News

Axis Foundation Charity Ball 2024 raises £185,000

December 12, 2024By

Thanks to the generosity of our guests, sponsors and supporters, our 18th Axis Foundation Charity Ball raised an incredible £185,000

All proceeds from the ball go to our charity partner Demelza and to the Axis Foundation

The Axis Foundation supports through donations small, local and impactful causes; and Demelza looks after children with serious and terminal illnesses and their families. And our guests can be assured that every penny they donated on the night of the charity ball will reach an individual or a cause directly – and make a real difference.

As our Trustees’ Chairman, Peter Varney, said: “Thank you to all our guests for helping change lives for the better.”

We all enjoyed a truly wonderful evening with highlights including our auction (which featured a stunning pendant donated by jewellers G Collins & Sons), fun table games, a raffle, a delicious dinner and drinks plus music, magic and dancing – all in the splendid surrounds at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and supported us through sponsorship and donations – and to those who gave their time too, in particular our MC for the night Steve Sutherland and our tireless patron Alan Curbishley.

We are truly grateful.

See our full gallery of photos here and our our Charity Ball Programme here

Thank you…

….To all the following who booked a table …

  • A-Z Stone Repairs
  • AC Davis Electrical
  • Adeva Home Improvements BJL Electrical
  • Crown Paints
  • DM Jones
  • DMD Installations
  • DMG Offices
  • Dulux Decorator Centre
  • E&C Construction
  • Enviro Contract Solutions
  • Estec Engineering
  • Exterior Plas
  • FFT
  • First Choice Drainage Solution Gertski Wealth Management John Hayes, Founder Axis Foundation
  • Tim Hayes, MD Axis
  • Heron
  • Howdens
  • Howells
  • Integrated Solutions at
  • City Plumbing
  • J&D Pallet Services
  • Joe Ibrahim, MD Axis
  • LMP London
  • M&R
  • Margo Manning
  • Martin Arnold
  • Masons Scaffolding
  • Meru Services
  • Pioneer Site Services
  • Premier Roofing
  • REB Group
  • Regen Solutions
  • Russell Trew
  • SEI
  • Symphony Windows
  • Think Business Support
  • TW Drainage
  • UAS
  • Ultimate Services
  • VH Electrical
  • Peter Varney Associates

… and to these generous guests who have donated to the ball or contributed prizes and gifts …

  • Abdelmalik Hamli
  • AkzoNobel
  • Butler and Young
  • CLC
  • G Collins & Sons, Jewellers DFS Building
  • DSG Build
  • Gaia Newton Associates Hampson & Luck
  • H.I.G.
  • JLJ Decor
  • Kopa Scaffold
  • MC Builders UK
  • MMP Consultancy
  • Oakview Window Company Pinnacle ESP
  • Rose Construction
  • Stakot Construction
  • Summit 1986
  • Teco Interiors
  • Thomas & Thomas
  • Timeless Windows
  • TQW International
  • Wadesons
  • Zendrill

… to our sponsors …

  • Exterior Plas – Event Sponsor
  • Solace Electrical – Event and Champagne Reception Sponsor
  • Alandale – Photographers
  • Example Recruitment Group – Reception Trio, Santa Babies
  • Exterior Plas – Dinner Singer, Paul Holgate
  • GAA Design – Raffle
  • Jaw Roofing – Band, Soul Connection
  • Rocc – Raffle
  • Softcat – Raffle

… and, as always, a big thank you to …

  • Alan Curbishley – patron of the Axis Foundation
  • Steve Sutherland – MC for the night
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disadvantaged

Knight Support

December 12, 2024By

Chance to start again for homeless people and rough sleepers

Knight Support provides a vital service supporting homeless people and rough sleepers in Brighton and Hove

The Axis Foundation’s donation of £4,500 to Knight Support’s Home Comforts Project will buy electric kettles and toasters as well as pillows and duvets to add to Home Packs for people moving off the streets into temporary accommodation, where there may be only a bed.

Home Packs provide individuals with comfort, dignity and the ability provide for themselves. This can boost their self-esteem and morale at a time of need, and allow them to focus on rebuilding their lives.

“Thank you for the fantastic news regarding the grant that you are awarding us. We are extremely grateful to the Trustees of Axis Foundation for giving us the opportunity to continue to help our homeless clients get back on their feet when entering accommodation after a period of being on the streets.

“This makes such a world of difference to be able to offer this service and give people the chance to start over again and make a place feel like home” – Gemma Wright, Head of Operations

More about Knight Support here 

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Disability

Helping Disabilities Trust

December 12, 2024By

Home therapy for children with disability

Helping Disabilities Trust supplies – free of charge – toys and specialist equipment to disabled children

The Axis Foundation was delighted to award the London charity with £5,000 to buy specialist equipment, namely a waterbed, a weighted blanket, a sensory ball pool, a sensory bubble tube, a resonance rocker, a dream drum and a kinetic wonder wall.

“This picture shows your sensory bubble tube in usage by a girl suffering from autism. The family is very grateful to you for granting us the funding to purchase this. Although they can’t thank you enough, they will be grateful forever for the calm and serenity that you have brought into their lives.

“Helping Disabilities Trust is delighted and enormously grateful to the Trustees of the Axis Foundation for providing us with a donation of £5,000. On behalf of Helping Disabilities, I would like to thank you and all those involved in the Axis Foundation for partnering with us to improve the lives of disabled children” – Moishe Bodner, Chair

More about Helping Disabilities Trust

Helping Disabilities Trust’s “Equipped and Enabled” project supplies – on loan completely free of charge – specialist equipment to 100 disabled children and their families. This makes home therapy a reality, improves life skills and enables children to reach their full potential minus the costs.

There’s more about Helping Disabilities Trust here 

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disadvantaged

Glossopdale Furniture Project

December 12, 2024By

Home comfort for homeless

Glossopdale Furniture Project supplies donated items of furniture and household goods to people who have been homeless.

The Axis Foundation was delighted to support the Derbyshire-based charity with a donation of £7,500 to purchase furniture packs.

“I am writing to thank you so much for your kind donation of £7,500 to support families by way of a free furniture pack.This grant will be of enormous help. Please pass on our thanks to your Trustees for all their support to the Glossopdale Furniture Project” – Joan Cook, Volunteer Fundraiser

More about Glossopdale Furniture Company

Glossopdale Furniture Project supplies donated items of furniture and household goods to people who have been homeless (who have been given a new but empty tenancy) and people on low incomes. In addition, Glossopdale Furniture collects 100 tonnes of good useable furniture every year, which would otherwise go to landfill. They have a workshop where volunteers restore old furniture and make new items from recycled wood which are then sold to the public.

There’s more about their work here

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Disability

Camp Jojo

December 12, 2024By

Camping freedom for children with disability

Camp Jojo helps children with complex needs and disabilities – many have life limiting conditions or reduced life expectancy – to enjoy a totally accessible, family-centred camping experience

The Axis Foundation was delighted to donate £5800 to Camp Jojo so they could buy two Alaska Size 1 tents.

With these specialist tents, Essex-based Camp Jojo can safely accommodate children with the most complex needs who need hoisting for moving and handling, and their families.

“At Camp Jojo, our motto is ‘everyone can’. Our visitors realise their potential through experiences they may have never previously thought possible. I can’t thank the Axis Foundation and your Trustees enough – you’ve made my weekend! This will mean so much to our families” – Helen Davies, Camp Jojo Fundraiser

Camp Jojo Patron Sally Philips (Alan Partridge, Bridget Jones, Smack the Pony, Green Wing, and Miranda) says: “Going on holiday with children who have additional needs is a challenge at the best of times. How wonderful it is that Camp Jojo has made it possible for families of children with complex needs to get away and enjoy a traditional, family,camping holiday singing around the campfire, sleeping in tents, getting muddy, toasting marshmallows and eating baked beans.”

There’s more about Camp Jojo here

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Disability

Red Eagle Foundation – Layla

December 12, 2024By

Mobility and independence for child with rare genetic condition

Our donation to Red Eagle Foundation helps buy a specialist walker for Lyla

Lyla Treeby 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.

Layla 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.

The Axis Foundation was delighted to support Red Eagle’s application with a donation of £2910 to the Red Eagle Foundation to help buy a Lecky My Way walker for Lyla.

“This is a fantastic piece of equipment for Layla 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 The Red Eagle Foundation

The Red Eagle Foundation empowers disadvantaged children and grants wishes to children with life-limiting illnesses. The Axis Foundation has previously supported Red Eagle Foundation and helped to buy an electric wheelchair and all-terrain buggy for Arthur, a young boy with severe learning disabilities and complex health needs.

There’s more about their work here 

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disadvantaged

Dodford Children’s Farm

December 12, 2024By

Bringing the joys of interacting with animals to city children

At Dodford Children’s Farm, disadvantaged inner-city children from Birmingham and the West Midlands benefit from interacting with all the animals here.

Interacting with animals – as well as freedom, fresh air and green spaces in nine acres of woodland and meadows – is proven to be particularly valuable to children from homes where keeping a pet is not an option.

The Axis Foundation was delighted to support Dodford Children’s Farm with their application for funding.

We donated £3,000 to improve and refurbish (refencing, returfing and repaving) a small animal enclosure and the provision of new accommodation for their rabbits and guinea pigs.

“Young visitors really enjoy spending time with the rabbits and guinea pigs and it will be lovely to give the animals a nicer environment and the children better access to them, thanks to help from Axis Foundation. Interacting with these animals forms an important part of the children’s visit to the farm” – Judith Williams, Chair of the Management Committee

There’s more here

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disadvantaged

The Magpie Project

December 12, 2024By

Helping women and children living in temporary accommodation in Newham

The Magpie Project supports women and children who are living in temporary or insecure accommodation in Newham and surrounding boroughs.

The Axis Foundation was delighted to make a donation of £5,000 with which The Magpie Project will buy beautiful, high-quality, well-crafted play equipment and creative items to furnish their new play space. Here mums and children play, make friends and build social connections, and access practical support.

Vera O Driscoll in our Community team suggested that The Magpie Project’s CEO and Founder Jane Williams apply to the Foundation.

And our Trustees were delighted to support this application and to help an excellent cause local to our parent company’s HQ in Stratford.

“Such beautiful wooden nursery furniture has been arriving for inside and outside play. We are thrilled. This is the first time we have ordered specific nursery sized equipment as we have only had donated toys previously.

“The wooden table for 1-2 year olds is the perfect height for our minis. I have noticed how popular the new table is and how long minis have been sitting here doing focused tasks like playdough and drawing. The chairs are lovely and really great for minis’ posture and balance.

“The climbing frame and grassy stepping stones have provided the perfect amount of risk and excitement. Many of our minis live in hotels and spend the majority of their day on beds entertained by phones, so this physical play is hugely important.

“The children have loved the big sandpits, and it’s been interesting to support the mums who have not experienced sand play to try it. And the sensory toys have provided a wonderful focus, and the babies loved playing in the dark”- Magpie Play Lead Play Lead, Hannah

 

There’s more about The Magpie Project here http://www.themagpieproject.org

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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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two people at desk reading

The Adult Literacy Trust (ALT)

June 30, 2023By

Helping adult learners become successful readers

The Adult Literacy Trust (ALT) believes that literacy is a right, not a privilege. Poor literacy can be a main contributor to a life of hardship, as a contributor to unemployment and inability to access benefits and services.

The Axis Foundation donated £4,766 towards ALT’s Reading Coaches programme which operates in the London Boroughs of Hackney and Southwark, recruiting and training volunteers who will help adult learners become successful readers.

“We at Adult Literacy Trust are delighted that our application for funding from the Axis Foundation has been approved. We have long admired the ethos and the approach of your grant-making and are honoured to be able to bring that to life through this very welcome grant.

“We rely entirely on the generosity of organisations such as the Axis Foundation to allow this to happen. Together, we are convinced we can make a huge difference to the life chances of so many.”  Robert Glick OBE, Chair

In a later update Robert told us: “Thanks to your support we have significantly expanded our programme over the period, providing one-to-one reading sessions to a greater number of adult learners so they can gain the confidence to become successful readers, and to improve their life chances.”

More about ALT

Poor literacy can be a main contributor to a life of hardship, as a contributor to unemployment and inability to access benefits and services. Conversely, improved reading skills bring profound and long-lasting improvements in employability, health and wellbeing and family and social interactions.

ALT’s Reading Coaches programme recruits and trains approximately 80 local volunteers who complement formal learning in (often overcrowded) classrooms by providing one-to-one support for 80-120 adult learners to gain the confidence to become successful readers.

They are currently working in the London boroughs of Hackney and Southwark (both boroughs have higher than UK and London averages for poverty) and plan to roll the Reading Coaches programme out across more London boroughs and also throughout the UK.

ALT partnered New City College and Mary Ward Centre to design and deliver the Reading Coaches programme. ALT’s work has been informed by experts, including from University College London, Workers’ Educational Association, and Learning & Work Institute.

See more about ALT here

 

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