Children at play Kinetic Science FoundationDonations

Kinetic Science Foundation

December 8, 2021By

We help equip sensory room for children at new Interactive Science Centre

The Axis Foundation donated £3,900 to the Kinetic Science Foundation to help them purchase toys and equipment including a bubble machine for their “all senses” room. Here children with additional needs – and indeed all children – can enjoy a tranquil space and re-charge. A further donation of £4,900 in 2022 enabled them to purchase a Mirror Ball and Projector.

“We are exceptionally grateful for this donation which makes a difference to children of all ages and aids their well-being with a space to relax and be a calm oasis. This donation allows us to make our Senses Room accessible to all. The Senses Room is in our new Interactive Science Centre: the largest in East Anglia. Over 40,000 people per year will enjoy the new centre”  –  Debbie Ball CEO and Founder

About the Kinetic Science Foundation

The Kinetic Science Foundation was established in 2015 to inspire all young people to enjoy Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. They do this by providing outreach projects, festivals and roadshows and exciting workshops like Bodily Functions, Pop-up Planetarium and Marquee Rain Forest. The Kinetic Science Foundation has delivered their programme to over 165,000 young people.

There’s more about the Kinetic Science Foundation here

 

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People with balloons at Hutton Community CentreCommunity

Hutton Community Centre

December 8, 2021By

Combating loneliness in Brentwood

Hutton Community Centre is an important community hub in Brentwood, working primarily to combat loneliness. Our parent company, Axis Europe, works in Brentwood keeping local residents’ homes safe and comfortable. And so we were keen to support their application.

So, through our partnership with Travis Perkins, the Axis Foundation contributed  £3,020 to the centre’s kitchen refurbishment. Specifically, the donation bought a new commercial catering oven and extractor hood.

“I would like to thank the Axis Foundation for their donation and support towards the cafe’s refurbishment. The oven and canopy will make a huge difference to the services that we can now offer the local community and those visiting the area.

“All the feedback we have had during the COVID-19-enforced shutdown of the Centre from the people who would have normally used it has reinforced to us the importance of the HCC in combating loneliness and isolation in the local community” –  Stella Miles, Cafe Supervisor

Our donation

The refurbishment enables the low-cost café to offer a wider range of meals, provide hot meals during the school holidays for children who would normally have free school dinners and host a senior lunch club. The centre has extended the café opening hours too.

Hutton Community Centre

HCC is run by volunteers. Activities include 50+ Club, Community Bingo, Dementia Carer’s support, dance classes, baby and toddler groups, martial arts, board games and Camp Epic for youth activities.

There’s more here about Hutton Community Centre here

 

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Safer home for little boy with epilepsy

September 7, 2021By

Safer home for Curtis who has a rare form of epilepsy – Dravet Syndrome

Curtis, age four, suffers from frequent seizures and needs round-the-clock care. And summer heatwaves resulted in a seizure and a hospital visit for Curtis and his parents Emily and Carl.

On behalf of Curtis and his family, James Garlick, Digital & IT Service Delivery Manager at Axis, applied to the Axis Foundation for support – in the form of air-conditioning units. James explained that simply keeping Curtis cool reduces the constant risk of seizure and makes his home safer for him.

The Axis Foundation paid for the air con, and Axis operatives installed the units in Curtis’ bedroom and playroom and in the lounge.

“We want to say a huge thank you to the Foundation for investing in this for us. We can never convey how much your support means to our family – you’ve made our home a safe place for Curtis all year round” – Emily, Curtis’ mum

Curtis’ mother Emily explains more

“Due to Curtis’s very rare syndrome (Dravet) he is unable to properly regulate his temperature. This is a significant issue because when he gets too hot he is susceptible to seizures. These can range from increased seizure activity, leaving him unable to focus on a task, to a full tonic clonic seizure, involving initiating his rescue plan and a trip to A&E.

“This led us to start to feel anxious for him around the summer months, especially with increasingly frequent spikes in temperature for prolonged periods. We invested in portable air con units but these confined Curtis confined to two rooms of the house; often being fed, playing and changed in one room all day.

“He’s a reasonably active four year old, who wants to run about from time to time. So this often led to frustrations for both him and us. Furthermore, moving the air con units around the house is extremely difficult because they weigh around 30kgs each.

The difference for Curtis

“The new, properly fitted air con allows Curtis to live and play safely and normally in the house as any child should. He will be able to use the full extent of downstairs now and we can let him run around without fear that he’ll overheat due to the weather.

The difference for Emily and Carl

“It really will be life changing for us. We’ll no longer have to carry a unit up to his bedroom to try and cool it before he sleeps and can hopefully adjust the temperature to keep him cool all night.

It’s a massive relief for us and gives us back a bit of normality in the summer months. It will remove the constant anxiety we have for him in the summer.”

Thanks to Axis Foundation from Curtis’ grandparents

We can never thank you enough… It was the most wonderful gift you could bestow on Curtis and our family – the continuation of our dear little grandson’s life. It is so wonderful in 21st century when we hear on the news everyday of shootings; stabbings and all the violence that a lot of people impose on their fellow humans to hear of people who are prepared to go that extra mile at their own expense, to help families have a better quality of life.

More about Dravet Syndrome here

 

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men on building site community centre Dads LaneCommunity

Dads Lane Community Association

September 7, 2021By

Donation refurbishes local centre helping to build community spirit

Dads Lane Community Association founded a vital community centre in Stirchley, Birmingham. And the Axis Foundation donated £5,000 to help refurbish the café/kitchen here. The café/kitchen will provide refreshments and community meals as well as space for knit and natter, parenting and mental health groups.

 “We are over the moon to receive this generous grant from the Axis Foundation. It will make a huge difference in the refurbishment of this important local community centre.

”This area has few local facilities, activities, or general spaces for the local community. It lacks the amenities that usually cultivate community spirit and unity. There are pockets of real deprivation, disadvantage and isolation here.  And so people lack opportunities to address their issues” –  Steve Squires, Chair of Trustees

More about the works

The plans at Dads Lane include creating a community garden with raised beds. There will be training spaces for employability and volunteering programmes as well as the café/kitchen. The centre will be fully accessible inside and out.

Axis in the Midlands

Our parent company Axis Europe works for many of the Midlands’ major social housing landlords from our local offices in Oldbury. In accordance with our Core Value 6 – A community we contribute to will welcome and value us – and in addition to Axis’ regular CI activities throughout the Midlands, the Foundation was very pleased to support Dads Lane Community Association. The Axis Foundation is proud to say we are ‘at the heart of the community’.

You can read more about Dads Lane Community Association here 

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exterior and interior scout base community hub brickwork and timber beamsCommunity

1st Godstone Scout Group

September 7, 2021By

Donation restores building for scout group and for local community

The Axis Foundation’s grant of £5,000 helped the 1st Godstone Scout Group to restore their historic base, The Endeavour, at Godstone in East Surrey.

“The award of £5,000 from the Axis Foundation has made it possible to start the restoration work to The Endeavour which is a well-loved building in Godstone. It fronts the village green and has been used for over 80 years by the young people of the community. This award will allow the building to become a true community hub” – Mark Wiles, Group Scout Leader 

More about the Scout Base

Based on a 16th-century oak barn, The Endeavour was hand built by scouts and volunteers in the 1930s. They used recovered materials from a Sussex barn, stone from Waterloo Bridge and 14th-century Purbeck stone from a church.

But, because of its age, The Endeavour had started to deteriorate. It needed urgent repairs to its walls and windows. And so the Axis Foundation was delighted to make a donation to help restore the building for the scout group and for the local community. Local people use it for orchestra practice, exercise classes, birthday parties and fundraising events.

More about the restoration works

Scope of works here included installing style-appropriate new windows with secondary glazing inside toughened glass and rebuilding the brickwork panels below the windows.

More about The 1st Godstone Scout Group

The 1st Godstone Scout Group has been in Godstone since 1908 and provides Scouting to over 50 young people, aged six to14, boys and girls, from all backgrounds and ethnicity. Even during COVID-19 the group remained active in the local community.

More here!

There’s more about the 1st Godstone Scout Group here 

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Community

Disability Croydon

September 7, 2021By

Supporting vulnerable and isolated people in Croydon

Disability Croydon‘s new community hub tackles isolation and loneliness and their long-term, detrimental effects on mental and physical health. And the Axis Foundation donated £7,440 to Disability Croydon to help them build an accessible toilet and drop-in café here.

“That is really wonderful news. Please pass on the appreciation of Disability Croydon to the Axis Foundation. This grant will make a huge difference. We intend that this hub will become the ‘go to place’ for people who are vulnerable, lonely and isolated of all ages and backgrounds” – James Kelleher, CEO 

More about Axis in Croydon

The Axis Foundation’s parent company, Axis Europe, has worked for Croydon Council for many years, keeping residents’ homes safe and comfortable. In accordance with our Core Value 6 – A community we contribute to will welcome and value us – and in addition to our regular CI activities here, we are pleased to further support the Croydon community through our Foundation’s donation to Disability Croydon. The Axis Foundation is proud to be at “the heart of the community”.

More about the new hub

Disability Croydon’s new hub will deliver peer support /interactive group sessions, social activities including dance, music drama, book clubs, theatre and cinema visits and rambling and craft clubs. The hub will provide access to laptops and advice sessions including on debt and finance management and welfare benefits.

And there will be a wellness fitness centre supplying free exercise sessions for people with mental health needs as well as a drop-in centre and a café with fully accessible toilets. The 4-storey building is on Croydon High Street.

More about Disability Croydon

Disability Croydon offers information, advice, advocacy and support to disabled people and their families, on issues which affect their daily lives. Services currently include telephone befriending, digital buddies and training for the private and public sector on Diversity, Equality and Disability Awareness.

Read more about Disability Croydon here

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Keeping kids safe with OK OKCare

OK Our Kids

September 6, 2021By

Keeping children safe

Working with the police, OK Our Kids (OKOK) created Watch Out! and Mistakes and Ladders. The book and board game help young children deal confidently with the challenges of keeping safe at home, at school and in the community.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 to help fund printing costs. Our Trustees were impressed by the clear benefits to young children today and to future generations.

“Your wonderful donation has already been spent on producing more product. Rest assured, monies made from sales goes directly into buying more of our wonderful “Watch Out!” books and “Mistakes and Ladders” board games. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your donation WILL make a HUGE difference to young people’s lives” – Tony and Lynn Bartley, Founders

More about Watch Out!/Mistakes and Ladders

Aimed at keeping children safe, the book and board game teach children DOs and DON’Ts, the right way to behave and how to lead by example. Both encourage families and schools to discuss safety openly.

OKOK produced Watch Out! books and Mistakes and Ladders board games for Primary schools in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Devon and Cornwall. Buckinghamshire Council, Thames Valley Police and City of London Police have endorsed both products as have charities Barnardo’s and the NSPCC.

Here’s what the teachers say

“The Watch Out! books are excellent and cover many topical issues relevant to our children’s learning and the primary curriculum. It is tricky to approach some of these topics. And the book serves as a great starting point at a level that is appropriate for primary aged children” – Cags Gilbert, Head Teacher, Constantine Primary School

“The Watch Out! kids books are a super resource” –  Jules Jenkin, Head Teacher, Mabe School

And there’s more!

Find out more about OK Our Kids here 

 

 

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Community

St Luke’s Community Hub

September 5, 2021By

Helping vital community hub support those affected by poverty and homelessness

St Luke’s is a community hub based in Kennington in south London. It is managed by the West London Mission (WLM). The centre helps people affected by poverty and homelessness.

Their carpet in the common areas and stairwell here was very old and no longer fit for purpose. So when WLM approached the Axis Foundation for support to get a new one, we were delighted to help.

During the prep to lay the carpet, the floor underneath was found to be crumbling and in need of repair. And so the Axis Foundation’s donation of £2,243 repaired the floor and supplied and installed a new carpet for the benefit of service users and everyone who works at WLM St Luke’s.

“The folks at St Luke’s are absolutely thrilled beyond words to have a new carpet in the common area and stairwell.

“They are hugely grateful as no budget exists right now for such things. We badly needed it as it is a public space. It is now clean and welcoming, worthy of the staff and the service users – vulnerable folk in the local community.

“Hats off to Axis and the Axis Foundation. You and your team have made a huge difference” – Patrick O’Meara, Advisor to WLM

More about West London Mission and St Luke’s

WLM has been helping people facing poverty and homelessness since 1887. The link between homelessness and financial insecurity is as clear today as it was in the 19th century. People whose rent is in arrears are vulnerable to eviction and subsequent homelessness.

So, WLM St Luke’s aims to prevent homelessness by empowering people faced with financial and digital exclusion, low income and high levels of debt to feel confident, more in control of their finances and less isolated.

As they say: “Our focus is financial resilience and digital inclusion. We want our community to feel confident about managing their money and to gain the skills to get online.”

Enjoying thriving partnerships with local organisations and networks, St Luke’s offers computer and money management training as well as affordable desk space for local start-ups and affordable accommodation for low income workers.

There’s more about WLM St Luke’s here.

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3 girls from Amateur Boxing Club, Swale Gloves pose in fight stanceDonations

Swale Gloves

August 28, 2021By

Keeping youngsters off the streets and out of trouble!

Our continued support for Swale Gloves Amateur Boxing Club keeps youngsters off the streets and teaches them core values. The Axis Foundation has supported this Amateur Boxing Club since 2016. Our yearly donations, which total £45,000 in 2022, help cover the running costs of the club keeping it affordable and accessible.

Swale Gloves, based in Sittingbourne, Kent, works with 150 local children and teenagers teaching them the art of boxing. Boxing encourages respect and self-discipline whilst encouraging children to have fun away from the computer screen.

“The funds from the Axis Foundation give us financial freedom and enable us to keep subscription costs down. We’ve been able to keep it at the same price for the past six years. This means we can stay open which is the most important thing. This £5,000 is huge for an Amateur Boxing Club like us. It’s nice to have some like Axis who really supports us” – John Williams, Founder

Our donations have replaced broken sports equipment, contributed to transport costs and helped pay the rent of the hall. Now that’s what we like to call heavyweight support!

2020 Update

“We were allowed to re-open at the end of July 2020. Luckily most of our members returned. It has been difficult as we have to try and social distance within the gym and we are not allowed any sparring or padwork. All the kids have been really great and kept on supporting us.

“Once again we would like to thank the Axis Foundation for your continued support. It means so much as it gives us financial freedom where we can just concentrate in providing a great environment for the local kids within our community. Your support has been even more essential this year as we lost 3 months worth of income due to COVID” – John Williams, Founder

2021 Update

“Swale Gloves is truly grateful for the help you have given us over the past six years.

“We were closed from November 2020 and able to re-open mid-March 2021. Luckily for us most of our members have returned… Our membership remains high, we have 152 members, 33 of which are female.

“But we have had to purchase a lot more equipment, each member has access to their own gloves and ropes, to enable us to put on training sessions in a safe and social distanced way.

“We are back sparring now. Plus, we have also started a new referral scheme with a local specialist school. This has gone very well: we have 20 members referred to us from the school. All off these members have various issues and cannot be in mainstream school. We are helping to work with them to improve their self-confidence and social interaction skills” – John Williams, Founder

Case study – Fawwaz Akingbogun

Fawwaz Akingbogun is a real success story for Swale Gloves Amateur Boxing Club. He came here as a referral from his school in 2018. He was constantly in trouble and was in danger of being expelled. And he also started to get in trouble with the police.

“Swale Gloves has helped turn Fawwaz’s life around. He totally embraced his training. Within weeks his self-confidence grew and he began to see that he had a lot more to offer the world. Three years on Fawwaz has just completed his A Levels and achieved great results. Fawwaz comes from a very underprivileged background: his family struggles to afford the training sessions. And so we decided we would let Fawwaz in for free.

“He has repaid us in full by turning his life around and giving himself a great future.”

Fawwaz says: “I started getting into to trouble at school a few years ago, my teacher referred me to Swale Gloves Boxing Club, since I have been there my confidence and self-belief has improved so much. I managed to leave school with great A Levels and am now looking forward to going to University to study Business.

“But I will never forget the help the coaches at Swale Gloves have given me, I hope they continue for many years having a positive impact on young kids’ lives.”

 

 

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Donations

Halas Hawks

June 18, 2021By

Proudly supporting Halas Hawks’ Lionesses, under 10s girls’ team

Halas Hawks’ Lionesses, the under 10s girls’ team at Halas Hawks Junior Football Club, needed new kit.

So the Axis Foundation is proud to support them with a donation of £600 to get the Under 10s fully kitted out for the new season. 

As one local mum says: “This team is close to my heart as it’s my daughter’s football team. This is a fantastic team which has made all the difference to her and her team mates. She was not the most confident of children and this has really brought her out of herself.”  

“Having such an amazing investment from our new sponsor has not only meant new kit for the Under 10s but also that we can buy equipment and pay pitch fees and player registrations. It also means that we will be able to continue long into the future and carry on with our ever growing team. Thank you so much from myself, the manager, the coaching team and mostly importantly every girl who will wear and play in the new kit that you have provided for them” –  Jonathan Kane, Team Manager

Axis and the Midlands 

The Axis Foundation has supported many small, local and impactful causes in the Midlands. We have connected to these causes through our local people at Axis Europe plc’s busy, well-established and successful offices in Oldbury. Here we work for some of the area’s largest housing providers to keep local homes safe and comfortable for residents.  

More about Halas Hawks 

Halas Hawks Junior Football Club was established in 1980, when boys from various scout groups in  Halesowen got together to promote and develop youth football locally. Since then the club has won many accolades including runner up in Birmingham County’s Grass Roots Club of the Year. The club is rooted in – and supported by – its local community in Halesowen. The Lionesses were formed in 2019 as a new Under 10s girls’ football team. More here 

Top Tip! Birmingham City’s Connie Scofield played for Halas Hawks before joining Blues Ladies Development at the age of nine.

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