Disabled child using a gait trainer to learn how to walk at the Freddie Farmer FoundationDisability

Freddie Farmer Foundation

September 2, 2017By

Specialist gait trainer provides physiotherapy for disabled children

We’ve donated £7,500 to the Freddie Farmer Foundation, supporting their programme of providing physiotherapy for disabled children. Our contribution helped the charity to purchase a LokoHelp electromechanical gait trainer.

“The LokoHelp electromechanical gait trainer works with children in an upright position to enable them to walk in the correct walking pattern. “It builds up the leg muscles required for walking and encourages a more effective application of therapy in all phases of gait training.

“Ninety percent of our children already benefit from the LokoHelp electromechanical gait trainer which we have been able to purchase with your donation.

“It really makes a difference and has been invaluable to us. The £7,500 donation also completes our £55,000 campaign total. We are really, really happy – it has been hard but we have hit our target now. So a huge thank you from us to you” – Karen Smith, Charity Officer

More About Freddie Farmer Foundation

The children who attend the Freddie Farmer Foundation predominantly suffer from Cerebral Palsy like Freddie Farmer. The centre provides physiotherapy for disabled children aged between 3 and 16 years old. Although most children are from the local area in Bromley, some travel all the way from Scotland, Yorkshire and Malta to receive treatment.

See our video – find out how the Freddie Farmer spent our donation!

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Disabled adults and children enjoy festival experience with help from Festival SpiritDisability

Festival Spirit

September 1, 2017By

Festival experience for life-limited and disabled people

Festival Spirit is passionate about providing magical festival experiences for life-limited and disabled people. The charity ensures that their guests can attend such festivals and have the time of their lives whilst there. The Axis Foundation donated £5,100 to help the charity continue in their mission.

“The money donated has enabled us to purchase vital equipment to ensure we are able to provide the very best facilities and support to our guests. In particular, we have bought two high-quality hoists for bed/chair transfers and changing and a range of kitchen equipment. Our festival brunches are becoming famous!

“It makes a huge difference to our guests knowing that they can be confident they will have access to all the equipment they need through a festival weekend. We couldn’t achieve such success without the support we get from organisations like the Axis Foundation.

“We were delighted to be able to make three festivals accessible in 2017. The donation we received from you was really important to us and the equipment we purchased was greatly appreciated by the attendees” – Steve Clarke, Trustee

More about Festival Spirit

Many music festivals simply cannot offer the full festival experience for life-limited and disabled people as they cannot accommodate the special requirements.
Festival Spirit lays on a specially-adapted marquee (with hard flooring, heating and electricity) which are close to disabled facilities such as showers and toilets, as well as full electric hospital beds, shower chairs/commodes and a curtained-off private sleeping area. There are camp beds for carers too, and ‘buddies’ who assist the guests and their carers travelling around the site.

“For four days, I was Lucy. I was a young adult. I was a festival-goer. I was part of a group. I was doing something many people do. I was myself. I was not a ‘disabled’ young adult, or a ‘disabled’ festival-goer, or a ‘disabled’ group member, I was simply me” – Lucy, attending WOMAD with Festival Spirit

 

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Momentum Children's Charity hospital room decorated with wildlife theme.Care

Momentum Children’s Charity

August 2, 2017By

Transforming hospital experience for children with cancer and life-limiting illnesses

The Axis Foundation donated £3,500 to help Momentum Children’s Charity‘s transformation of the Frog Isolation Room on the Rupert Bear Paediatric Ward in Croydon University Hospital.

Momentum supports families of children with cancer and life-limiting illnesses living in South West London and Surrey. Children who have cancer and life-limiting illnesses often spend a huge amount of their time in hospital, from their diagnosis and throughout their treatment. Isolation rooms ensure they do not catch any further infections and some children can be in these rooms for up to 10 days at a time.

Bearing this in mind, the new decor at Croydon University Hospital features Momentum’s mascot Mo the Owl and other wildlife including frogs, ladybirds and butterflies and plants. This redecoration project has created a bright and happy space providing the young patients with positive distractions and enriching toys to make their time in hospital a little bit easier.

“We wanted to make a difference for the children and to make their memories of staying in hospital positive. Something as simple as improving the environment can make a huge difference. The Axis Foundation and our other supporters have allowed us to make a massive difference in the hospital and for the children” – Tara MacDowel, Head of Fundraising and Communications

“Enhancing the healing environment in hospitals is a large part of Momentum’s work. Studies have shown that a good hospital environment can greatly improve a child’s recovery time and of course the staff also benefit from a brighter, more welcoming place in which to work. So we are grateful to all of you at the Axis Foundation. With your donation we have been able to transform the Isolation Room at Croydon University Hospital into a wonderful welcoming space for our young cancer patients. … thank you again for your support” – Bianca Effemey, Co-Founder

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Man holding baby at Sparks Medical Research CharityCare

Sparks

July 26, 2017By

Pioneering children’s medical research

The Axis Foundation donated a total of £75,000 to Sparks over two years to help them continue their pioneering children’s medical research. Our donations were raised at the Axis Foundation Christmas Charity Ball, our Celebrity Golf Days and by assorted fundraising initiatives undertaken by Axis people.

“It’s fantastic to have the ongoing support of the extremely generous Axis Foundation. This will make a big difference to the number of projects we’re able to fund, and really help with our aim to give every child the best possible start in life” – Rob Booker, CEO

“Now more than ever there is real hope for children with complex and rare conditions and with your help we can fun even more pioneering child health research. On behalf of Sparks and everyone at GOSH Charity, thank you so much for your tremendous support” – Elvira Morrison, Head of Sparks

Why we chose Sparks

John Hayes, Trustee of the Axis Foundation, recognised the importance of Sparks’ contributions to children’s medical research. So he adopted Sparks as one of the Axis Foundation’s charity partners alongside Demelza Hospice Care for Children in 2015.

Axis Foundation Trustees giving a cheque to Sparks Medical Research Charity
Here we are presenting a cheque for £52,751 to Sparks at our Alan Curbishley Classic Charity Golf Day attended by famous faces such as Roy Hodgson and Sir Trevor Brooking (2017).

More about Sparks

Sparks was established in 1991 and has funded over 290 pioneering children’s medical research projects in universities, hospitals and research institutions across both the UK and overseas including in these fields:

  • The 4,000 rare childhood diseases that are yet to have a cure
  • The 50,000 premature births that take place in England and Wales each year, currently the leading cause of the death of children under the age of five
  • 1 in 30 children born in the UK every day which has a condition that will affect them for life

Sparks is now part of the Great Ormond Street Hospital charity family and supports clinicians and scientists conducting research into treatments and cures of medical conditions affecting children’s health.

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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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Disabled pupils of Lonsdale School sit round a fire during camping trip.Disability

Lonsdale School

June 21, 2017By

Special wheelchair help physically and neurologically impaired children achieve Duke of Edinburgh Award

Our award of £2,805 to Lonsdale School funded a new RGK All Terrain wheelchair which enabled 20 physically and neurologically impaired children pupils to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Expedition award.

The pupils, with the aid of the all-terrain wheelchair, were able to complete the award, walking, camping and enjoying the exercise and the great outdoors. Without the wheelchair, none of this would have been possible.

And, whilst it was invaluable in helping pupils complete their incredible adventure, the new specialist wheelchair will have long-term benefits for future pupils at the school too.

“The Duke of Edinburgh Expedition created lasting memories and for that we’re incredibly grateful. The equipment provided by the Axis Foundation will also benefit all our current and future students. It will give them the opportunity to be involved in a rewarding activity that they may otherwise not have been able to complete. We also took the All Terrain Wheelchair on our recent trip to Andorra for a week’s SitSki. The wheelchair was absolutely perfect for the conditions we were faced with and the donation was very gratefully received. Thank you” –  Sheena Harley, LSA 

More  About Lonsdale School

Lonsdale School caters for physically and neurologically impaired children It is based in Hertfordshire with around 90 pupils aged between 3 and 18 years. Here their motto is ‘Learning for Life” and they believe that pupils should enjoy being inside and outside of school: they participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme expedition to help pupils develop new skills outside the classroom.

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Child cared for at Demelza sat with parents.News

Inaugural Golf Day – £54,000 to Demelza

May 13, 2017By

We donate £54,000 – the equivalent of 2,680 hours of nursing care – to Demelza – at our inaugural celebrity charity golf day

At the first Axis Foundation Celebrity Charity Golf Day in June 2017, the Axis Foundation presented a cheque for £54,000 to Demelza’s Adopt a Nurse scheme. The sum is the equivalent of 2,680 hours of nursing care.

Receiving the cheque, Demelza CEO Ryan Campbell said: “Everyone who works for or with Axis has gone above and beyond to support our families, raising vital funds so that we can continue to help those families when they need us the most. You have showed unbelievable spirit and determination, completing incredibly difficult challenges and raising a truly outstanding amount of money for Demelza’s Adopt a Nurse programme.”

Demelza Parent Mette explained: “As well as memory-making and emotional support Demelza also gave practical help – from the community nursing team making phone calls and liaising with various agencies to staff at the hospice tackling paperwork. We didn’t need to worry about the cooking, cleaning, washing – we could just focus on Thomas.”

Alan Curbishley, Foundation patron and tv sports pundit, has kindly lent his name to the golf day: the Alan Curbishley Classic. Our first golf day was so popular it is scheduled to become an annual favourite in everyone’s sporting calendar! And thanks to our generous guests and supporters, on the day, we raised £18,000 to help Demelza and other small, local and impactful causes via the Axis Foundation.

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Patient and carer at Greenwich Bexley Community HospiceCare

Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice

April 12, 2017By

Two donations fund specialist medical equipment and increase comfort for patients

The Axis Foundation has been delighted to make two donations to help Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice, an important community resource providing end-of-life care with compassion.

2017: Pressure Care Mattresses

In 2017, Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice sought funding to buy pressure care mattresses for their 17-bed in-patient unit. The unit cares for around 400 patients per year. We donated £4,000 which enabled the hospice to purchase two specialist mattresses. These dramatically improved the comfort of those experiencing pain and discomfort due to their illness.

“The mattresses really help those in our wards to be comfortable in their beds, with a special system allowing the patient to make the mattress as hard or soft as they want. When we get donations specifically for specialist medical equipment it means that we can improve the comfort and experience for patients. It gives the staff peace of mind because they know that they have the best equipment to help the people that they care for.

“I’d like to say thank you for what you’ve done to support us. The charitable donations that we receive are really important for us as they help us continue to deliver our care” – Kate Heaps, Chief Executive

“We are so fortunate to be gifted pressure relieving mattresses for our ward. The patients say that they really help to ease their discomfort.”” – Anne, Hospice Healthcare Assistant 

2013: Syringe Drivers

In 2013, the Foundation donated £6,000 to purchase six Syringe Drivers, specialist medical equipment administering medicine. These are essential for pain management and symptom control.  A Syringe Driver is a small battery-powered pump carried by the patient. It releases medicine slowly, safely and effectively under the skin. It can be used, for example, when a patient is unable to take tablets.

More About Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice

Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice provides compassionate end-of-life care for around 2,500 people (per annum). The patients have illnesses such as cancer, heart failure, respiratory disease and neurological conditions. They live mainly in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley.

The Hospice is vital community resource – a lifeline for so many people and their families in truly difficult times. Their 24-hour care programme offers pain and symptom management as well as psychological care, respite, rehabilitation and end-of-life care.

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Child sitting in a mobility chair that has been donated to him.Disability

Vinnie James

March 15, 2017By

Mobility and independence for toddler with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

Two-year-old Vinnie James was diagnosed with type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at eight weeks old. SMA is a genetic disease, causing deterioration in nerve cells connecting the brain and spinal cord to the muscles. Type 1 is the most severe.

Vinnie’s family had been campaigning to raise money for a Permobil Koala Power chair to provide him with some mobility and independence. As his mother Kelly told us: “He currently has to stay where we put him. He’s a toddler. He should be running around causing mayhem but he’s not able to.”

The Axis Foundation initially agreed to donate £1,500 to cover the cost of the deposit for the chair. However – touched and impressed by further successful fundraising efforts by the family – the Foundation donated the final £6,000 needed to buy the chair. The family was also supported by chairman of local charity Heart of Darts Ian Waller.

“Without the help of the Axis Foundation and the donation they’ve made to the chair, we are unsure whether we would have got it. Moving forward, the chair will grow with Vinnie and ensure his mobility and independence – you have changed all of our lives” – Kelly, Vinny’s mother

The story continues…

Axis Operative Dan Ward (who was working near to Vinnie’s home on a routine job) noticed how Kelly and the family struggled to manoeuvre Vinnie’s previous chair through the front door of their property. So, he volunteered to fit and install a special door which was provided by supply chain partner Travis Perkins.

“The team at Axis saw what a struggle it was on a day to basis to get Vinnie in and out of our property. They came and fitted a specialist door that opens outwards making our life so much easier. This act of kindness is greatly appreciated by our family” – Kelly, Vinny’s mother

And, in 2020, the Axis Foundation donated a further £4,400 to fund a year’s physiotherapy with a Neuromuscular Physiotherapist for Vinnie.

“The money from The Axis foundation has ensured that Vinnie has access to the best possible physiotherapy. It means that we can continue working hard on making our little boy stronger and he can keep smashing SMA. Thank you” – Luke and Kelly James

 

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