Rose Road Association, a Southampton based charity providing a range of high quality services for children and young people with profound and multiple disabilities, has received a donation of £7,500 from the Barker-Mill Foundation to help fund their expansion.
Rose Road Association has been working with children, young people and their families from across Hampshire and the surrounding counties since 1952. The charity currently supports over 400 young people with a range of disabilities, including severe and profound learning difficulties, physical disabilities and autism.
Barker-Mill Foundation’s donation of £7,500 will help fund the charity’s plans which include providing two new bedrooms to their overnight respite centre, along with adaptations and improvements to the Bradbury Centre. The Centre is the home of Rose Road Association and is the hub of their multiple short break services as well as the hydrotherapy suite, after school club and holiday activity schemes.
Tim Jobling, Trustee at the Barker-Mill Foundation said: “Our aim is to support charities in our local area that make a difference. Rose Road Association has a strong and proud heritage and their invaluable work is highly respected in the local community.
“It’s inspiring to hear their ambitions to expand and we’re privileged to have been able to help in some way. We hope the charity continues to grow and help children for another 50 years to come!”
The project will also provide a new sensory room, arts, craft and learning area as well as a relaxation zone and a new kitchen for the service users and others from across the community.
The need for this new project and expansion of the charity has come from an increase in demand for the services and support infrastructure provided by Rose Road Association.
Neil Wilson, Director of Fundraising and Communications at Rose Road Association explains: “The charity are in danger of having to turn people away, hence our decision to expand. Support from the Barker-Mill Foundation and others will enable us to increase capacity for overnight short breaks which is a vital service.
“We will be able to support more families and young people and improve current leisure and activity based facilities, therefore improving outcomes for the young people who use our services.
“We would like to thank the Barker-Mill Foundation for their generous donation and for supporting us in providing much need services to local families.”
The charity was initially started by a small group of parents seeking services and education for their children with disabilities, through a Saturday ‘get together’ for a group of six young people. Now, over fifty years on, the charity continues to help families in need.
Rose Road Associations provides a range of services for young disabled people –from birth to 25 years, their parents, families and carers. The services include respite stays for any young person with severe learning difficulties, physical disabilities, and/or autism and an outreach service whereby quality time is spent with a child in their own home.
Rose Road Association relies on donations and fundraising activities to survive and continue to help local families. The fundraising team work hard in raising money for this worthy cause.
If you’d like to get involved visit: https://www.roseroad.org.uk/Fundraising/