disadvantaged

The Children’s Book Project

December 19, 2023By

Giving the gift of books to disadvantaged children

The Children’s Book Project collects new and gently-used books and redistributes them free to children and young people growing up in poverty.

The Axis Foundation’s donation of £3,500 to The Children’s Book Project will completely fund ten Pop up Book Huts in London schools – from where the children can choose their free books.

‘We would like to express our enormous gratitude to the Axis Foundation for its generosity. As a small, grassroots charity, we are entirely reliant on fundraising. This donation will have a big impact on the Children’s Book Project, helping us put books straight into the hands of the children that need them most” – Liberty Venn, Founder

And there’s more…

Axis volunteers Alfie Shortall, Phil Cornell and Arjinder Bhogal collected and delivered the book huts to local schools. And their colleagues Jake Thomas, Jasveen Grewal, Thomas Crane, Steve Harpley and Daniel Brownett sorted books at the charity’s warehouse in Westminster. The Axis Midlands team is currently hosting a book drive for The Children’s Book Project to support communities that present a high level of socioeconomic disadvantage and/or emotional need.

More about The Children’s Book Project

The Children’s Book Project charity sees first-hand how giving children access to books makes amazing things happen; vocabularies expand, empathy grows, imaginations are ignited and children learn.

‘’Receiving these books is changing the reading culture of our school in a positive way…The Book Project through their generosity has enabled us to provide books to children who had none at home’’ – Teacher, Southern Road Primary, E13

You can read more about the incredible work of The Children’s Book Project here

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Care

Opportunity for Bespoke Care for Charles

December 19, 2023By

Private autism assessment and chance for bespoke care

The Trustees of the Axis Foundation were delighted to donate £1,000 to help Luke Comb acquire a private assessment for his son Charles, who is showing clear signs of autism. A private autism assessment opens up opportunities for bespoke care.

“The rewards will be endless, the impact huge and life changing. Thank you” – Luke Comb

More about Luke and Charles

Luke desperately wanted a speedy assessment for his son Charles who was showing signs of autism. Getting Charles the right diagnosis early means he can be given the support he needs and opens up opportunities including access to special development programmes and bespoke care.

But waiting lists are long and family financial resources limited. So Charles applied to our Foundation for support.

In Luke’s words: “Charles is showing clear signs of autism. He is non-verbal and struggles in many everyday settings including with danger awareness and interaction. Professionals believe he is Autistic but cannot assess him for some time, possibly a couple of years. During this time, he won’t have full support or access to programmes that would benefit him.

“I believe this age is the crucial time to have him in the correct setting with access to purpose-built programmes for his development that will benefit him all through life. We believe, once fully diagnosed, he will have full support at an early stage when it is most needed.”

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Demelza

Supporting our Charity Partner Demelza

December 4, 2023By

Everyone who works at Axis cherishes our Foundation and our charity partner Demelza

Indeed, there are literally no limits to what our people will do for the Axis Foundation and to ensure our charity partner, Demelza. continues to deliver extraordinary care to extraordinary children. Here are just a few examples: 

Top Row – We raised £800 in Children’s Hospice Week  * Collecting Demelza pots  * Getting Demelza’s garden summer-ready

Second Row  – Sorting donations at Demelza’s warehouse * Jake Thomas raised  £2,386 *   Miles in May raises £1,445

Third Row – Sarah Taylor raised £2,220 * Team Thames Path raised £2,255 * Team Tough Mudder raised £6,780

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Care

Mollie’s story

August 2, 2023By

Helping care for a small child with Ataxia Telangiectasia (Louis-Bar syndrome)

Little Mollie has Ataxia Telangiectasia, a devastating, rare, inherited childhood neurological disorder. It affects the part of the brain that controls motor movement and speech.

The disease is also known as disease Louis-Bar syndrome. It is complex and additionally affects the lungs and immune system as well as causing sensitivity to radiation and increased risk of cancers.

It is also progressive and there is no cure. Decline starts increasing from age of five and little Mollie has recently turned six. It is most likely that is she will need a wheelchair by the age of 10.

Following an application from Joseph Hayes, Axis Business Development Manager, and moved by the plight of Mollie, the Trustees of the Axis Foundation agreed to a donation of £11,133. This will purchase her a Mollii suit (designed to relax muscles through neurostimulation), a Gallileo vibration board (to help with muscle tone) and also some specialist physiotherapy.

Emily Barker, Mollie’s mother, said: “Thank you so much for your email – we are over the moon that Mollie’s application was successful and so grateful she will now have access to a Mollii suit and Galileo board along with the specialist therapy.

“Our little girl deserves the best opportunities and chance in life so thank you so much for helping to make this happen – it really means the world to us.”

“We realise that right now without a treatment available the best options for Mollie are to support her strength and abilities with specialist therapies. We are therefore currently planning a Mollie’s Miracle Family Funday in August – this will be to raise money directly for Mollie to take part in extra therapies such as horse-riding therapies and hydrotherapy to ensure we are doing all we can to keep her muscles strong and help fight the symptoms of this devastating disease.”

Molllie’s parents run Mollies Miracle, with support of friends and family, raising funds to research into Ataxia Telangiectasia. More information here

You can donate to Mollie’s Just Giving page here

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Group of people round table HeadwayDisability

Headway West London

July 31, 2023By

Supporting brain injury survivors

Headway West London helps brain injury survivors and their families, helping them reconnect with their local communities.

The Axis Foundation’s donation of £3783 will support their computer/ mobile contact work including one-to-one support, online workshops, educational support work and health talks.

“We are very grateful to all at the Axis Foundation for their kind donation. This will assist us in providing our linkworkers with the best possible infrastructure to carry out their work with our members as efficiently as possible, and therefore enable us to support as many people as possible. Thank you from us all” – Laura Murphy, Chair of Trustees

More about Headway West London

A brain injury can happen to anyone: through a fall, a road accident, a sporting incident, an assault, a tumour or haemorrhage. Acquired brain injury is often known as the hidden disability. Survivors are often lonely, isolated, bewildered and very distressed by the sudden and dramatic changes to their lives.

Affiliated with Headway – the brain injury association, Headway West London helps ensure vulnerable, isolated brain injured survivors do not fall through the net, supporting them through one-to-one sessions, targeted training pathways, return to work support as well as health and wellbeing sessions, in-person and online.

They work in the west London boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster and have established close links with St Mary’s Hospital Paddington and Charing Cross hospitals, Hammersmith trauma clinics and Brain Odysseys, a performance arts intervention group designed with people living with brain injury to support recovery through song writing, music, dance and performance.

“HWL offers a great service supporting our patients and their families, particularly in the early days when things can be very overwhelming. They are able to offer advice and in particular help families with both emotional and practical needs. As a therapist it is so helpful to have their service to help support us in educating families and offering support when you can at times feel helpless as a clinician” – Natalie Marroney, Neuro Trauma Therapy Lead at St Mary’s Hospital

There’s more about their work here

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child playing with coloured balls in model boatDisability

Petts Wood Playgroup

July 21, 2023By

Providing specialist tactile equipment for children with sensory issues

Petts Wood Playgroup for Children with Special Needs provides pre-school education for children with special needs from birth to five years.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,000 to purchase a sandpit and an alphabetical and numerical frieze: this interactive and tactile equipment will help children with sensory issues and those on the autistic spectrum or with a motor disorder.

“Oh wow, that is amazing news!  It is an amazing sum and will make such a difference to our children and the service we can provide. Thank you so much. We – and all the children who will benefit from using the sandpit and frieze –  are deeply grateful to the Axis Foundation” –  Larry Simpson, Manager

More about Petts Wood Playgroup for Children with Special Needs

Petts Wood Playgroup for Children with Special Needs provides care and education for children with clinical, emotional, developmental, social and additional needs aged from birth to five years. The special needs also include physical disabilities, developmental delay, behavioural and social problems that can cause difficulties for children and parents alike.

Attendance at the Playgroup is free. Their mini-bus picks up and drops off children to and from their homes in most local (Bromley, Kent) areas each morning. In addition to contributions and donations, support comes from Bromley Department of Education which provides services from an Educational Psychologist and Teachers from the Sensory Impairment Service.

More here

 

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Disability

Building for the Future

July 21, 2023By

Contributing to music therapy for children and young people with disabilities

Building for the Future was founded in 2007 by a group of parents of disabled children. In 2014, they opened Our House, a specialist, accessible play centre where families can meet and disabled children can relax, have fun and be truly valued and accepted for who they are.

The Trustees of the Axis Foundation agreed to donate £460 towards starter packs (mainly to purchase musical instruments) for their new music therapy group.

“Thank you so so very very much for supporting us. The children and parents will be delighted with the new musical equipment. Results from our trial sessions were phenomenal. Not only have the children enjoyed the sessions but they have learned something new, were engaged and focused for the entire time and learnt to relax. The parents couldn’t believe the transformation.

“It’s a really tough climate out there at the moment and small charities like ours are struggling to provide services for the most needy members of our society. Due to the pandemic and the rising cost of living crisis our services are even more in demand than they ever were before and we are busier than we ever have been. The success of the music therapy group is an example of this demand and we are so pleased to be able to take what was a one-off session and offer it on a more permanent basis for our families” –  Jane Holmes, CEO

More about Our House/Building for the Future

Winner of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, Our House offers a range of facilities, including soft play, a sensory room, teen chill-out zone, PCs, gaming and free play area as well as activities such as Saturday clubs, after school clubs, holiday activities, physiotherapy and a youth group.  Parents and carers find support, solace and strength from one another; siblings can make friends with other children in similar situations; carers and grandparents can chat over a cup of coffee. Our House today helps over 500 children and young people with disabilities.

There’s more here:

 

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Care

Youth Talk

May 12, 2023By

Creating safe place for young people to talk in confidence

Youth Talk offers free, confidential counselling that improves the quality of life of children and young people in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

And our award of £10,000 to Youth Talk will help them fit out new, larger premises to create a more productive, safe and pleasant space for young people to talk in confidence. By creating eight counselling suites, the charity will double their current capacity: part of their five-year strategy is to double the number of 1:1 sessions they offer by 2026. It will also give the charity office and meeting spaces for the first time in its 25-year history.

 “Wow – what totally wonderful news. A HUGE thank you on behalf of everyone at the charity and more importantly thank you on behalf of the young people you will be supporting. Our new home is a critical part of our new five-year strategy for growth and we could not have done it without the tremendous support of the Axis Foundation” – David Barker, Chief Executive, Youth Talk

More About Youth Talk

Youth Talk is a registered charity and a Hertfordshire County Council approved provider of counselling psychotherapy. They offer free, confidential counselling that improves the quality of life of children and young people aged 13-25 in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

When young people seek support from Youth Talk, the most frequently reported symptoms include depression, anxiety and stress. Early support helps prevent mental health problems from worsening and enables young people to succeed at school and earn a living so they can support themselves and their families.

The charity believes that every young person should have a safe place to talk in confidence and get early support for their mental health needs, so they can move on with their lives and pursue their dreams.

More about their work here 

 

 

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Community

Rebuilding Lives

May 11, 2023By

Axis employee applies to helps family rebuild their life after tragedy

Axis Resident Liaison Officer Sandra Chipato applied to the Axis Foundation on behalf of a family who lost their son/brother in a house fire in March 2023.

The family also lost all their belongings. So, Sandra asked the family what they needed most – a mattress, a bed and a tv – and asked the Foundation to help them. So the Trustees of the Foundation arranged to purchase these goods and deliver them to the family in their new home provided by their local council.

Thanking the Foundation Sandra said: “I was neighbours with this family for six years: our children were friends. It was heart-breaking to hear what had happened to them. I felt so helpless as I was not able to help.

However, I remembered our Axis Foundation! So I reached out to the Foundation team who were very supportive and helpful: they advised me to fill out the form and they would pick it up from there. I was so glad when I received the call that the application had been approved and that we can help the family. I called the father to tell him the good news. He broke down in tears, that’s how much this meant to him.

“I am so proud to work for an organisation that not only build people’s homes, but they transform lives.”

The father said: “I just want to thank the Axis Foundation for the help they have given to me and my family: the past few months have been really challenging. We are trying to rebuild our lives as well as mourn the loss of our oldest child. My wife is still in hospital, so I have not been able to work. And because I am self employed if I do not work, I don’t get paid. When Sandra first told me that there is a chance your company could help, I was hopeful but at the same time was prepared for the worst.

“I had been sleeping on the floor with my daughter for weeks and it was a relief when I heard the application was approved and we could get some help.

“Thank you so much for your help and reminding us that all is not lost. Yes, we lost all our belongings and our son but your generosity has given hope and the strength to carry on. Words cannot express how grateful we are.”

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Donations

The Rowdown Inspire to Aspire Foundation

February 20, 2023By

Helping youngster achieve her Judo dreams

The Rowdown Inspire to Aspire Foundation supports children from low-income Croydon families to pursue their dreams.

The Axis Foundation donated £1,500 towards kit and training fees for 12-year-old Lizzy, who had recently been promoted to the England Development Squad for Judo. A further donation in 2024 of £3,000 part-funded Lizzy’s progression through the Squad.

Thanking the Foundation, Gary Coy, Chair of the Rowdown Trustees, said; “Thank you Axis Foundation for helping Lizzie pursue her ambition. Without our help – and your help – Lizzie’s parents may have had to turn this amazing opportunity down.”

Lizzy’s parents said: “Lizzy’s judo has gone from strength to strength in the last year. This is only made possible because of the sponsorship she receives allowing her to compete across the country and benefit from excellent training by the country’s most talented coaches. We are grateful for all the help you offer in this exciting journey for Lizzy.”

Being part of a national development squad at such a young age will give Lizzy real potential to reach Olympic or Commonwealth standard and represent her country in Judo. And she is already off to a flying start! In February 2023 Lizzy entered the High Wycombe Green belts and under championship, fighting in the under 48kg category (a new weight group for her). She won all of her four fights with maximum points to take Gold. Next up is the English Open where she will be competing as the British Silver Medallist.

 

More about Rowdown

Rowdown supports gifted children in New Addington in Croydon by providing funding for 1-2-1 lessons or club membership, equipment and kit; and also for Masterclasses so that groups of children can further their talents in sport, art, drama and dance. They additionally provide a tuition programme for academically able children and offer grants to parents to help with the costs of uniform, school trips and residual fees.
There’s more here

 

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