur, a young boy with severe learning disabilities and complex health needs.

More about Arthur

“It was such a joy to see Arthur’s face at the wheelchair assessment… his joy of being in control of moving when there is so much that he can’t control due to his health. The buggy will also help him get out and about in areas where the wheelchair is not suitable. It is going to have such a positive impact on the family”  – Dominic Comins, CEO

Arthur is a 12 year old boy. He is classed as a SWAN  (‘syndromes without a name’) and despite a lifetime of procedures and tests, as his mother says, “what we don’t know is how my son’s condition will change as time goes on”.

Arthur’s physical and mental health are deteriorating and his mobility levels decreasing. He is cared for additionally by Demelza, the Axis Foundation’s charity partner.

The Trustees of the Axis Foundation were delighted to help Arthur by making his life more mobile with an electric wheelchair to increase his independence and accessibility at venues/events. For example, he loves going to Howletts Zoo to see the elephants; but the hill is a challenge in a manual wheelchair – particularly for his mother who has had two back operations.

More About Lyla

Lyla enjoys movements and is keen to explore, using her arms and legs when supported. Red Eagle want her to enjoy these movements in a safe way. And so they trialled her in a supportive walker called My Way from Leckey. This walker supported her well in her trunk and allowed her to use her legs better for moving around with assistance.

“This is a fantastic piece of equipment for Lyla as she can explore her space in a safe way and overcome her motor and visual disability. Lyla’s parents and I are very grateful to the Axis Foundation for their support. This equipment will be well used at home giving Lyla the independence to move around without being held all the time” – Dominic Comins, CEO

More About Lucy

Lucy is under the Red Eagle orthopaedic team who are monitoring her scoliosis which is progressively getting worse. She is able to sit in a car seat but requires postural support to protect her spine, a harness as she has no danger awareness, and a swivel base to access the car as she is unable to turn herself.

The Hercules Prime car seat purchased with our donation offers Lucy the postural support needed, and ease of access to the car. The family are unable to afford the car seat, having just had to privately fund an appropriate wheelchair for Lucy and are finding it increasingly hard to move or carry Lucy as she grows.

 “The seat has made such a huge difference to the life of not only Lucy but the whole family. Trips out are now fun, rather than a chore and Lucy is able to spend more time out of the house with her family which has made her so happy” – Dominic Comins, CEO

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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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