Two girls at craft sessions at Newhaven YFCDonations

Newhaven YFC

July 12, 2017By

Craft sessions encourage creativity in young people

The Axis Foundation donated £550 to Newhaven YFC, a youth club in East Sussex that provides children with a safe place to socialise and have fun. The donation funded essential craft materials for their weekly craft sessions which are incredibly popular with the children that attend.

“We are very reliant on grants such as this for extras for the young people so that we can keep them engaged and learning in a fun way. We are very grateful to the Axis Foundation for your generosity  – Sara Alexander, Youth Worker

More About Newhaven YFC

Newhaven YFC aims to engage children in meaningful activities and provide them with a place where they can be creative and interact with their peers. In order to keep the club accessible for all, they only ask for a small contribution of 50p to attend sessions. Newhaven YFC believes that it is important for young people to have access to enriching activities at a low cost as it encourages positive social interaction and allows them to discover new hobbies.

Currently, around 40 young people attend the weekly activities, which range from sports, cooking, crafts sessions and games. These activities give children something fun to look forward to while keeping them out of trouble. Furthermore, children are encouraged to communicate with staff about how they’re feeling and discuss issues that may be bothering them.

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Three children have their face painted at elevating success event.Donations

Elevating Success

June 29, 2017By

Helping community training enterprise turn lives around

Elevating Success is a community training charity helping underprivileged people in matters of employment, training or education.

They organise the Lewisham Youth Conference which inspires individuals to reach their full potential and shows them local voluntary and job opportunities. There are workshops, performances, talks and informal discussions about personal and professional wellbeing.

In 2017, the Axis Foundation granted £1,500 to Elevating Success. The donation sponsored the Youth Achievement Awards at the Lewisham Youth Conference that year. The awards recognise the positive work of young people in their local community.

 “We are really grateful for the donation from the Axis Foundation. It meant that we were able to give out three awards at Lewisham Youth Conference 2017. These awards celebrate the work, commitment and selflessness of the people in our community. The funding by  the Axis Foundation allowed us to recognise and celebrate these achievements. We look forward to working with you again in the future” – Conference Organiser and CEO Andrew Brown

Earlier Donations

The Axis Foundation has regularly supported Elevating Success since our first grant to them of £2,500 in 2013. We have made subsequent donations of £2,000 in 2014 and £1,500 in 2016 totalling, with our 2017 donation, £7,500.

“We’re happy to back a local project that provides positive activities in a safe and welcoming environment for children who need support. If this gives the young people involved a focused outlet, some new skills and interests and encourages social interaction and ultimately keeps them out of trouble – it has to be a good thing” –  Peter Varney, Chairman, Axis Foundation Trustees

More about Elevating Success

Elevating Success, established in 2008, supports 1,400 underprivileged individuals a year. The charity delivers training in employability and personal development and offers rehabilitation for offenders, holiday programmes and events, Their primary focus is to provide community training in Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham, but their reach extends across the capital.

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Two people playing Table Tennis at Pimlico Foundation youth projectDonations

Pimlico Foundation

March 12, 2017By

Youth project activities reduce anti-social behaviour

The Pimlico Foundation runs after school clubs, one-on-one mentoring, detached youth work, sports and creative activities, all of which are designed to prevent anti-social behaviour and encourage community spirit.

The Axis Foundation donated £700 to the youth project to help them purchase equipment including board games and a table tennis set. This donation means that there is a wider range of activities available at the weekly youth club. These sessions provide the young people who attend with a safe and relaxed space where they can interact with each other and engage with informal learning which serves to enhance their social and personal development.

“We’d like to thank the Axis Foundation for their gift of a donation. It has enabled us to purchase a table tennis set and board games and these are perfect ways to encourage the young people who visit us to interact with each other. The donation has added to our youth work and we appreciate the support as it’s something that the children are really benefiting from” – Mark Liburd, Senior Youth Worker

More About The Pimlico Foundation

The Pimlico Foundation works with young people to create a hub which provides physical, emotional and spiritual support, helping them to reach their full potential. The charity holds a weekly ‘hot chocolate outreach’ which reaches around 100 people. Attendees receive free hot chocolate and get the chance to speak to the youth workers from the charity about local events and help to shape the community.

The youth project operates under the youth movement Outbreak, which aims to create a cohesive community and help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds living in Pimlico

 

 

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Co-ordinator of Camberwell After School Project receiving cheque.Donations

Camberwell After School Project

February 1, 2017By

Children can socialise in safe after-school club

Camberwell After School club  enables children to socialise with each other in a constructive and enriching environment and we are happy that our support will be used to bring smiles to local children’s faces. Our donation of £1,000 bought gifts, toys and resources for children within the Camberwell community to enjoy.

“The donation has come as a blessing and it’s a great Christmas present for the children and we’re very grateful” – Carmen Lindsay MBE, Chief Executive Officer

“This after school club is vital for parents as it gives them peace of mind and practical support in terms of caring for their children whilst juggling their career or studies. They don’t receive much support though, so I’m really happy that the Foundation is helping them” –  Leah Kimani, parent

“We liked the cause and recognise the importance of knowing that your children are cared for whilst balancing working and family life. Services such as the Camberwell After School Project are a valuable asset to our community and it is important that we do everything that we can to support them ” – Foundation Trustee, Sandie Ryan

 

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A child plays in the sensory soft room at Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group.Donations

Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group

December 12, 2016By

Safe sensory soft room for playgroup children

The Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group is a playgroup which provides a safe environment for all children (under 5) living in the borough supporting them on their journey into school.

51% of the children who attend the playgroup have a disability or additional needs, so it’s important that parents feel confident their children are involved in a safe, fully inclusive, pre-school, educational environment. In addition, Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group, a registered charity, aims to reduce isolation by helping people become part of the community.

In 2016 we made a donation of  £9,097. With this grant the Group created a sensory soft room including soft cushioning, steps, a slide, a mirror a dome, a projector and a twinkle hut for the children. Here the Tower Hamlets children – particularly those with disabilities – can learn and develop as they engage with their peers in a safe with a safe, stimulating and enriching environment.

“The sensory soft room was a simple design but it ticks all the boxes for under 5s development. It gives our little ones the scope to be confident and supports their imagination and physical development. Thank you for providing us with such a useful resource. Our children have really benefited from using the sensory room. It is a bright, soft and atmospheric room that everyone loves to use” – Lorraine Dooley MBE, Project Co-ordinator

 “The children at the setting are making great use of the sensory soft room that the Axis Foundation awarded us funding for. It has been such a great resource. The play practitioners and children are delighted”- Alan Dooley, Capacity Building Officer

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Braille at Clearvision for visually impaired childrenDonations

ClearVision Project

October 20, 2016By

Support for visually impaired adults and children

Can you imagine what it would feel like if the world of books was closed to you because you were visually impaired? Books educate and inspire and bring people together. Whether it’s at bedtime, in the classroom or at a book club, reading plays an important part in our lives and encourages sharing – pages, opinions and ideas. Indeed, as Roald Dahl said: “If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”

The ClearVision Project is a charity that helps those with visual impairment They encourage the love of reading, increase the availability of books in accessible formats and promote the use of braille, Moon and tactile illustrations. Their specially-created books put print, braille and Moon (an easier version of braille) together on the page with pictures so that people with a visual impairment and sighted people can read together. Reaching all ages across the UK, their work is impressive and far-reaching.

The Axis Foundation’s grant of £4,000 to the ClearVision Project funded 100 dual print and Braille newly-fluent books including popular children’s classics The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl, Lizzie Zipmouth by Jacqueline Wilson, The Big Red Balloon by the charity’s patron, former children’s Laureate Anne Fine and The Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith.

“We were delighted to receive your donation and would like to thank the Axis Foundation very much. With your help we can continue to meet the needs of our borrowers and bring them the joys of reading aloud and sharing books and stories.

“The books in contracted braille funded by the Axis Foundation are going strong and being very much enjoyed. The use they’re getting just goes to show how very much needed they are, and what a gap the funding has helped to fill.The results of our works are proven, opening the world of books up to those with a visual impairment, stimulating, educating and helping them progress and develop.

“Thank you very much for your help: the support of generous organisations like yourself is vital to our survival and ability to best meet the needs of our users.” Alexandra Britton, Director

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Child and teacher on Heltwate School trip to NorfolkDonations

Heltwate School

April 23, 2016By

Helping students with learning disabilities gain life skills

The Axis Foundation donated £200 to Heltwate School to assist them in organising a school trip to for their students: all have severe special educational needs and some are on the Autism spectrum. The children spent a week away on the Norfolk Coastline. They stayed in two youth hostels and visited destinations and attractions around Norfolk.  Far more than a sight-seeing exercise, this school trip enabled students with learning disabilities firstly to live a little more independently, and also taught them some basic skills such as meal preparation and tidying, cleaning and bed making. For some it was the first time, or the longest time, that any of them had spent away from home.

Our donation made the trip even more special: it paid for the students to take part in a boat cruise – on which some thoroughly enjoyed steered the boat; and we also contributed to a day trip to the North Norfolk Railway which was a real treat as many of the children love transport.

“We were blown away to receive such a generous donation from the Axis Foundation. I cannot put into words the difference it made to our trip. They enjoyed themselves immensely and the growth in confidence and self esteem during the week away was evident” – Kim Granger, teacher 

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Children playing instruments at London Philharmonic Orchestra.Donations

London Philharmonic Orchestra

April 6, 2016By

London orchestra continues to display their talent and passion for singing through our donation to their Sound Journey programme for pupils with special educational needs.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1932, is one of five permanent symphony based orchestras in London.
Not only are they renowned for their passion for music, they also have a passion and drive to give back to their community, which is why the Axis Foundation is delighted to have donated £1,500 to their Sound Journeys programme.

Sound Journeys is a dedicated and tailored programme for children with special educational needs in South London. They work with different centres and schools in the area, previously working with Aurora House, a centre for primary aged children with autism in Lambeth, and with the Deaf Support Centre at Thomas Tallis School, a mainstream secondary school in the borough of Royal Greenwich.

Workshops are run throughout the programme in which they learned about different instruments, increased their musical awareness and developed communication and social skills. Teachers were able to access Continued Professional Development sessions which provided the skills and confidence needed to continue working with music for future classes.

“We were absolutely delighted to receive the donation from the Axis Foundation. The money has helped us to bring music into the lives of children with disabilities ranging from severe autism to profound deafness, and to give class teachers the skills and confidence to continue including music in their classrooms for years to come. The grant has made a lasting difference to the lives of both the children and their schools,” Clare Lovett, Education Director (Maternity Director). 

28 pupils, three class teachers and seven teaching assistants participated directly in the project, but more pupils will benefit from the new skills and confidence which the teachers and teaching assistants have developed.

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Owl in snowy tree at Suffolk Owl SanctuaryDonations

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary

April 5, 2016By

Braille boards for visually-impaired visitors increase accessibility of local community educational centre.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 to The Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. This donation funded 50 Braille boards for visually-impaired visitors to make the centre more accessible and sensory friendly.

The sanctuary needed the new Braille boards as they were receiving increasing number of visually-impaired visitors. The boards will sit next to the written information boards, catering for all those who come to the centre.

The Suffolk Owl Sanctuary is a registered charity and comprehensive facility for the care and rehabilitation of Owls.

Working within the local community, the sanctuary also supports physically and sensorily-disabled children and young adults. They work closely with schools in East Anglia where they often give free talks to pupils. This is a very rural area: there is no other facility that caters for disability play or education within a fifty-mile radius.

Thanking the Foundation, Marie Robinson who runs the sanctuary said:

“We are thrilled to bits that such a reputable company is supporting us in this new and very exciting venture which will not only benefit people in our local community but also on a much wider scale. Without the help from companies such as Axis none of this additional work could take place.”

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Children play dress up in Victorian clothes at the Ragged School in London.Donations

Ragged School Museum

February 16, 2015By

Boost for Victorian family learning programme

The whole family can enjoy “a day in the life of a Victorian” thanks to our support of the The Ragged School Museum‘s family learning programme.

Our donation of £3,000 will go towards free, drop-in Family Learning Holiday Activities in the school holidays.These activities are designed to engage the whole family, highlighting how learning together can be fun. It is estimated over 4,000 people will benefit from the Family Learning Programme over the year, here in what today remains a deprived area of London.

“Everyone at the Ragged School Museum feels proud and privileged to receive another donation from the Axis Foundation.  Your generosity is vital support for our lively family learning programme. We couldn’t be more grateful. Victorian philanthropy created the ragged school movement, today the Axis Foundation mirrors that generosity for new generations of children for which we are truly grateful” – Erica Davies,  Museum Director

More About The Ragged School Museum

The Ragged School Museum offers a unique experience, a living snapshot of Victorian childhood. Here, in a reconstructed Victorian classroom, pupils on school visits can directly experience how their destitute Victorian counterparts were taught. There is also a contemporaneous East End kitchen, so they can discover how hard domestic work was before electricity powered washing machines! The Museum is housed at  Dr Barnardo’s Copperfield Road Ragged School in Mile End which, from 1877, provided education, food and clothing to Victorian London’s destitute. It was the largest ragged school in London.

 

See our video celebrating our 10th birthday in 2019 – and find out how the Ragged School used our donation

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