Latest News from Kidz2gether
May 2012
Funding Update
Thanks to Horwich Rotary for their extremely kind donation of 3 digital cameras and 4 laptops. We’ve already successfully run 2 photography clubs and seem to have a couple of budding David Baileys on our hands!
On 8th March 2012 K2g were lucky recipients of a share of Westhoughton Rotary Santa Sleigh funds for the 5th year running. As usual it was a brilliant night with crackin’ food and the chance to have a good catch up with the other familiar organisations there.
Following a brush with the Middlebrook parking fairies K2g received a very generous donation of £50 from Capital FM Breakfast DJ and all round good egg Rob Ellis. The money will go towards funding our new arts and craft club.
Huge thanks to the Bailey Thomas Foundation who have given us a grant of £15,000 which will go towards the day to day running of the groups and clubs.
Anna Sherratt, Grace Harrison and Niamh Orrell held a bake sale at Ladywood Club in March and raised £61 for us.
Well done girls!
Our old friends the Stock Yarders raised a monumental £900 at one of their legendary Western Evenings – big thanks to Gerard and the crew for thinking of us again.
Everyone at K2g is incredibly grateful to all those who continue to support us and who work so hard on our behalf.
April 2012
Linzi’s Charity Night
In July 2011 one of K2g’s biggest supporters Linzi sadly lost her battle with cancer aged just 42. A group of her closest friends and her husband Chris are hosting a Charity evening on 27th April with proceeds being split equally between us and Bury Hospice who took such good care of her during her last few days. The event takes place at The Chandos Social Club in Salford and is a complete sell out. Roll on a really good night to mark the life of an incredible woman.
April 2012
Manchester 10K 20th May 2012
Once again k2g will have a 25 strong running team taking part in the event. Runners are confirmed as Steph Sherratt, David Rolfe, Eric Redfern, Rob, Rico and Caroline Street, Sian Bowen, Mike Job, Andy Maudsley, Capital FM’s Rob Ellis, Jess Bharwaj, Trevor Jones, Caroline Illingworth, Katie McNulty, Kerry Pearce, Alex Bamford, Danny Higham, Rik Evans, Catherine Parker, Jayne Boyd, Linda Medhurst, Jake Norman, Natalie Taylor, Lorraine and Paul Morris. Good luck and lots of love to all those taking part on the day.
March 2012
New Clubs
After 3 years of running our junior multi sports club at Withins Leisure Centre we are now on the hunt for a new venue as the building is due to be demolished as part of the move to St. Catherine’s Academy. Jacqueline is currently on the hunt for a new home for the club.
As of March 2012 the Fox St Youth Club now runs weekly to include a smaller group which concentrates more on life and social skills. It is hoped to include more outings where the young people will have more opportunities to interact and communicate.
March also saw the start of our Arts and Craft group which runs on a Thursday during term time. So far we’ve made cards, cakes, biscuits, door hangers, bookmarks and a great deal of glittery mess.
March 2012
Diamond Jubilee Garden Party
On March 23rd k2g were privileged to be invited to the Royal Indoor Garden Party in Manchester. Steph went along as representative as guest of the Mayor of Bolton and had a fantastic afternoon in the indoor garden complete with giant white rabbits and dancing plant pots.
See all the photo's in our Gallery!
March 2012
Bolton Round Table
Kidz2gether are proud to have been chosen as one of the Charities to benefit from this year’s Round table Summer Ball to be held at The Holiday Inn, Middlebrook on Saturday 14th July. Jacqueline will be dressed up and are looking forward to a really good night.
March 2012
Homeopathy
We are pleased to be able to introduce Susan Cain, a locally based Homeopath who specialises in treating children and young people with developmental difficulties. Sue is currently working with two of our families and we hope to be able to introduce her to more of our families in the very near future.
For more information please visit her website www.naturaltherapypages.co.uk
March 2012
Capital FM
After donating generously to us following his parking fine battle, breakfast DJ Rob Ellis invited Jacqueline, Steph, Michael, James and Anna down to the studio on Salford Quays to have a tour and meet the team. Big, big thanks to Rob, Rachel, Wing Man and Gorgeous for an absolutely fantastic morning – particularly the Crust or Bust competition (which Steph and Anna won!).
December 2011
Facebook and Twitter
Oh yes, we’re down with the kids and up with the technology here at K2g Towers!
Why not look for the Kidz2gether page on Facebook and ask to join.
October 2011
Gala 2011
The annual Kidz2gether Gala took place in October 2011 and once again was a resounding success. Many thanks to all those who came along in their finery to enjoy a 3 course meal, games, a psychic quiz and a good old dance to TVOD.
2012 Gala will take place on Saturday 13th October at Ridgemont House – watch this space for details.
May 2011
Funding
K2g are privileged to be supported by Bolton Council for at least another 12 months. With cuts being made to every service we are extremely grateful they have seen fit to commission us to deliver activities and family support until May 2012.
Hopefully at that time the economy will have lifted from the doldrums a little and longer term, sustainable funding may be nearer our reach.
April 2011
Soroptimists, Bromley Cross
Many thanks also to the Soroptimists, Bromley Cross for their donations following a talk given by Steph on 27th April. All monies given will go back into the activity pot to ensure our groups continue to provide the maximum amount of help and support possible.
April 2011
Masonic Giving Evening
St John's Masonic Lodge chose to support us at the annual Masonic Giving Evening held on 26th April and we would like to express our gratitude for their continued kindness and generosity. Steph went along to the ceremony at the Institute St Lodge and had a very pleasant evening catching up with quite a few K2g supporters not seen for a while.
April 2011
Easter Hols
As usual K2g delivered a full holiday programme including football, swimming, fishing, trampolining and a trip to Challenge 4 Change in Trafford Park. Everyone who joined in had a fantastic time and the weather was even kind!
Big thanks to Bob, Frank, George, Chris, Dennis and Ewan for all their help and support and we're looking forward to seeing them all again very soon.
Jan 2011
Funding
Along with many, many others we find ourselves in rather uncertain waters with regards to funding from April 2011. We have been proud to be supported by Bolton’s Pathfinder fund, Aiming High for Disabled Children over the last two years but with the recently announced and far reaching cuts the future is rather unclear.
We would like to reassure all of our families that we are doing everything we can to ensure we are able to continue to offer the same level of support to our families as we have for the last five years and just as soon as we have a clearer picture of what will be happening we will of course let you know.
Jan 2011
Manchester 10K 2011
Runners for this years Great Manchester Run are now confirmed and once again we will be fielding an elite, athletic team for the event.
Pounding the pavements on 15th May will be Steve and Steph Sherratt, Sam and Eric Redfern, David Rolfe, Jayne Boyd, Cath Bamford, Kerry Pearce, Rob Street, Sian Bowen, Danny Higham, Gareth Robinson, Kat Hodgetts, Helen Maloney, David Haigh and 6 friends, Linda Medhurst and Jake Norman, Natalie Brown, Jill Howarth, Suzanne Roberts, Lorraine and Paul Morris, Andy Maudsley, Harvey Stipetic, Owain Barrington, Karen Melhuish and Emma Wheatley. Good luck to one and all with the training and watch this space for results and post race pictures.
Jan 2011
Cycle2gether
Over the August bank holiday 2011 two intrepid adventurers, Matt Taylor and our own Diane Nelson are going to cycle coast coast to raise funds for us.
They will set off from Whitehaven and over the course of 3 days will cycle the 140 miles to the finish line in Tynemouth. To make this story even more remarkable Diane can’t even ride a bike!!!
On February 5th she begins an intensive course at Bolton Arena to teach her to ride before she can begin the training needed to complete the challenge.
You can follow her progress on the internet as well as on facebook and we’ll have more details soon. You can sponsor Diane via our website using this link or contact her directly and leave a pledge on 07901 987817.
Along similar lines is a event taking place this spring when Ped (Pierre) and his band of merry truck drivers will complete the coast to coast bike ride and then walk back! There will be 6 of them undertaking the challenge and we wish them the very best of luck and look forward to keeping up with their progress.
Oct 2010
Gala Night
Saturday 9th October saw our 3rd annual Gala Night take place at Ridgemont House in Horwich and although we say so ourselves it was a truly brilliant night. It was a pleasure to see so many familiar faces in posh frocks and fancy suits and everyone at k2g would like to say a huge thank you to all the guests who came along.
The auction was also the most successful to date with bidding reaching fever pitch over a beautiful painting kindly donated by a local artist. Thanks also go to Bricks and Pieces and Howorth Air Technology for their support on the night (and to Howorth for sponsoring our new uniforms - 'modelled' here).
Last, but in no means least, big thanks to Mike Bailey who once again produced the most amazing short DVD to showcase what we do and exactly why we do it.
See all the photo's in our Gallery!
Aug 2010
Camping
Many thanks to the families, children and young people who joined us for our second camping weekend in August. Yet again we were incredibly lucky with the weather and apart from violent downpours when setting up and drizzle when packing away the sun shone and the sky was blue.
Thanks to all the staff at Charity Farm who made us feel so welcome and really did go out of their way to make sure we had the best weekend possible.
Summer 2010
Summer Activities
Our biggest ever summer programme took place this year and all those who came along gave us fantastic feedback. From watersports at High Rid to fishing at Queensmere, horse riding in Horwich and camping in Wrightington a good time was had by all.
Many thanks to AHDC and the Variety Club for providing us with the funds to buy two complete sets of camping equipment and we’re already looking forward to more of the same next year.
See all the photo's in our Gallery!
May 2010
BWFC Player of the Year
Many thanks to our good friend Gareth Robinson for inviting us to take some of our youngsters to the Reebok to present the awards on behalf of the Supporters association. As usual He, David, Jackie, Sharon and co. made us feel very welcome and made a real fuss of the 4 children and their parents that came along with us. Congratulations to the three winning players (Kevin Davies, Chung-Yong Lee and Fabrice Muamba) also to our three award givers, Josh, Olivia and Tom. Big thanks also to Andrea Wilde who came along as a volunteer on the night and saved Steph from the embarrassment of not knowing who anyone was.
May 2010
Camping!
AHDC awarded K2g a capital grant making the purchase of a wide range of camping equipment possible. We'll be trying out our new tent and gadgets during our first ever residential trip very soon. The equipment is also available to families of children with disabilities in the Bolton area to hire - and in this way we hope to be able to provide affordable holidays.
For more details please visit our new Camping page.
April 2010
Antony Hodari Solicitors
Thanks to lovely Airport Katy's lovely boyfriend Thom Soutter, Kidz2gether is one of this year's chosen Charities for Antony Hodari, a firm of Solicitors based in Manchester. They have already raised £30 with a Grand National sweepstake and have various other fundraising activities planned throughout the year. The staff decided to concentrate their efforts on local Charities where they felt they could not only make a real difference but also see it happening and truly feel part of it. A big "Hello!" from all of us goes to all of them and we look forward to bombarding them with information over the coming months.
April 2010
Horwich Town Council
Following a recent funding bid Horwich Town Council have awarded us over £1,000 to purchase a camcorder, digital cameras and photo printing supplies which will enable us to run a media club in the summer holidays. Initially the sessions will be aimed at children and young people from Horwich with expansion to other areas to follow soon. It is our hope to organise an exhibition evening to show the completed masterpieces and document the process on a DVD as a permanent record of achievement.
April 2010
Menturia Lodge Giving Evening
On 27th April Di attended a Giving Evening at the Masonic Hall on Institute St to receive a cheque for £500 kindly awarded to us for our work by Menturia Lodge. Over 40 Charities were honoured and we were very proud to be amongst them and have already put the certificate on display in the office.
March 2010
Horwich Rotary Club
Once again this year we were lucky enough to be selected to receive a share of the Santa's Sleigh funds from Horwich Rotary Club. Jacqueline and Cheryl spent the usual very pleasant evening at the Masonic Hall in Westhoughton and after a short presentation gratefully accepted a cheque from the President. Huge thanks come from all at K2g to the boys for thinking of us again, spoiling us rotten and continuing to give their unwavering support.
February 2010
Achieve Results Tutoring & Support
Following outstanding success with previous students, Karen Marsh is now offering an educational support and tutoring service in Bolton, called Achieve Results Tutoring & Support. With 25 years personal knowledge of autistic spectrum conditions behind her she is a qualified and experienced college tutor, specialising in teaching students with autism and Asperger’s syndrome. Her teaching strategies and methods have proved to be very successful for her students, as they make significant progress and achieve excellent grades in their subjects.
In addition to her tutor qualifications, Karen has just completed the PG Cert in Autistic Spectrum Conditions to add to her PG Cert in Inclusive Education. She is also an experienced home educator, having successfully taught one of her children from age 12 up to and including GCSE level. Currently, she is providing literacy support to students within a wide age range, from secondary school age to adult, covering all levels of study including degree level students. If you would like to discuss how Karen could help you or your son or daughter, please contact her on 01942 816027 / 0777 3492855.
October 2009
Gala Night 2009
Saturday October 3rd saw the second annual K2G Gala take place at Ridgemont House in Horwich. Once again it was a fantastic evening and was really well attended and we managed to raise a rather fabulous £7,000 this time.
Big thanks go to James Mason, Ben Schofield (who stepped in at the very last minute), Matt Grindle and the lovely Mike Bailey for helping to make the night so successful. Thanks also to all of our willing slaves who selflessly offered up their time to iron, garden, sing, cook and clean.
Spurred on by such a jolly good shindig we’ve already booked our 3rd Gala Night for 9th October 2010 – please note your diaries when you have one that goes that far!
See all the photo's from this years Gala Night in our Gallery!
October 2009
Positive Action Awards.
Kidz2gether are proud to announce they are amongst this year’s recipients of the North West Regional Positive Action Awards which were presented at a glittering ceremony at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.
Hosted by the Warrington Disability Partnership the awards set out to recognise the achievements of organisations and individuals who work hard to make a difference in their community.
It was an honour and a privilege to even be nominated and Jacqueline and Steph were thrilled to bits when called onto the stage to accept the trophy and certificate (which can now be viewed in the display cabinet in the office should anyone be passing).
Huge thanks to all concerned for making us feel so welcome and putting on a thoroughly enjoyable night.
October 2009
Bolton Daybreak
We are also proud to announce that Bolton Daybreak Rotary Club have chosen us to be this year’s recipients of their coveted Rose Bowl Award, again for recognition of work done in the community.
Jacqueline popped along for breakfast and to accept a rather fine glass rose bowl and handsome certificate – which are also now on display in the office!
The Rotary Clubs across Bolton have long been amongst our most loyal supporters and it is always a pleasure to be invited along to their meetings.
Thank you boys!
May 2009
Manchester 10k Run
We did it!!
The brave finishers were :- Lorraine Morris, Cheryl McCue, Darren McCue, Adrian Hewitt, Darren Hewitt, Carl Whitehead, Gareth Robinson, Sam Redfern, Eric Redfern, Dominic Gavin, Rick Hogg, Christophe Menard, Vernon, Steph Sherratt and Andrea Hayes.
Many thanks for all the hard work put into training and getting sponsors for the event and to Jacqueline for co-ordinating on the day.
See all the photo's in our Gallery!
April 2009
AHDC Pathfinder Fund
Kidz2gether are proud and thrilled to announce that we are to receive substantial funding from the Aiming High for Disabled Children Pathfinder Fund.
This money will enable us to continue and develop the clubs and activities and keep welcoming new children and young people into our family for the foreseeable future.
Many, many thanks to Jane Pout, Sue Nunn and Sheila Morris who have helped us put together our bids and guided us through the extremely complicated commissioning procedure.
We will do our utmost to ensure the service goes from strength to strength and strives to reach more of our families more of the time.
December 2008
Hurrah for 4 Financial Recruitment!!
Jacqueline, Steph, all the K2G team and the many children who attended the Ladywood club would like to say a huge thank you to Claire, Phil and Alex from 4 Financial Recruitment.
Thanks to them we had an amazing Christmas party including a right good spread, Father Christmas himself and lots of goodies for all who popped in to see him. There was also a very generous donation which has been put towards the cost of our trampolining clubs.
All their help and support is greatly appreciated and the afternoon was a huge success. We look forward to hopefully working with them again in the not too distant future.
Wacky Warehouse O.T. Programme
A few years ago K2G recognised that many of their children and young people may benefit greatly from access to and treatment by an Occupational Therapist.
Indeed after further investigations it became apparent that many of those on our database were awaiting assessment by the O.T. service and therapy had been an issue highlighted and recommended by other professionals involved.
Unfortunately, as with many valuable services the demand far and away outstrips the availability and at that time the waiting list for initial assessment was bursting at the seams with a waiting time of up to 18 months.
Whilst we were hosting an evening play session at the Wacky attached to The Red Lion Pub at Four Lane Ends an idea struck us. Would it be possible to use the Wacky during a quiet afternoon slot, ask O.T. to produce a programme we could deliver and invite children with identified gross/fine motor and co-ordination problems in nearby primary schools to attend?
After some considerable lurking around the Area Manager and meetings with the Pub Manager and Wacky Supervisor we were given the go- ahead to put the plan into action.
Mandy and Catherine from Bolton Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service devised the programme and delivered the initial training to K2G, a selection of Teaching assistants and representatives from the LEA and the first session launched in 2005 with just 2 children.
The programme has proved to be a resounding success and because of the demand a second Wacky at The Beehive in Horwich was approached and joined the scheme in 2007.
To date we have 8 children at The Red Lion and 6 at The Beehive and 7 primary schools are seeing the benefit of regular, consistent O.T. input with the children who they consider to be in most need.
So, what is Occupational therapy?
Occupational Therapy helps people of all ages who have physical, mental health or social problems to adapt to any aspect of their life with more independence, confidence and control.
Therapists carefully assess their ability to perform activities and design treatment specifically to increase their capability to tackle difficulties.
O.T. has a strong person-centred approach and as such offers an extremely wide variety of treatment and activities which vary greatly according to individual needs. Progress is closely monitored and changes made if necessary to the planned programme.
The programme designed for our use tackles difficulties surrounding sensory perception, balance, co-ordination, social inclusion, relaxation and listening skills and has many elements of Brain Gym woven into it.
The equipment at the Wacky is perfectly suited to deliver the planned O.T. and the children involved are under the impression that we are simply playing games and following Red and Green courses and so are compliant and enthusiastic ensuring maximum benefit for minimum persuasion!
Mandy and Catherine act as advisors and steer us towards appropriate games and activities to use in order to move the programme forward and increase the therapy when needed. For example the benefits of hopscotch and space hopper bouncing are incredible when done properly and practiced often.
K2G are extremely grateful for the support shown by everyone involved.
