Sea Change little children playing on check rugCare

Sea Change Trust

July 8, 2022By

We support Early Years’ Project

The Sea Change Trust offers psychological support to infants, children, young people and their parents and carers, regardless of financial means, background or status.

The Axis Foundation has donated £3,000 towards the cost of purchasing items for their Early Years’ Project including: an additional bell tent and porch, a heater, camping chairs, arts and crafts materials, toys and sensory equipment, a ball pit, windbreakers, blankets, cushions and beanbags, banners, and a tablet to record feedback.

‘We’d like to thank the Axis foundation for their kind donation to our Early Years Project for equipment and very importantly, a new Bell Tent! At a time when services for young families are diminishing and cuts in public transport make accessing support more and more difficult in our rural county, we are delighted that this will help us take our drop-in sessions to more communities. Numbers at the drop-ins are growing and being able to buy a bigger tent will help us all be well ventilated and covid-safe while spending time together. Many, many thanks from all our therapists, parents, and babies’ –  Tess Bailey-Sayer, CEO, The Sea Change Trust.

More About Sea Change Trust

Based in Shropshire, The Sea Change Trust comprises a team of child specialists, experienced in the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services across the West Midlands and in other settings. They particularly want to address and redress the absence of specialist services in rural areas. The charity offers group and one to one support addressing loneliness and bereavement, anxiety and emotional and mental ill-health. Their careful referral process works in partnership with other charities and service providers. They work with young refugees and asylum seekers, with new parents and those with young children and with schools and other partner organisations, to support children, young people, parents, and teachers.

The Early Years Project provides safe and non-judgmental drop-in sessions run by qualified therapists, where pre-school children, parents and carers can share their experiences. The Sea Change Trust intends to deliver more sessions and support more families, particularly focusing on areas of social deprivation and rural isolation.

More about their work here

 

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Demelza

Precious Partnership with Demelza

July 8, 2022By

The Axis Foundation is proud of our precious partnership with Demelza Hospice for Sick Children. In our 13-year history, the Foundation has donated £707,000 to Demelza.

Our donation of £6,000 to Demelza was one of our Foundation’s very first donations. And when our Foundation’s donations reached an impressive total of £2m (July 2022) we were delighted to present Demelza with a cheque for £89,000 which marked our £2m Moment.

Like all good friends… we share some history

Our friendship with Demelza goes back nearly 20 years – all the way to 2004. We had formed a charity partnership even before the Foundation was born.

  • Our parent company Axis supported Demelza’s Bricks and Water appeal creating a Hydrotherapy Centre and two new bedrooms for teenage patients meanwhile refurbishing two existing bedrooms at their Sittingbourne hospice, Kent
  • Axis also contributed to building a new hospice in Eltham in south east London. Olympic champions and Demelza vice presidents Jayne Torvill and Robin Cousins opened the new premises in 2009. Celebrating the first anniversary of the Eltham hospice in 2010, our people joined Demelza supporters, nurses, children and their families at the ‘polka dot tea party’.

Like all good friends, we share some major triumphs

And yes, like all good friends we share great sadness too

When Liam and Amy Hayes’ son Benjamin Jeffrey John Hayes was born in 2019 and suffered brain damage during birth, the family took Benjamin to Demelza where, as Liam says:“They helped us make happy memories, even at the toughest time our family has ever been through.” You can read Benjamin’s story here.

We Axis people love Demelza

Axis people are in their element – snow, ice, water, air, mud – when we are fundraising for our charity partner Demelza. Tough Mudder challenges, cycling to Paris, swimming, boxing, flying, running, climbing in the Arctic, walking hundreds of miles, dancing, baking, eating (even not eating) – there’s no stopping us when it comes to raising funds for Demelza and the Axis Foundation. There’s more about our challenges here

Our clients, suppliers and subcontractors too have generously given at our golf days and charity ball to support both charities.The Axis Foundation’s Winter Appeal 2021 raised £75,000 for Demelza thanks to Axis people, our suppliers and subcontractors. And our 2021 Charity Ball raised a whopping £340,000 for the Axis Foundation’s small, local and impactful charities – including Demelza.

Map Matching

Foundation Funding Focus is mainly on the areas where our parent company Axis Europe works to make social housing properties safe and comfortable for residents: in London and the South East and Essex. Demelza offers hospice care in Kent and South East London, as well as helping families across the South East.

Money donated

All the money we raise goes into Demelza’s Adopt a Nurse programme, which brings a nurse full-time for one year. As well as visiting the children at the Hospice, the nurses also see their families at home to help with medication and physiotherapy as well as aid the parents in their time of need.

£100 buys nine hours of nursing care for a child with a life-limiting illness at Demelza.

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two adults and child in school Save Kids TeethDonations

Dental Wellness Trust

July 7, 2022By

Our donation helps Save Kids Teeth

The Axis Foundation has donated £8,000 to Dental Wellness Trust (DWT) to support their free LiveSmart tooth brushing and education programmes teaching children good oral health.

“We are most grateful for the support of Axis for our LiveSmart toothbrushing programmes delivered to 20,000 children in England. With this grant we are able to reach more children to help Save Kids Teeth” – Linda Greenwall, Founder

DWT delivers the LiveSmart programme mainly in schools in areas of higher social deprivation in London. Our grant will enable them to reach more schools and include the refugee community too.

The lasting impact of DWT’s Live Smart programme will be reduced gum disease and fewer hospital admissions for young people as well as a generation of children who understand the importance of healthy gums. Educating today’s children about the benefit of good oral hygiene will benefit the children of tomorrow.

Facts and figures

Tooth decay is the most common childhood infectious disease in the UK today. Annually, some 48,000 children, are admitted to hospital in the UK for teeth extraction under general anaesthetic. 60,000 school days are lost each year through tooth decay; some 1m parents have never taken their children to the dentist.

More about Dental Wellness Trust

DWT’s mission is to improve the general health and wellbeing of young children– especially those most in need – through dental wellness. They believe good oral health is a basic human right. DWT was founded by Dr Linda Greenwall who was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of her services to the dental profession. Dr Greenall volunteers her time to DWT, is a practising Dentist and lectures and writes extensively on the topic .

More about their work here

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disadvantaged

Centred Horseplay

June 13, 2022By

Helping hard to reach youngsters open all year round

With specially-trained horses, Centred Horseplay helps hard-to-reach young people. The Axis Foundation donated £7,091 towards building an indoor arena in a barn. Once built, the new premises will enable Centred Horseplay to stay open all year round. They will then be able to help even more hard-to-reach youngsters: many are experiencing drug and alcohol misuse, anxiety and eating disorders, neglect, abuse, aggression, and bullying.

“Thank you so much! This is going to make such a difference! This vital new facility will allow the charity to stay open all year round. Many of the young people who come to us are suffering from social exclusion and depression. All of this is exasperated in dark and cold winters. Our new arena will be well ventilated but also partially undercover so these very lonely young people can still participate in our courses throughout the winter. Our new location is incredibly peaceful and with your help we will be open all your round” – Marie Longstaff, Fundraiser

More about Centred Horseplay

Centred Horseplay describes itself as ‘often the last resort’. It helps young people referred to them by professional support workers and partners. Crucially these are children who are not progressing within conventional services, who may be ‘stuck’ or disengaged from talk-based support. Their fun and busy ReStart behaviour-change programme transfers successful behavioural training techniques for equines into the human world.

Centred Horseplay was founded in 2015 and is based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. It is the approved Gloucestershire Hub for world renowned charity TheHorseCourse. Centred Horseplay’s work has helped reduce re-offending and improved attendance and engagement with school/work/training. Multiple external, independent and academic reports testify to the efficacy of this equine-assisted approach.

There’s more about Centred Horseplay here

This donation was made utilising the Travis Perkins Community Fund.

 

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Care

Little Heroes

March 7, 2022By

Helping children and families affected by Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The Axis Foundation donated £1,200 to help Little Heroes develop their monthly girls club sessions for parents and children. The charity helps families and children affected by ASD.

“This is fantastic news – thank you so much. The funds will really help to be able to make something more meaningful and help the children benefit to the full potential” – Kim Drake, Co-Founder

More about Little Heroes ASD Support Group

Official diagnosis of ASD can take a long time (sometime up to three years). Based in Southend on Sea, Essex, Little Heroes supports families when they need it most: as soon as they discover their child’s needs. They provide support, information, opportunities for respite, social activities and networking opportunities. They also hold weekly drop-in sessions and also organise social activities in the school holidays.

There’s more about Little Heroes here

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Children in Wellingtons on waterfall at Youth Adventure Trustdisadvantaged

Youth Adventure Trust

December 8, 2021By

Helping vulnerable young people gain vital lifelong life skills through outdoor adventure

Our three annual donations to Youth Adventure Trust help vulnerable young people gain resilience, confidence and new skills that will last a lifetime – all through outdoor adventure.

“We are so grateful for the support of the Axis Foundation and your help in enabling vulnerable young people from Salisbury to flourish. The young people on our programme need our support more than ever – we simply couldn’t provide our life changing programme without donations from our generous supporters like the Axis Foundation. Thank you!” – Louise Balaam, Director of Fundraising

Year 1

In 2022, our first donation, of £3,791 to Youth Adventure Trust enabled six Year 7 pupils from Salisbury to join Youth Adventure Trust’s programme for a year. During this time the young people attended residential camps and activity days which use outdoor adventure as a platform for development.

Year 2

Our Trustees then donated a further grant of £4,950 to fund the six pupils for their second year: they attended Coastal Camp and Forest Camp, stretching their comfort zone with activities such as paddle boarding, kayaking, climbing and sleeping out on the forest floor. By challenging themselves in a supportive environment, they learn that they are capable of more than they thought!

Year 3

And then we donated £2,030 to fund these same pupils, now in Year 3! The final year of the programme is four Pathway Days:  ‘Look Back Day’, ‘Give Back Day’, ‘Looking Ahead Day’, and ‘Celebration’. At graduation they receive their Pathway Packs including ASDAN certification. We wish them all well in their final year.

Award Winners

We were delighted to hear that Youth Adventure Trust was honoured with The Pride of Wiltshire Award in March 2023: county publication Wiltshire Life presents this award to organisations which have made a significant contribution to the county and will continue to be an asset for many years to come. Well done!

More About Youth Adventure Trust

Youth Adventure Trust helps up to 360 young people gain lifelong life skills a year. The programme is completely free of charge to the young people, their families and referral agencies.

Even more about Youth Adventure Trust here

 

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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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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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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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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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