FoundationHighlightsEdition 84 l October 2015

Together we help young people achieve their best potential

October 2015 2dmthomasfoundation.org

Supporting children and young people in CardiffOn 21 September the Foundation in association with Hilton Cardiff and Nation Radio were delighted to announce the winners of the Cardiff £10K Giveaway. The eight winning charities were invited to attend a reception at Hilton Cardiff where they were treated to a cup of tea, and were presented with their cheques. We are currently running a further £10k giveaway in association with Hilton London Gatwick Airport, so please encourage any charities in the area to apply. We are delighted to announce the eight charities and projects to benefit from the Cardiff £10k Giveaway:

Barnardo’s (pictured front cover) received £1,550 for their programmes with disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the Cardiff and The Vale area. Support is often delivered in a one to one setting but also in group-based activities, and they have in particular identified common care plan goals in relation to gardening and healthy living. With the giveaway funding money they will secure a tenancy for an allotment in Cardiff including the purchase of all necessary equipment, including specialist equipment for children and young people. The project will be to grow fruit and vegetable for consumption by the group, and will link with an existing healthy eating and cooking skills group. Once the project is up and running it will be sustainable, and not time-limited which means that Barnardo’s anticipate at least 100 young people with disabilities and a further 30-50 young people who are affected by homelessness to benefit from the project every year.

A student on a previous Barnardo’s healthy eating programme

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre received £1,685 to provide five children with cerebral palsy with a specialist therapy session. Cerebral palsy is the most common disability in childhood in the UK. It can affect a child’s movement, communication, perception, understanding and sensation. Bobath physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists all work alongside each other and tailor their therapy to the child’s needs. In 2011 the Foundation were proud to support Bobath in the Cardiff Giveaway, awarding them with £2,300 to fund a new seesaw in their play area (see photo).

A child enjoys the seesaw funded by our previous Cardiff Giveaway

Cardiff YMCA housing association received £850 to support their Design For Life (DFL) project. DFL will enable residents to enhance their skills through a programme of accredited and non-accredited training, activities, developing social skills, information and advice. The programme helps young people to build up their self-esteem to improve employability and help sustain self-sufficiency with residents towards independent living. The money will support the programme through the provision of equipment for the centre.

Cardiff City FC Community Foundation (CCFCCF) received £2,000 for a two-day multi-sport camp in the City of Cardiff. Children and young adults aged from 8-18 with learning disabilities or mental health conditions will be able to attend the camp and try a variety of different sports with fully qualified CCFCCF coaches.

October 2015 3dmthomasfoundation.org

Friends of 10th Barry Guide Group were awarded £1,000. The guide group have been in the same Guide Hall since 1968, without major works happening to the building during this time. The Guides will use the grant to convert a small store room into an office and private room, so that Guides have a private space to discuss personal issues with Guide leaders. The group caters for young people aged between five and 21, and the room will be a safe place for those who would like extra support.

Touch Trust was awarded £760 for a shimmering light curtain, LED gloves and music systems for their sensory room. Touch Trust offers a unique sensory activity programme for children and adults with profound and multiple disabilities across Wales. They run a day time activity programme for young adults who are in transition from school to independent living, and want to add to the sensory equipment which is available to these young people when they attend sessions three days a week. The shimmering light curtain is a fibre optic curtain which constantly changes colour, and can be attached to a wall for visual stimulation. The LED gloves have LED lights in the finger tips and can also be used for visual stimulation and for eye-tracking exercises. The Foundation awarded Touch Trust with £10,000 in 2007 to establish a Touch Trust college for young adults with extra needs.

Touch Trust service users enjoy some sweet treats

Ty Hafan received £5,000 to develop a memorial garden. Ty Hafan is a children’s hospice catering to families from across Wales, and is a long time charity partner of Hilton Cardiff, receiving over £30,000 in funding from the Foundation. This grant will be used to develop the memorial garden, to provide a place of prominence for each child and a space of healing for families. It would need to be wheelchair accessible, and will encorporate an “elements” theme, using earth, air, fire and water.

Llamau received £798 in support of their Learning 4 life service users. Learning 4 life delivers an education package to 16-24 year olds in 11 local authority areas in Wales, including from areas of severe deprivation. The principal goal of project is the improvement of learner’s employability skills. The Giveaway grant will provide two iPad Air tablets for the centre, which will help with the project’s aim of tackling digital exclusion. Learners work in a small group over a 13 week period during which they undertake a Learning Needs Assessment, progress to City & Guilds qualifications and Agored Cymru accredited awards, receive practical support with ICT, paperwork and

interview skills, attend work placements and gain peer support. Digital skills are an integral part of the learning programmes, and an essential pathway into employment. At least 60 young people will benefit from the use of the iPads.

A young person gaining valuable ICT skills

October 2015 4dmthomasfoundation.org

Live @ The Trafalgar

Join us at The Trafalgar on 22 October for an evening of folk

music. BBC Folk Award nominee Maz O’Connor is joined by

Jack Harris and Kirsty Merryn.

Maz O’Connor is a gifted singer of traditional and self-penned songs. In 2013 she was selected for a creative fellowship with the English Folk Dance and Song Society at London’s Cecil Sharp House, funded by the BBC Performing Arts Fund, and earlier this year she was nominated for the BBC Folk Awards Horizon Award following the release of her second album. She sings both traditional folk songs and her own compositions, and accompanies her uniquely pure voice with guitar, shruti box , piano and harmonium.

‘Maz O’Connor’s ace, apart from her remarkable songwriting talent, is her captivating voice’ Q Magazine

‘Jack Harris is a priest of song who holds himself to a rigorous, ancient code of beauty most of us have forgotten exists.’ Anais Mitchell

Kirsty Merryn - ‘Eidetic lyrics and robust tunes, all communicated by dextrous fingers and eyes that smile.’ And So She Writes

Tickets are available for £25 and include a buffet dinner prepared by the team at The Trafalgar and a complimentary glass of wine.

Book your tickets now on our website.

October 2015 5dmthomasfoundation.org

Met2Met cross-country challenge

On 4 September, 25 cyclists took part in a gruelling Met2Met cycle challenge, sponsored by Tonstate, to raise money for the Foundation and The Carers Trust.

The cyclists completed a 120 mile cycle from London to Birmingham in just 1 day. The group set off at around 6am from Hilton London Metropole and arrived at Hilton Birmingham Metropole just after 5pm. A reception party were waiting to congratulate them on completing the cycle challenge and exceeding their 10k fundraising goal, in total raising £10,920.44 for the two charities.

Simon Sheehan, Director of the Foundation said “We’re so grateful for all the cyclists’ support. It was a big challenge and the furthest many of them have ever cycled. It was a real team effort and we are so fortunate to receive sponsorship from Tonstate, the owners of the hotels, as well as from riders from Hilton and RHA Furniture. Everyone’s support will mean that we can transform the lives of disabled and vulnerable young people by providing support, equipment and training to improve their education and well-being. On behalf of the young people we can help, thank you!”

The cyclists arrive in Birmingham after 120 miles on the road. One of the cyclists enjoys a refreshing ice bath

October 2015 6dmthomasfoundation.org

#IamABLE: celebrating our legacy

L: Kidney Kids Scotland. R: Screenshots of #IamABLE tweets by DMTFYP

On Tuesday 8 September 2015 the Foundation held its first ever social media campaign. #IamABLE took place on Twitter and Facebook and involved 55 charity partners sharing their grant stories. We asked them to tell us how the support of the Foundation has helped the young people they work with say “I am ABLE!”

The Foundation is proud to have been running for over 15 years, and in that time we have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people. We wanted to take the time to celebrate our many successes with our charity partners and with our supporters on social media.

We asked charity partners who have received funding from us in the last two years to share an example of how we’ve helped support young people and to provide a photo which included #IamABLE. We were delighted to receive so many responses, and created a section on the Foundation’s website to display all of the stories and photos we received. The stories were all divided into sections according to the grant stream that make up ABLE - Achieve it, Beat it, Live it and Experience it.

On the day our Twitter and Facebook feeds were full of #IamABLE stories and photos, all celebrating the work the Foundation and our charity partners do to support young people, and it was great seeing how many people #IamABLE reached. Both our Twitter and Facebook accounts gained new followers, whilst the Foundation’s website recorded the most visits in a day ever. We had so much fun interacting with our charity partners and celebrating all of the successes that we’ve had together.

All of this was made possible through the hard work of our charity partners, our volunteers and supporters, so a huge thank you to everyone who got invovled in #IamABLE to make it possible. On the following pages we will share just a few of the #IamABLE stories; you can find all of them on our website.

October 2015 7dmthomasfoundation.org

Canine Partners is a national charity that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities. The dogs help with everyday tasks including opening doors, undressing, fetching help and retrieving dropped items. Canine Partners received a grant from the Foundation in 2015.

Jess and Theo’s story:

“I have severe ME and am fully deaf. I was always poorly as a child but it all got worse when I was 11. It took me a long time to accept that I needed to use a wheelchair full-time but once I did I found it much easier to participate in life. However, I went straight from being

a child to being ill and missed out on the process of growing more independent and self-sufficient.

Having canine partner Theo has allowed me to begin the process of growing up and gaining independence. Before I got Theo I didn’t go out without an adult. I was home alone a lot of the time – if I dropped the remote I was stuck on that channel until someone arrived. I didn’t do much other than schoolwork and watch TV. Now I volunteer at a school, help at Brownies and am studying Latin and British Sign Language at home. I can also go out when I want to, go shopping, go out for lunch, go out with friends, and help more around the house. Theo would probably prefer it if I did less shopping, more lunching!

Theo has enabled me to become an adult. He has enriched my life and helped me to experience so many

Jess with her canine partner Theo, Canine Partners

Achieve it: Canine Partners, Jess and Theo

Children playing with new outdoor gym equipment at Ashcroft School, Together Trust

things.

The name Theo means ‘Gift from God’ and that is truly what he is. He handles whatever situation I put him in and I know that wherever I go and whatever I do he will be there through it all. With Theo by my side I can do anything and go anywhere. He opens doors to my independence – sometimes quite literally!

Thank you doesn’t begin to cover how grateful I am for the wondrous gift that Theo is - for giving me freedom, independence and a brighter future - but it is a start.”

provide educational equipment and facilities, sporting opportunities and training to sick, disabled and vulnerable young people

October 2015 8dmthomasfoundation.org

WellChild is the national charity for seriously ill children, young people and their families. There are thousands of children and young people in the UK living with a serious illness or complex care needs. WellChild works to ensure the best possible care and support for all these children and their families, wherever they are and whenever they need it. They have been a charity partner of the Foundation for many years; since 2002 we have awarded them over £11,000.

WellChild provide a network of Children’s Nurses who work with families to ensure that children with complex care needs can leave hospital and return home. They also run the Helping Hands scheme where they enlist the support of volunteers to tackle practical projects in the homes of seriously ill children and young people. In addition, the charity has invested more than £20 million in ground-breaking children’s health research projects, and connects families

caring for a seriously ill child through the WellChild Family Tree.

A recent Helping Hands project was to help five-year-old Ruby, from Essex, who is now ABLE to access her garden as a result of support from the Foundation.

Ruby has Rett Syndrome, a rare condition that effects the development of the brain. She also has Scoliosis, curvature of the spine and is unable to walk or talk. Due to essential building work, Ruby has not been able to enter her garden using her wheelchair for three years. The two day Helping Hands project involved company volunteers building a deck with an access ramp, creating a multi-sensory play table, and installing brightly painted murals to create a safe and fun area for her to play in.

“Ruby has LOVED being out in the garden, every single day weather has permitted! Just being able to wheel her everywhere without obstruction and join us for family time in the garden has been incredible. We will always be very thankful - the team have made one little girl incredibly happy!” Laura, Ruby’s Mum.

“We can’t put into words what this means. We can’t thank you enough” John, Ruby’s Dad.

Beat it: WellChild, Ruby

Ruby with friends in her new garden, WellChild

L-R: St Andrew’s Hospice, Grimby; Dogs for the Disabled tweet sharing case study; DEBRA UK and Alisa

We provide medical equipment and care for sick and life limited young people

October 2015 9dmthomasfoundation.org

Some babies are born without eyes, or with underdeveloped eyes. Micro and Anophthalmic Children’s Society (MACS) is the UK’s only charity specifically supporting these children and their families, with a membership of 1300 members around the UK. Since 2011 the Foundation has awarded over £9,000 to MACS.

A key aim for MACS is to enable these blind and visually impaired children and young people to access a range of opportunities to gain confidence and build independence. And with help from the Foundation, a group of young MACS members recently embarked on a seven day sailing adventure.

As fully functioning crew members, they participated in all aspects of on-board life – from steering the boat, plotting points on charts, calculating distances to filling in the ships log and communicating with the Coast Guard. Doing their share of the cooking, cleaning and night watch duty was also essential.

These trips help to foster a huge sense of achievement in blind or visually impaired teenagers.

Live it: YMCA Mendip

Experience it: Micro and Anophthalmic Children’s Society

YMCA Mendip provide a range of services for the community, including homeless prevention, education, support and housing and youth and community work, in the Mendips region of Somerset. With an emphasis on young people they aim to help them to grow in confidence, develop as individuals, and realise their full potential.

The Foundation awarded YMCA Mendip £3,175 towards a project to enable young people to run a live community radio programme – giving them a voice and a chance to build connections across the community. The first programme focuses on social media – in particular issues of bullying and self image for young people. The group, aided by a facilitator, are doing research, writing content, conducting interviews and planning, editing and presenting the programme. They have a date to record their first programme – after that, if they feel confident enough, they will prepare, and present a regular live radio programme focusing on issues relevant to young people and their community. They are very excited!

“Being part of this group is my choice and that makes all the difference. The project gives us a platform to get heard.”

Young people from the community radio programme

Donna Louise Children’s Hospice share on Facebook

We provide life skills, training and opportunities for disadvantaged young people to secure employment, including those who are affected by homelessness.

We provide confidence-building opportunities and wish experiences for young people

October 2015 10dmthomasfoundation.org

The Ducks for Change have gone spooooooooky!

The Ducks have got their best trick or treat costumes on! Get the Witch, Vampire and Ghost set today. Visit our website to order or contact ducks@dmtfyp.org

At least £1 from each set sold goes to support disadvantaged children and young people around Europe.

October 2015 11dmthomasfoundation.org

Glasgow sees red for charity

Hilton Glasgow invited ball-goers to don their finest red outfits and join them for a fantastic evening. The Red Party took place on the 11 September and as you can see from the photos, the guests threw themselves into the red theme beautifully!

Guests enjoyed entertainment from fire dancers Flame Oz and the Rockettes, and from JamDance, an all-female dance crew. While enjoying the spectacular show, guests sipped bright red cocktails called Crimson Tide and Vodka slush puppies called red mist.

Money raised from the evening will support the Foundation and Radio City’s Cash for Kids. Cash for Kids’ mission is to respond to the needs of children in our communities. It is the official charity of Radio City and provides a helping hand to disabled and disadvantaged children in Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

On the night the auction alone raised £20,000 for these deserving causes. Party goers also had the chance to win a £1,200 diamond necklace in the Rox in a Box competition, and a holiday to somewhere exotic in the raffle.

October 2015 12dmthomasfoundation.org

Simon Sheehan, Director of the Foundation said: “Once again we are so impressed by the team at Hilton Glasgow, who put together another fantastic ball. The money raised will make such a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people in the Glasgow area and beyond. Thank you to everyone involved in making the night such a success”.

Thanks go to everyone at Hilton Glasgow including Daniel Van Wyk, Caroline McClelland, Cathy Conway, Graham Muir, Lisa Laverty, the ball committee and ball sponsors Vision Events, Anderson Printers, McCusker Graphic Media, The Blue Parrot Company, Visual Bliss, Elle Gordon, Matthew Clark, AB_InBev, Belvedere, Fresh Direct, Brakes, Delice de France, Delfresh, Direct Seafoods, Fresh Direct, H&B Foods, Hilton Worldwide, G4S Events and Rox.

October 2015 13dmthomasfoundation.org

Breaking down barriers to communication, in Newcastle

On 24 September we were delighted to be invited to visit Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. Kirsty Mitchell, Communications Executive and Anna Tullgren, Events & Fundraising Campaigns Assistant (pictured below), met with team members at the hotel for a very special event.

In May of this year the Foundation awarded £9,167.10 to the Chronicle Sunshine Fund for the purchase of ipads for students at Hadrian School. Hadrian School caters for the needs of pupils aged between two and eleven years with a range of additional needs including complex, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties.

These ipads had a very special purpose - to give children with varied barriers to communications a way to speak. We met some of the children from Hadrian School who showed off their skills using the ipads, from games that help to learn how to form letters, to a programme that generates the answers to questions. They also sang a beautiful rendition of “I can see clearly now” to a enchanted audience.

Julieanne Kelly from Chronicle Sunshine Fund said: “We would like to say a huge big thank you to DM Thomas Foundation for Young People for supporting us with our work, with the money we have been able to help so many children in the area with iPads that help with a range of things such as educational activities and for children who find it difficult to communicate, It has been amazing to see the children progress so quickly. It would have taken us many months of fundraising to raise enough money to purchase 45 iPads - thank you so much.”

Thank you to everyone for inviting us to celebrate with you.

October 2015 14dmthomasfoundation.org

On Friday 2 October a recruitment day was held to find the next group of young people who will benefit from our into-work programme, Galvin’s Chance.

The event also saw four of last year’s alumni - Muhammed ‘Mo’ Abubakar, Shahanna Healy, Alexsander Hall and Omar Gommari - recognised for their participation in the programme.

Mo, who was in foster care and lacking a job or direction is now working at Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane as a commis chef. Shahanna secured work at Galvin Bistrot de Luxe. Alex is working as a bar manager at The Sun pub in Covent Garden and Omar is working for Aspley, which caters for events at Lords Cricket Ground and other high end venues.

Chris Galvin and Fred Sirieix, co-founders of Galvin’s Chance, which started in 2009, addressed the candidates for this year’s programme. They shared their personal stories and hoped to inspire those assembled to ‘take the chance’. Many of the young people being interviewed have been recently released from prison or community orders; some are long term unemployed or have confidence issues and face particular barriers to employment.

Employers who attended to help with the interviewing and who will be offering potential employment to the candidates were: Park Plaza, Hyatt Regency The Churchill, Hilton London Paddington, The Royal Automobile Club, Intercontinental on Park Lane, CG Restaurants & Bars, Apex Hotels, ACT Clean which services bars, hotels and restaurants across London, and RBS Baxter Storey.

Also supporting the selection process was Wayne Lewis from London Community Rehabilitation Company, Ian Latham and Kim Briggs. Representatives from the Foundation and The Springboard Charity helped coordinate the day as well as be on interview panels.

Galvin at Windows will offer a placement, as it has annually since the programme began. Also offering placements this year will be The Goring, The Dorchester, and Polpo.

Galvin’s Chance has trained, placed and supported 114 young people into sustained employment and has assisted 378 others onto positive destinations, including jobs in other fields and further studies.

Our thanks to the team at Hilton London Olympia for hosting the recruitment event. To find out more about Galvin’s Chance please visit galvinschance.co.uk.

New apprentices take on the challenge of Galvin’s Chance

2015 graduates with founders (L-R) Chris Galvin, Shahanna Healy, Mo Abubakar, Alexsander Hall, Omar Gommari and Fred Sirieix

Founders of Galvin’s Chance Fred Sirieix and Chris Galvin

October 2015 15dmthomasfoundation.org

Chocs for Chance returns...

In February 2015 some of the UK’s top chefs including Paul A Young, Jose Pizarro and Michel Roux Jr created one of a kind chocolate boxes for your delectation.

In 2016 Chocs for Chance will return! This is an amazing opportunity to get a fantastic and unique gift. Sign up to our newsletter today to find out the latest news, including chefs involved and bidding information.

Follow us on twitter @ChocsForChance

Find out more and sign up now at www.chocsforchance.org

October 2015 16dmthomasfoundation.org

Dates for your Diary

16/10/2015 Hilton Swindon Hoe-down

17/10/2015 Hilton Avisford Park, Arundel Ball

24/10/2015 Hilton Bath City Ball

31/10/2015 The Foundation Zombie Evacuation

07/11/2015 The Foundation Foundation Ball

07/11/2015 Hilton Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon Wolf Run

13/11/2015 Hilton London Heathrow Airport Race Night

13/11/2015 Hilton Cardiff Cardiff Ball

14/11/2015 Hilton Liverpool Liverpool Star Ball

10/12/2015 Galvin at Windows Prison Restaurant Pop-up

18/06/2016 Hilton Brighton Metropole Midsummer Ball

21/07/2016 Hilton Worldwide - International Division Procurement Golf Day

If you would like to attend any of these events, please visit the events page on our website to book. If you have any other events not shown, do tell us at events@dmtfyp.org.

If you have activities that you would like to be included in the next edition of Highlights please contact us on comms@dmtfyp.org We wish you the best of luck with all of your Foundation activities and thank you for helping us to transform young lives.