Footprints issues rallying cry to businesses to help complete new facility

Footprints, the Nottingham-based charity that supports children living with communication and mobility difficulties to develop life skills and to achieve their full potential, is set to move into a new home in the Clifton area of the city.

Having outgrown its previous centre, with Iona school in Sneinton, the charity has found its own, larger, premises on Farnborough Road in Clifton (formerly the Highbank Community Centre) and will be moving over the coming weeks.

Work on the new facility is progressing with the help of volunteers

Footprints’ work is inspired by the principles and practices of Conductive Education, a holistic education approach which focuses on potential, developed to help children living with disabilities consciously learn life skills. The charity’s work encourages the development of physical, communication, social, sensory, self-help and thinking skills, such as sitting, standing, touching, listening, looking, eating and playing.

Footprints works closely with the child and their family in a safe, positive and supportive environment to encourage and motivate each child’s desire to achieve tasks. At the same time, Footprints empowers its families, giving them the knowledge, confidence and strength to cope with the disabilities their child lives with and understand how they can help.

Families the charity supports have described their work as: “Making the impossible possible, in a world of people telling children what they can’t do, the team encourage children to do everything, and: “It means the world. Without Footprints I don’t think we’d be in a place as a family to feel accepting that we have a child with a disability.”

Another said: “Footprints took out the loneliness of being a parent of a child with a disability – people actually understood the challenges faced by such families.”

In a recent survey of the families Foorprints works with, 100% said that they felt well supported by Footprints, and 97% reported improved wellbeing. The charity says it regularly sees 100% of the children they work with significantly improve their communication and mobility skills, which has a life changing impact.

Footprints says its new site holds “incredible potential” to provide greater support to more families. Its vision for the space includes three session rooms, a speech and communication room, sensory room, families room, Community Inclusion Coffee Bar, two outdoor sensory education zones, a community hall, accessible wet-room with hoist and toilet classroom for teaching children this important life skill.

Sam Metcalf, TheBusinessDesk.com’s East Midlands editor, and Josey Park, head of income at Footprints

Footprints estimates the new site will increase its capacity from working closely with 60-75 families each year, to providing intensive tailored support to 300 families, and reaching thousands of the wider community.

They have begun work to transform the space to make their new home for the charity and are immensely grateful for the support they’ve had so far from businesses and volunteers. With the Iona school site in Sneinton now sold, there is now an even greater need to complete the transformation as soon as possible, to minimise disruption to sessions, and to maintain the children’s development and the progress they have been working so hard towards.

The charity are looking for support from individuals and organisations to support them to complete the transformation. They would be grateful for any fundraising support, construction materials, or volunteer days to help create the new home for their charity. In particular, support from electricians and plumbers would be a huge help to the project, but any support can make a difference.

Josie Park, Footprints’ head of income said: “The support we’ve received so far has been incredible. It’s amazing to see what can be achieved from the community coming together, but we still have a huge need for support to develop our new home and to complete the transformation.”

Business looking to help can get in touch with the team at Footprints on enquiries@footprintsec.org.