Issue 8: Autumn 2023 www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk News The newsletter for families of disabled children in Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre Aiming Higher Ball Young Hero Award The A -Team
AIMING HIGHER'S Autumn Newsletter Welcome to CONTENTS Page 1 Autumn is here and there's been a "Back to School" vibe at Aiming Higher with all our groups restarting & new faces joining us on the staff and in the centre! Pictured right is Steph Moorcroft, our new support worker. In this issue, we bring you photos of our recent fundraising ball, details of upcoming fundraising events & family activities, the A-Team, parent/carer workshops & our 0-5 years activities. Page 1 Introduction & Contents Page 2 Family Events Page 3 & 4 Aiming Higher Fundraising Ball Page 5 Aiming Higher Young Hero Award Page 6 The A Team Page 7 0-5s Groups Page 8 Resilience Workshops Page 9 Fundraising in 2024 Page 10 Counselling Page 11 Thank you
This quarter we have had trips to Ascent,, the Sandcastle and a circus show on the pier. We had some great feedback from families, with one parent saying “Thank you for these opportunities for my daughter, they are affordable, everyone is friendly and my daughter loves attending”. We also received a lovely message from one of our funders who attended the Ascent trip: “It was very inspiring to see so many people enjoying themselves despite their difficulties. I spoke to parents and Ella’s name came up repeatedly - completely unprompted. All praised Aiming Higher and made particular mention of Ella and your support staff.” Thank you to everyone who spoke to him! This month we have our Halloween Party and then in November we have an Ice Skating event. December will be our Christmas Party and January we will be visiting the Sandcastle Water Park again. Watch social media and email for details nearer the time or visit the events page of our new website: https://www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk/whats-on/ Saturday Activities FAMILY FUN! Page 2
FIRE & ICE FUNDRAISING BALL On September 2nd just shy of two hundred revellers attended the Aiming Higher Fire & Ice Fundraising Ball at the Village Hotel, Blackpool. The night was a great success and raised a significant amount to go towards the work we do supporting hundreds of local children and their families. The charity has been bringing the families of children with disabilities together for 12 years. Guests were greeted by Ice Queen stilt walkers, and offered their choice of fire or ice cocktailspoured through a spectacular ice luge at the drink reception, before enjoying a three course meal. The party goers were then entertained by the evening’s host, Coastal Radio’s Ged Mills who is also one of the charity’s trustees, Dance Syndrome, fire-breathers, and close up magician HarryMoulding as well as enjoying lots of different fundraising activities. There was a silent auction where bids were placed on a signed Manchester United football, a Tyson Fury boxing glove, artwork by local artist Robin Ross as well as family passes to local attractions such as the Sandcastle Waterpark, Merlin attractions and Ribby Hall. There was also some stunning jewelleryon offer. On a lighter note, the comedic disco bingo session after dinner resulted in prizes of Doritos (Cool Original and Flaming Hot -in keeping with the theme) and an inflatable dragon costume, which wasbravely worn onto the dance floor by its winner! A balloon pop and a very competitive game of Heads or Tails completed the fundraising. The Deadbeats then took to the stage for a fantasticliveset which got everybody up and dancing. Page 3
Page 4 The evening also gave the Aiming Higher Team chance to explain more about the work they do with speeches from their patron, Natalie Christopher, Chair of Trustees, Paul Jebb and Charity Manager Latoya Sykes, with a short video in which families and young people spoke of how Aiming Higher helps them. Everyone enjoyed the evening which was a huge success. The Chair of the Charity’s Trustees, Paul Jebb said “The Aiming Higher team never fail to deliver an amazing fun night. The event always makes me smile at the amazing work the charity does day in day out across our community. The ball was a great fun night to connect with friends & support an amazing charity that makes a difference to individuals every day.” The whole evening was generously photographed free of charge by Reece Otley of Pit Stop Portraits.
John Child Shield YOUNG HERO AWARD Last year we introduced our Young Hero Award, the John Child Shield. Parents/carers, friends and professionals are invited to nominate children and young people whom they believe are Young Heroes and we received dozens of entries. Congratulations go to Iris, who became the 2023 Aiming Higher Young Hero. John Child MBE said “There were so many inspirational nominees it was very difficult to choose just one winner but Iris’ story really moved us, as she helps care for her mum as well as her younger brother. We are delighted she is this year’s recipient”. Iris was nominated by her mum Danielle who wrote: “ Iris is an incredible young lady. In 2013 I was diagnosed with a rare condition making my bones dislocate weekly. As Iris has got older and time has gone by, my bones now dislocate multiple times a day. Iris is the most caring and helpful little girl in the world, she hugs me gently, she gets me heat packs and calls her stepdad or grandad when I need help. Recently Iris’ little brother Finn (aged 3) was diagnosed with autism and he has the cognitive ability of a 1 year old. Iris is so incredible with him; she is the most understanding young lady I know. She protects her brother, she tries to teach him, she never gets upset or shouts at him, she is patient with him. She does everything he wants to do even if it means she has to sacrifice her own wants and things. She is eternally loyal to him and regularly stands up for him in public. She helped make his communication boards as he is non-verbal and has even learned some sign language to be able to communicate with him. She is his number one fan who is ALWAYS there to cheer him on when he tries a new food or makes a new sound. Finn is her hero, but she is ours without a doubt. If this ever gets read to her I want her to know how incredibly loved she is and that she is a hero in our eyes even if not in everyone else’s.” Aiming Higher staff were delighted to give the family the news that she’s a hero in their eyes too, surprising them with the news while they were on a family day out. 10 year old Iris didn’t know her mum had nominated her and said “When I got the news I was astounded that I had won this award I didn’t even know my mum had entered me, I had no idea it was even a thing, but I am incredibly honoured to be chosen. Having an autistic brother is hard sometimes, but he will always find a way to make me smile, whether it’s screaming at the top of his lungs, or giggling at me tickling him, I can’t go a day without smiling at his adorable little face.”
Page 6 THE A-TEAM Youth Club for young People with Autism IOver the summer, instead of their usual Tuesday night meet ups, the A Team visited the Pleasure Beach, the Zoo, the Sandcastle, the Hot Ice Show, went bowling and had an end of summer party. Ella Bicket, the A team co-ordinator, says that the group really enjoyed the summer activities. “As we normally run two sessions on a Tuesday night, it is always nice in the Summer when all the A-Team are able to come together for these trips and make new friends. We’ve had some really positive feedback from our members. They really took themselves out of their comfort zone at the Pleasure Beach and tried rides they would normally avoid!” Since resuming their weekly sessions the group have been enjoying lots of activities - including pumpkin carving to get ready for Halloween. If you are interested in learning more about joining the A- Team and are aged 11-25, have a confirmed diagnosis of autism and live in Blackpool please contact (or have a family member contact us on your behalf) Ella on 01253 206447. Due to the nature of the group and available staffing the young person would need a certain level of independence as one-to-one support is not available. As this group is funded by Blackpool Council this group is not open to families in Fylde and Wyre.
Makaton Page 7 PRESCHOOL ACTIVITIES Our usual routine of activities continued this quarter for our Under 5 groups, with swimming, Jo Jingles, Makaton and Stay & Play Groups taking place .On Mondays we have Makaton and Stay & Play, Wednesday’s we visit our friends at Brian House for Jo Jingles and on Thursdays we have been swimming at the Sandcastle. If you would like more information on joining these sessions please call Ella on 01253 205447.
In October, as part of Wills Month, Aiming Higher offered parents/carers of disabled children a wills workshop to help plan for their children’s future. Latoya Sykes, the Charity Manager said “A lot of the parents’ initial reaction was, ‘but I don’t have anything to leave in a will! There’s no point’ but there’s a lot more to planning a will than just who gets to inherit a house or granny’s jewellery. If you have children who would struggle to live independently, you can state who you would like to be responsible for caring for them and you also need to be sure that if you do have any assets that the children’s benefits etc are not affected.” The workshop started with an online session from The Money Charity’s Justine Piercy, who also provided handouts and copies of their “Money Handbook” to parents. Then parents and carers were also able to speak to Helen Springthorpe, Solicitor and Director at PHH Solicitors, who kindly agreed to provide wills for those who attended the session and waive their fee if the client made a donation to the charity. The feedback from the parents who attended was incredibly positive. Parents commented that there were lots of aspects that they had not considered and how helpful it was to have the legal jargon explained to them. 8 families took up the offer of the will writing service on the day with others taking information away to discuss. PHH also offered to have initial meetings on other family law matters free of charge for those who attended on the day. PARENT/CARER WORKSHOPS The workshop was one of a series of monthly workshops provided by the charity to help parents/carers with children with extra needs. November’s event will be around using building blocks (such as Lego) as play therapy and December’s will be a self-care workshop focussing on how to have a slower, quieter Christmas using the Danish concept of “Hygge”. As well as the workshops, the charity offers parents the chance to meet and chat every week, alternating activities such as arts & crafts, cookery demonstrations and guest speakers. There is just one space left on the November workshop but we are still taking bookings for December. Visit our What’s on page to book. https://www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk/whats-on/
Page 9 FUNDRAISING IN 2024 If you’d like to help us with some fundraising in 2024 we’d love to hear from you! We have lots planned and more in the pipeline but if you’d like to plan your own event we can help with this too. For the energetic amongst you, why not take on one of our Snowdon challenges on June 29th? Or if a great night out is more your thing, you can join us at our fundraising ball on 1st June. Tickets are on sale now! Please see the posters for more detail or give us a call on 01253 206447.
As a charity Aiming Higher is dependent on grants and fundraising. We would like to thank the following people and grant organisations who have made our work possible in the last quarter. Aiming Higher, 231-233 Church Street, Blackpool, FY1 3PB [email protected] 01253 206447/8 Registered Charity Number: 1144664 Turtle Bay Greggs Ruth Cockburn Jeanette Dervish Katie Peplow Novotel Wigan Warriors Glazey Days Ribby Hall Four Seasons Florist Farmer Parrs Michaels Indian Restaurant Blackpool Tiles and Bathrooms Petit Paris, Manchester Ma Kellys Blossom Les Petit Essentiels Sheree Reece Blackpool Zoo The Imperial Hotel Brick House Farm Cottages Blackpool Winter Gardens Ascent Trampoline Park A & B Christie Fleetwood Town Football Club RTC Remedial Treatment Consultants The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes The Payback Time Trust Blackpool Pleasure Beach House of Secrets Merlin The Sandcastle Water Park The Village Hotel Adelphi Theatre Common Bar Parks Art Deco Cafe Marvins Lux Pro Window Cleaning Cocobella Photography Hungry Elephant Cafe Lytham Room Claire Davies - Lashes and Beauty Olivia Knowles - Hair and Beauty Evolve - The Studio Sindy Newman Lancashire Magazine Annemarie Slack Ruth Meadows Manchester Football Club The Rock Factory PHH Solicitors The Money Charity Big Lottery Community Foundation The Alan Halsall Foundation Everyone who used Easy Fundraising