little boy with fair hair in white tee shirtCare

Helping a Little Boy with Rare Genetic Disorder

January 31, 2024By

Donation buys a sensory room to help Toby, a little boy with rare genetic disorder

Six-year-old Toby Conway has an incredibly rare genetic disorder called De Novo ZNF 292 syndrome. It is so rare, his doctors and consultants have never previously encountered a patient with this diagnosis. And Toby’s parents are unable to find any other parents in a similar situation to share their experiences.

Toby has autistic traits, speech delay and extreme hyper mobility, His abnormal brain structure primarily affects his short-term memory (so he has some educational challenges). He is physically weak and has a high risk of epilepsy.

Despite all his challenges, Toby embraces mainstream education and loves his school. His parents told us:

“Every day, he runs into school with a huge smile on his face; it’s priceless. He is honestly the most polite, infectious and caring little boy. He is a pleasure to be around for both adults and other children. His school is amazing, and we’re hugely grateful for their support.”

The Axis Foundation Trustees awarded Toby’s school (Northgate Primary School Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire) £10,000 to create a sensory room. This will not only help Toby’s sensory processing disorder but will also benefit the 100 neuro-diverse pupils at the school.

Thanking the Foundation, Toby’s father Mark Conway said: “This donation will make such a huge difference to Toby and all other pupils at his school, both neurodiverse and neurotypical. His school do an amazing job with limited resources, and their new sensory room will create a safe space for the kids that will be invaluable. Thank you so, so much.”

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Little Stars

January 31, 2024By

Providing essential baby items for disadvantaged, vulnerable families

Little Stars provides quality essentials for babies, children and pregnant women. And so they alleviate stress and financial pressures for disadvantaged, vulnerable families in Shropshire.

The Axis Foundation donated £3,175 to Little Stars’ Community Hubs Project. This donation will purchase 12 months supplies of nappies, wipes and baby toiletries.

“To receive this amazing amount of money from Axis foundation has ensured we can continue our Community Hub work, providing families with the essentials they need for their children.

“Our hub work is extremely important because we are out in the communities that are in need of this support. The money will enable us to expand our hubs as we now have the funds to be able to deliver the basic essentials that babies and young children really need. Thank you to the board for providing us with this grant” – Leanne Simcoe Founder and CEO

More on the Community Hubs Project

Little Stars created their Community Hubs Project in response to the growing demand for their services. There are currently four Little Stars community hubs, working with Early Help teams and local food banks, where families can access essential items

More about Little Stars

Little Stars helps the 26% of children living in poverty across Shropshire (research from End Child Poverty). They help disadvantaged families through their baby bank, community hubs and school uniform services. They provide quality pre-loved bundles, donated by the local community, supplemented by new equipment and basic provisions. Little Stars works across their community in partnership with midwives, social workers, early help teams, schools, food banks, and domestic abuse charities. They have, to date, supported over 1,000 referred beneficiaries.

There’s more here www.littlestarscharity.org

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Hug-a-Bug World (HBW)

January 31, 2024By

Positive emotional wellbeing for young people

Positive, relatable storylines in books; “I am Unique, “I am Brave” and “I Can Do It” affirmation hearts and tactile toys: these all help the emotional development of Hug-a-Bug World’s Early Years and young children. Setting the tone are adorable bugs Sedric Snail, Bella Bee and friends who support one another and learn as they go.

The Axis Foundation donated £15,000 to HBW to provide books, affirmation hearts and toys. And we will be working with them to reach children and families in areas where Axis, our parent property services company, works.

“At a time where Mental Health challenges in our younger generations is finally getting some attention in the media, we at HBW are forever grateful to the Axis Foundation for making it possible for us to engage with thousands of children, through their generous donation” – Julia Keys, Founder

More about Hug-a-Bug World

The HBW programme promotes positive emotional wellbeing for young people. This is proven to have a beneficial effect on academic focus, building good relationships, and development of empathy and understanding of each other and the natural world.

Hug-a-Bug World is currently working with 30 schools in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London. They have also worked closely with the Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) programme in multiple UK locations. All children (10,000 +) take home a storybook, a Hug-a-Bug heart and activity sheets. They demonstrably increase their self-confidence, empathy, self-worth, resilience, and acceptance of themselves.

The Chairman of the Axis Foundation Trustees, Peter Varney, was very impressed by the good feedback from Birmingham HAF. So he engaged Hug-a-Bug World to deliver their HAF programme via Millwalls’ Community Fund – with similarly successful results.

See more about Hug-a-Bug’s amazing 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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Group of people holding bags at St AmbroseCommunity

St Ambrose Barlow Church

January 30, 2024By

Providing warmth and comfort

The Café at St Ambrose Barlow Church provides a safe and warm space for local people. Here they can enjoy complimentary meals and refreshment, a sense of community and belonging, as well as crafts and activities.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 so that Saint Ambrose Barlow Church could purchase 60 Warm Packs to keep their guests keep warm this winter (2023).

“The grant from the Axis Foundation has allowed us to provide 60 warm packs in the space of two weeks to all in our community who asked for one. From young families, to people who lived on their own and the elderly, everyone went home thrilled with their bag of goodies – a cosy warm blanket, a hot water bottle, a travel cup, a hat, scarf and gloves so they would be warm in and outside of the home!” – Hayley Haughton, Community Engagement and Support Worker

“I was thrilled to get my warm pack, I am going to use the hot water bottle and travel cup together so i only boil the kettle once to save money and energy and then snuggle down in my blanket with my knitting!” – Recipient

More about the café at St Ambrose Barlow Church

The community café at St Ambrose Barlow Church is a lifeline for some people who have fallen through the cracks of the social welfare system; are struggling with the cost of living crisis or who are seeking a safe space to meet others and combat isolation. Located in the Parish Hall, the Community Café aims to reduce the impact of poverty and to help their guests maximise their income. They provide complimentary meals, activities and signposting for additional support to over 50 people a week and also recently distributed warm packs to 30 families.

There’s more here

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Donations

Adult Training Network

January 29, 2024By

Resourcing Digital Learning for disadvantaged people

Adult Training Network (ATN) provides education, training and employability skills to disadvantaged people.

The Axis Foundation donated £2,500 so ATN could purchase an interactive whiteboard to facilitate digital learning at their Training Centre in Southall, west London.

“The integration of the smart board in the classroom was very impressive. Not only did the use of this interactive technology keep the students engaged but … learners were evidently more focussed, thanks to the visually appealing content that was presented to them in an engaging way.

“It has changed the traditional lesson and made it more participatory and fun.

“Overall, the interactive white board been very useful, both for tutors and students, who have been very excited about the new method of learning. This innovative approach to teaching has set a high standard for interactive pedagogy” – Sarjeet Singh Gill, Managing Director (from Impact Report provided to the Trustees of the Axis Foundation)

More about ATN

Adult Training Network Limited was founded in 1999 to help the most disadvantaged members of the community access mainstream education. Many are referred to the charity by their local Job Centre.

The charity unlocks marginalised learners’ potential for employment and social connection through education, training, employability support and links to job opportunities. They offer a wide range of in-person and online accredited courses as well as vocational qualifications and apprenticeships.

ATN’s BAME, migrant and refugee learners (many of whom have South-Asian backgrounds and/or are from Syria or Ukraine) hail from highly deprived wards and have low English, literacy and numeracy levels.

There’s more here

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Demelza

Volunteering at Demelza Shop

January 22, 2024By

Axis people lend a hand at Demelza’s shop

Axis Site Managers Nicola Moran and Billy Williams spent their Volunteering Day to help out at Demelza’s charity shop in Eltham just before Christmas.

Nicola said: “Billy and I both enjoyed the day volunteering in the shop. We helped sort through donations, worked on the till and put new stock out. Plus we helped put Christmas trees in the window.

“We have a new-found respect for everyone that works in the shop! It’s harder work than you realise and they were very busy. They made us feel very welcome. We will both volunteer in the shop again as it was good fun.”

Everyone who works at our parent company Axis gets a Volunteering Day. Our people often use theirs to support Demelza, our charity partner.

 

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Demelza

Bright Christmas at Demelza

January 22, 2024By

Axis’ Bright Sparks help out with Demelza’s Christmas lights

To brighten up Christmas at Demelza, volunteers from Axis’ Sittingbourne team – Joe Komorowski, Michael Kitts, George Ball, Stephen True and Jake Remon –  along with our subcontractor, BJL Electrical, set up Demelza’s Christmas lights.

And our volunteers used their expertise to additionally ensure that external lights are a permanent fixture for future events.

“By gifting us with their time, the team have helped us to light up the grounds of the hospice, which will be enjoyed by all! A huge thank you again to the team” – Clare from Demelza

Plus they also funded £500 worth of gifts via an Amazon Wishlist, using Sittingbourne’s scrap money and BJL Electrical’s kind donation.

“Another great volunteering day today with our friends and colleagues at Axis for the lovely charity Demelza, installing power supplies ready for their Christmas light install” – BJ Electrical

Everyone who works at Axis gets a Volunteering Day, and our people often use theirs to support Demelza, our charity partner.

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Cherry Orchard Garden Services (COGS)

January 19, 2024By

COGS’ Grow-Cook-Eat project helps adults with learning disabilities gain skills and independence

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 to help COGS purchase ingredients for their Grow-Cook-Eat project. The programme teaches learners how to cook simple, easy meals that they can replicate at home. They can use fruit and vegetables they have grown on-site at COGS. These make a healthy alternative to microwaved ready meals. Learning how to cook and eat healthily brings many long-term benefits to learners – and their carers and families too. We estimate that around 17 people on this programme will benefit directly from our donation.

“We are so grateful to The Axis Foundation for generously donating towards our Grow-Cook-Eat project. Cooking is one of the most valuable skills our service users can learn. By helping us purchase additional ingredients to enhance their home-grown fruit and vegetables, the Axis Foundation is contributing to many life-changing outcomes. It enables our service users to learn a whole spectrum of skills which all contribute to them living an independent lifestyle as they grow themselves. Thank you!” –  Beckie Flynn, Treasurer

Two service tell us how Grow-Cook-Eat project benefits them!

“It helps me because I can now make my own sandwiches, go into a shop and recognise ingredients and have new ideas to try to do myself at home’”- Tom

“It has helped by teaching me new things to cook. It teaches me to cook on my own and grow some vegetables I can make into meals” – George

More about COGS

COGS Prepares 4 Life CIO provides day opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, autism and other complex needs in Burntwood, Staffordshire, and surrounding areas. Through gardening, cooking, woodwork, travel training and basic education, COGS’ members gain new skills, find friendships and embrace the confidence and independence needed for everyday life. There’s more about COGS here

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Fundraiser Quiz Night for Demelza!

January 19, 2024By

Bright sparks from Axis pit their wits for Demelza at annual Fundraiser Quiz Night

Tony Mantle, Operations Director, organises our Fundraiser Quiz Night every year, with the support of Marie Partner, Head of Business Development, and Vera O’Driscoll, Community Investment Coordinator. We hold our event at Sidcup Rugby Club in Kent.  This year we raised an impressive £1,677 for our charity partner Demelza.

“The Axis Quizzers came out in force to support our annual Fundraiser Quiz Night for Demelza. Over a hundred people came, and the competition was fierce. I really enjoy seeing people enjoy the night and most importantly donate much-needed money to Demelza” – Tony Mantle

“We were so delighted with the fantastic turn out, seeing everyone enjoying themselves, creating a fun-filled atmosphere. We thank everyone for their generosity on the night, all given in the True Axis Spirit for such a worthy cause, Demelza” – Marie Partner

“We raised an amazing amount for Demelza. Our contributions will go a long way for the children and families that Demelza supports!” – Vera O’Driscoll

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