Disability charity, Kangaroos Mid Sussex, has received £5,000 to fund a new support group with the aim of helping members move from the charity’s teenage club to programmes focused on adults. This new ‘transition’ group will offer a range of stimulating activities, including cooking and craft sessions, for people with learning disabilities who are aged 16 to 21 and living in and around Haywards Heath.
The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
Founded in 1994 in Mid Sussex, Kangaroos provides a range of social and leisure-based activities for children and young adults with learning disabilities, as well as additional physical, sensory, medical and behavioural difficulties. These activities include days out to cinemas, bowling alleys, theatres and outdoor pursuits centres. The charity enables those on its programmes to enjoy a social life with their peers while being supported by experienced staff and volunteers.
The grant will be used to run the transition group for a year with the aim of helping members develop and improve practical life skills. The ultimate objective is to support them in gaining independence from their families, through engagement in activities that help give them the confidence in their own skills and abilities.
Jenni Herrett, Trusts and Foundations Manager at Kangaroos, said: “The young people we help often have a difficult time as they move from child to adult services and many things that have become part of their routine are taken away or changed. Attending the transition group is a gentle and positive step for them as they can attend a more ‘grown-up’ club with familiar faces. We are thrilled that this funding will enable us to run this valuable service for the coming year.”
Karen Levy, Branch director at Santander’s Hayward’s Heath branch, said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations to local projects every year with the aim of assisting organisations, communities and vulnerable people throughout the UK. The staff at our branch know the great work Kangaroos does in our community and we hope this grant will help the charity in its support for local people.”
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Notes to Editors:
Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw at Santander
Email: Leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk Tel: 020 7756 4543
Jenni Herrett at Kangaroos
Email: jenni@kangaroos.org.uk Tel: 01444 459108
About Kangaroos Mid Sussex
Kangaroos objective is to deliver fun and social activities in a supported setting for young people with learning disabilities in Mid Sussex.
For more information please visit: www.kangaroos.org.uk
Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
- Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
- Transformer: supporting skills and experience
- Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £26 million in funding to 13,914 UK charities through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2018, the bank has c24,200 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.