sports Archives - Axis Foundation

Mindful Peak

March 7, 2022By Axis Foundation

Support for young carers

Mindful Peak helps young carers to improve their physical and mental wellbeing through boxing and mindfulness. The charity has recently developed BAM! which fuses non-contact boxing training with mindfulness through one-to-one sessions, video and a specially developed App. They developed BAM! with help from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Barnardo’s.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,250 towards film videoing and editing as well as skipping ropes for boxing training.

“I’m delighted that the Axis Foundation saw the value in this project that supports a group of young carers who need this support now more than ever. Thank you and we look forward to delivering this project and sharing the impact” – Luke Doherty, Founder and MD

Helping Young Carers

Young carers face extra responsibilities at home often leaving them feeling lonely or as though no one else understands. They can feel isolated and often miss out-of-school activities or meet-ups with friends. And they often become anxious about the person they care for when they’re away from them. Mindful Peak helps young carers become better able to respond to the specific challenges they face.

More About Mindful Peak

Working in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Newham Mindful Peak is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to sharing a mindfulness-based approach to performance.

Luke Doherty founded Mindful Peak in 2019. Luke played Rugby for England. He gained a postgraduate degree in Law and Community Leadership and then trained as a mindfulness instructor.

In addition to supporting disadvantaged young people, Mindful Peak teaches mindfulness to elite athletes.They have worked with Saracens and Harlequins rugby clubs, Brentford football club, the GB Skateboarding and British Weightlifting teams among others.

More here

Disability

Limited Edition Cycling Club

March 7, 2022By Axis Foundation

Helping disabled people access the many benefits of cycling.

The charity enhances disabled people’s lives by ensuring that disabled people and their families and carers can access the physical, emotional, practical and social benefits of cycling.

The Axis Foundation has donated £2,952 to help Limited Edition Cycling Club purchase a second container to store their bikes and equipment. The new container will additionally help the charity expand their range of bikes. And so they can offer more sessions to another 50+ riders.

“The container has made all the difference to our club. It means that we can store the bikes safely and not damage them by having to pile them on top of each other. We have received funding for new trikes and bikes but were not able to buy them as the single container we were using was filled to capacity. Now we can add to our range of bikes and so offer a wider choice to our members. We can increase our membership as well as adding more enjoyment for everyone.

“This second container has also made a huge difference to the volunteers. It is easier and safer to unpack the bikes at the beginning of the session and then store them at the end. I truly believe that we may have lost volunteers if the loading and unloading had not become easier.

“So, having happy volunteers means the club will continue and we will be able to support a group of cyclists and their families that we all feel really committed to. It has made more of a difference that you can possibly imagine” – Nicky Jarrett, Co-ordinator

More about Limited Edition Cycling Club

Limited Edition Cycling Club runs a pool of specially adapted bikes, including recumbents, trikes, handcycles, wheelchair bikes and more so that disabled people can enjoy the joys of riding a bike. They also offer standard two-wheelers so members and their families and carers can enjoy riding together. Trained cycling coaches and volunteers support all riders.

Members enjoy safe riding sessions in a traffic-free environment at Sutcliffe Park, SE9 where there are also disabled toilets and a cafeteria. The charity is based in Eltham in south east London. More here

Donations

London Wheelchair Rugby Club

December 8, 2021By Axis Foundation

Helping disabled people enjoy benefits of Wheelchair Rugby

Our donation of £8,250 to London Wheelchair Rugby Club helps disabled people enjoy the benefits of wheelchair rugby. Through the sport, they gain motivation and self-belief, and realise they can achieve great successes. And that’s despite the odds.

‘’We are extremely grateful to The Axis Foundation for their support. This will enable us to purchase new wheelchair spares and tyres. We are delighted! A huge thank you from all the LWRC team.

“Our recent success at the Tokyo Paralympics demonstrates how vital our training sessions are, not just for our players who are an inspiration to all, but for the social element training sessions deliver. Training plays a vital part in our players’ lives. The physical and mental benefits cannot be overstated” – Steve Palmer, Chairman

More about our donations

The Axis Foundation donated £2,000 to LWRC in 2019 to help purchase training equipment and and put towards tournament fees. In 2021, the club asked for a further donation of £8,250 to help pay for wheelchair spare wheels and tyres. We were pleased to lend our support to their own fundraising once more.

More about London Wheelchair Rugby Club

Formed in 1989, LWRC has grown from very small beginnings. Members run the club – for members. Most of the players are on disability allowances only. LWRC aims to pay for their transport and training sessions. LWRC training sessions offer a lifeline to disabled people. They benefit from being part of a team and also from regular training to maintain their fitness levels and rehabilitation. This proved even more vital after months of isolation caused by Lockdowns during the Pandemic.

Find out more about London Wheelchair Rugby Club here

Donations

Halas Hawks

June 18, 2021By Axis Foundation

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.

young boy on dry ski slope TAG adaptive snow sports

Disability

TAG

April 8, 2021By Axis Foundation

Two donations support young people with disability.

The Axis Foundation has made two donations to TAG Youth Club to support their work empowering and optimising the potential of young people with disability.

Our donation of £4789 helped TAG Youth Club purchase a Mountain Man Sit Ski, a transfer sling and a vacuum cushion for postural support for wheelchair users. Fully-qualified adapted skiing and snowboarding instructors from Disability Snowsports UK deliver snowsports lessons for TAG.

‘Thank you so much to everyone at Axis and to those involved in the Axis Foundation for the kind gift. This has enabled us to purchase the bi ski and postural supports which means that no one will be excluded from taking part in this exciting sport. Skiing does more than just provide the benefits of being more active: it also supports people with their mental health and social skills and increases sensory stimulation” – Giles Hobart, Lead Youth Worker, TAG

“My son doesn’t excel at sports and has struggled taking part in physical activities due to his disabilities. He loves the sensory feeling of speed and the wind on his face, so giving him the opportunity to sit ski will help change his outlook in life by providing him with a sport that captures his personality” – a TAG parent

Previous donation

Our earlier donation of £5,000 helped purchase a Magic Mirror sensory system for TAG. The Magic Mirror is the only interactive projection system that allows users of different ages and abilities to play and learn together. It supports national curriculum SEN learning responding to the slightest movement, supporting multiple access methods such as gesture, eye gaze, mouse and touch, and projects a variable image catering for wheelchair accessibility.

“A massive thank you to the Axis Foundation. This grant is enabling us to purchase a 3D motion censored sensory system which allows young people with disabilities to play interactive games” – Giles Hobart, Lead Youth Worker

More about Tag

TAG Youth Club in Richmond provides a safe, accessible, well-equipped and stimulating environment where young people (8-25 years) with disability can meet up with friends and enjoy social developmental and enjoyable activities including arts, drama, music and sport. TAG’s Youth workers help the young people with disabilities here develop their self awareness and self esteem as and learn social and life skills too. This vital work takes place in their centre in Richmond and in the wider community locally.

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