Wave

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales
Wave
Registered Charity: 1010183
The
Newsletter
Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales
Spring/Summer 2016
Better Start
Better Future
Making a difference to
children in wales who have
cerebral palsy
Registered Charity: 1010183
Our Mission
‘To provide world class
Bobath therapy to as many
children with cerebral palsy
in Wales as possible’
www.bobathwales.org
fundraising@bobathwales.org
@bobathwales
1
029 20522600
www.bobathwales.org facebook.com/bobathwales

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales
Bobath Wales provides specialist physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech
and language therapy to over 570 children from across Wales who have cerebral palsy.
What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a permanent disorder of posture and movement resulting from brain
damage occurring in a baby or young child. Each child is affected differently, both in
the type of cerebral palsy and the severity.
Better Start Better Future
Often, children in Wales are not referred to Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales for
specialist therapy until they are 2 years or older. When parents come to us they often
state they wish they had found out about us earlier so that their child would have had
the best start in life.
As well as reaching these babies, we urgently need to raise funds to see the children
on our waiting list who need our support, children like Betsi aged 2.
Betsi’s story
Our beautiful little girl Betsi was born 12 weeks early weighing
3lb 2oz. She spent 7 weeks in the special care baby unit and came
home on oxygen.
As the months went by we realised that Betsi was not reaching
milestones that were expected. We expressed our concern on
many occasions but it wasn’t until she was 15 months old that I was
told by her physiotherapist that she thought Betsi had Diplegic Cerebral Palsy, which
was a major shock! We were completely heartbroken, but at the same time relieved
that we finally had answers and we could start to get Betsi the help she deserved.
However, it wasn’t as easy as we thought. We see an NHS Physio only once or twice a
month if we are lucky.
Thankfully, we found out about Bobath and asked to be referred. Bobath was able to
provide us an initial consultation last summer. After just 2 hours we noticed a huge
difference in Betsi, her muscles were much more relaxed and flexible and as parents
we also learnt a lot. We are desperate for this to continue to help Betsi reach her full
potential. In December 2015 Betsi received additional therapy at the Bobath Centre,
which was amazing.
Betsi’s Mum Sarah
2
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Director’s Challenge
The Better Start Better Future appeal was born out of our Centre Director, Jenny
Carroll’s, aspiration to see more babies as soon as possible after birth, to ensure they get
the best start in life and thereby help each child fulfil their own potential.
Jenny is determined to see this happen, setting her own challenge, to raise money
for the appeal. To support Jenny and help her to fulfil this challenge as well as to help
Bobath Wales treat more babies giving them a Better Start Better Future please go to:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JenniferCarrollBobath
Starting from January 2016 until Bobath Wales’
25th Birthday in 2017, Jenny has pledged to:
• Run 1 mile for every child with cerebral
palsy in Wales = 1260 miles
• Swim 1 mile for every baby born with cerebral
palsy in Wales during 2016 = 70 miles
• Cycle 10 miles for every year Bobath has been
open = 250 miles
That’s 1580 miles
worth of
fundraising
Jenny is looking forward to this incredible challenge although admits to some
trepidation.
“When I told the staff at the Centre what I was planning they thought I was mad.
However, my motivation is simple, every day I treat children with cerebral palsy
who would have a Better Future if they had started to receive specialist therapy as
soon as possible after birth. I want every such baby born in Wales to have a Better
Start and therefore a Better Future . This is why I’m asking people in Wales to help
Bobath achieve this goal by making a donation or fundraising for us. So I thought
I’d better put my own words into actions, but I must confess to feeling nervous.”
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
3

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
Our fantastic families
Back in April we wrote a letter to our families in the hope that they would be able to
help us reach our fundraising goals by arranging their own fundraising events in their
home locality. We have been really encouraged by the response and we would like to
say a very special thank you to all who have helped raise much needed funds for us.
So far their efforts have brought in an amazing £15,251.85, before Gift Aid.
Here is just a snippet of what our fundraising families have been up to.
Charlie walked around
Cwmbran Boating Lake Tom & his family members aged 6 -
93, together with his dog Milo walked
around Tredegar Park, Cosmeston
Lake and Sophia Gardens
Penaluna
Pedal
Power - Lee
Penaluna took
on a Brecon
to Bobath
Challenge
Did you know?
Betsi and her family
arranged a Christmas
coffee morning and many
other fundraising activities
Rosie’s Auntie Hannah
and family organised a
Christmas Afternoon Tea
Each year, approximately 70
children will be born in Wales
with cerebral palsy. Presently
we have over 570 children
attending the Centre for
therapy.
4
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Thank you kindly
We’d like to thank all who have supported Bobath Wales since our last edition of The
Wave. Your dedication and support continues to astound us and we include a few
examples of your fabulous fundraising below.
She’s our hero
We’re so grateful to Bobath ambassador Bonnie Tyler for
choosing us as one of the charities to benefit from her
amazing concert back in November. It was a fantastic
night in the Princess Royal Theatre in Port Talbot with
fans treated to all of her amazing hits. The concert raised
£2,500 for Bobath!
Fashionable Fundraising
This is the 6th year that the Miss Fashion vs Beauty
competition has supported Bobath and we couldn’t be
more grateful. This year’s competition alone raised over
£2,000. Special thanks to Nyomi Lenny for her organisation
of the event and continued support for Bobath Wales.
A super CPAM
During our cerebral palsy awareness month in October
we had people throughout Wales donning their wellies
and making a real splash for cash raising much needed
funds and awareness of cerebral palsy and Bobath
therapy. We would like to say a splashtastic thank you
to those who took part and volunteered in all of our
October events. A very special thank you goes to Sue
Jones and the Cwm Crafters fundraising group for all of their support in organising
our Aberdare Welly Walk. This event, along with all of the other amazing
fundraising work that they do throughout the year has helped them reach a total
of £50,000 since the fundraising group was established in 2009.
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
5

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
Lights, Camera, Action!
Bobath’s Movies and Musicals
Birthday Ball
Royal Welsh College
of Music and Drama
Friday 8th July 2016
£65 per person
Roll out the red carpet and take centre stage
for this glamorous Movies and Musicals themed ball.
Enjoy fine food and fabulous entertainment whilst making
a difference to children in Wales who have cerebral palsy
6
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Give a cheer for a volunteer!
The Bobath Centre as well as our charity shops could not function without our band
of loyal volunteers and we’d like to say a HUGE thank you to each and every one of
them including those who have organised their own fundraising events as individuals
or as part of our amazing Fundraising Groups.
Could you lend
a hand?
We’d LOVE
to hear from you!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ Emlyn Friends of Bobath
♥
♥
♥
Our wonderful fundraising group Emlyn Friends of Bobath have had yet another
♥
♥
busy year in 2015. Their activities have included bucket collections, attending
♥
♥
talks and cheque presentations, football tournaments, a summer fête, Cardiff Half
♥
♥
Marathon, Velothon, parachute jumping and much more! Wow! They’re now busy
♥
♥
planning a London to Paris cycle ride for September….phew!
♥
♥
♥ Friends of Bobath Wales
♥
♥
♥
♥ Through an amazing range of activities the Friends of Bobath Wales fundraising ♥
♥ group led by Derek Redwood and Mike Salter have once again gone above and ♥
♥ beyond for Bobath. Their 2015 total is an amazing £16,123.49. The group have ♥
♥ smashed the quarter of a million mark bringing in over £277k to date.
♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
7

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
ew for 2016... New for 2016... New for 2016... New for 2016...
Join our NEON party and run, walk or dance this
3km fun run for Bobath Wales with your
friends, family and colleagues!
19 March 2016, 7pm
Newport Athletics Stadium
For more information and to sign up today visit
www.bobathwales.org or email: fundraising@bobathwales.org
8
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
New for 2016... New for 2016... New for 2016... New for 2016..
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
9

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
Get Active
Whatever your passion be it skydiving, running, cycling or
trekking, we have the challenge for you!
Daredevils wanted!
Experience the free fall and jump out of a
plane for Bobath. That’s 12,000 feet worth of
fundraising. No experience is necessary as you
will receive a full day’s training and if you raise
the minimum sponsorship you can jump for
FREE. Dates can be arranged to suit you, so
all you need to do is build up your nerve
and jump. Thank
you to all of our
wonderful 2015
daredevils including
Alice Walters of our fundraising group Emlyn Friends
of Bobath who took to the skies back in October. Alice
says “the whole experience was beyond exhilarating. I
enjoyed every minute and would do it again in a heart
beat.”
Trekking
We offer a huge array of challenges including treks to
Kilimanjaro, Jordan, Iceland, Costa Rica and China as well
as cycle challenges in Vietnam and
London to Paris. Following a trekking
trip to Iceland, Bobath supporter Fran said
“This trek really was an experience of a lifetime. I would
thoroughly recommend taking on a trekking challenge
for Bobath as although raising the sponsorship
seems daunting at first, it was actually great fun and it is
surprising how quickly it mounts up.” So the only thing left to do now is decide where
you want to go for an inspirational trip of a lifetime.
10
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Wear your green vest and
know you’re making a
difference
Run for a reason
Every year so many of our amazing
supporters don their running shoes
and head for the finish line at all sorts
of events across the country. We have
10 individuals running the 2016 London
Marathon for us. This year’s runners are
already hard at work fundraising as well as
training of course! Do you have your own
place in the London Marathon or in any other
running challenges in 2016?
Why not choose to run for Bobath?
Pedal in the pounds
We once again have places in
some fantastic cycling events.
Get in touch if you would like
to bike for Bobath.
Velothon Wales
Sunday 22 May 2016
Up to 18,000 riders will be able to take part in the UK’s thirdbiggest
sportive along a spectacular 140km route on closed
roads through South Wales.
Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100
Sunday 31 July 2016
An iconic 100 mile Olympic legacy cycling event
following in the tracks of Bradley Wiggins and Mark
Cavendish. The route is on closed roads through the
capital and onto Surrey’s stunning country roads and hills
before finishing at the Mall.
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
11

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
Corporates come up trumps!
Our amazing corporate supporters have boosted our cash-flow and the bottom-line
is we just wouldn’t be here without you. So special thanks to all those businesses who
have got on-board during 2015/16. Here are just a few to mention:
£ Lovells £ KK Solutions £ CircleIT £ Spindogs £ Barclays Bank £ Lloyds Bank £ DVLA £
£ Capitol Centre £ Hilton Newport £ Sweet Café & Bakery £ Harding Evans £
£ Panasonic £ The Diamond Centre for Wales £ CMB Engineering £
How can your company help?
Employees can volunteer time to help on a project at the
Bobath Centre, in one of our shops or at the warehouse
Sponsor one of
our many events
Donate via
payroll giving
Organise your
own fundraiser
Hold a donate don’t dump day, collecting unwanted
items which can then be picked up and sold in our shops
We asked Joy Phillips, Practice Director at Harding Evans
Solicitors why they chose Bobath as their charity.
“Harding Evans Solicitors have been a corporate
supporter of Bobath for 3 years. The work they do is
vital to those children and families that are affected
by cerebral palsy, the impact of which we know only
too well from the medical negligence claims we have
handled for affected children over the years. As well as
being a charity whose work is close to our hearts, the
staff are an absolute delight to work with and it is a
partnership that brings a lot of pleasure and pride to us
as an organisation.”
Old Post House -
a new corporate
partnership
The Old Post House,
St Fagans, have kindly
adopted us as their
charity for 2016. The
beautiful restaurant and
B&B is set in the heart of
St Fagans’ village. They
have exciting events
planned including a
Summer Ball, a Beaujolais
event, a gentleman’s
dinner and a ladies
lunch. We look forward
to working with them
and keeping you up to
date on their fundraising
adventures.
Check www.bobathwales.org/corporate-support for ways that a partnership with
Bobath can be mutually beneficial!
12
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Race the Dragon for Bobath
Saturday 4th June 2016
Cardiff Bay’s Atlantic Wharf
We are looking for teams of 11 passionate paddlers to set sail in this amazing team
building event. Anyone can get involved, whether you are a group of colleagues, a
sporting team or a gathering of friends and family, you are guaranteed a fantastic and
fun day out. To secure your team and boat contact the fundraising team today.
All equipment including boats, paddles, life jackets and an experienced helmsman
will be provided, minimum age 12 years.
Bobath Charity Golf Day
Thursday 12th May 2016
Cardiff Golf Club
Join us for a great day of golf at our annual Charity Golf Day in the beautiful
setting of Cardiff Golf Club. Entry per team of four is £300 to include bacon rolls
on arrival and a 2 course presentation dinner where the competition winners
will be announced. Whether you choose to come along with friends, business
colleagues or corporate clients, this is sure to be a great day of golfing at this
prestigious golf club.
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
13

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
Some ideas on how you can help!
We understand that life is so busy and our supporters often
say that they wish that they could do more. There are so many
easy ways that you can help Bobath no matter how much time
you have.
• Donate pre-loved items to our shops
• Sign up for our Sponsor a Child scheme.
Regular giving means we can plan for
our future
• Become a member of our Unity Lottery and
be in with a chance of winning £25,000 every
week. We have included a sign up form on
the back two pages of the Wave to make it
super easy for you!
• Take a collection box for spare change in your home or ask a local business or
shop to take one
• You can recycle your unwanted jewellery and bank notes (old and new, UK and
foreign). Please visit our website for where to send them – all free post!
• Help us with supermarket bucket collections in your area
• Put up one of our event posters, retweet our tweets and follow us on Facebook
to help us spread the word
Did you know?
Did you know that every time you
make a donation to one our shops,
if you are a UK tax payer we can
claim retail gift aid. From April –
October 2015 we were able to claim
£7,035.80 in retail gift aid. Ask in
the shops to sign up today – your
donations just keep on giving!
14
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Enjoy a cuppa
and a welshcake
for Bobath like
Kitty here with
Hollywood actor
Matthew Rhys
From the 1st – 8th March we will see
schools, families, businesses, clubs, students,
associations and many more raising some
dough by holding a coffee morning, bake sale or
afternoon tea for Bobath. Whether you raise £10
or £100 we knead your help! Ask for your pack
today and don’t forget to send in your stories and
#bigupyourbake!
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
15

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
We think all of
our donors are
superheroes!
Whether you are dropping 50p in a bucket,
taking on an intrepid trek through the
Himalayas or leaving a lasting legacy with a gift
in your will......you are all superheroes to us!
It isn’t just the rich and famous who leave a
lasting legacy. In reality this couldn’t be further
from the truth. We know that without gifts left
in wills by people like you we wouldn’t be able
to see as many children as we do each year. We
can guarantee that whatever gift you leave,
however small will make a huge difference to
children in Wales who have cerebral palsy. If you
would like more information including a handy
guide to making a will, please drop us a line.
16
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
Charitable trusts add a little magic!
Many charitable trusts are experiencing an increase in applications, in light of the
current financial climate and a corresponding reduction in investment returns. So
we are particularly grateful for the support of several trusts and foundations for their
generous donations.
Travelling across the beautiful mountainous country of Wales can be a logistical
nightmare for families with children needing to access Bobath’s Centre in Cardiff,
therefore we are delighted that The Freemasons’ Grand Charity have granted
support to enable us to provide crucial outreach Bobath therapy sessions for children
living in North Wales.
October saw the launch of our Better Start – Better Future initiative, aiming to ensure
that babies under the age of two and a half receive therapy sessions as early as
possible in their young lives. Warm thanks to the Cecil Rosen Charitable Trust, Joseph
Strong Fraser Trust, D M Thomas Foundation, The Hospital Saturday Fund and
Persimmon Homes East Wales for their generous support towards this project.
The role of our Family Support Coordinator is invaluable, providing help, support and
guidance to families coping with the challenges of bringing up a child with cerebral
palsy and we are grateful to The Steel Charitable Trust for helping us to continue to
sustain this important role.
The Hedley Foundation and Big Lottery Awards for All have contributed to specialist
toys for use in therapy and double glazed windows in our therapy rooms respectively,
ensuring that therapy experiences are fun, educational and, most importantly, warm
and dry for the children.
One of our aims for 2016 is to provide an
intensive therapy Magic Camp for 8 – 16 year
olds with hemiplegia, a condition affecting one
side of their body, to work with magicians and
Bobath therapists culminating in a Magic Show.
Our thanks to the Boshier Hinton Foundation
who have kindly pledged a donation.
We are grateful to all our supporters for helping
to bring a little magic into the lives of children
with cerebral palsy.
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
17

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
A Christmas thank you note
Dear: Festive Friends
We wanted to write to say thanks to you all. We had a
lovely time over Christmas and we hope you did too.
You were so kind buying our Christmas cards and coming along to
our festive events such as our Christmas Market, Jingle Bell Rock
Christmas Party Night and our Carol Concert. We had a message
from the chief elf at the North Pole to say that Santa had been very
busy writing lovely letters to lots of kind Bobath supporters.
Some of our families got to go to the Celtic Manor to ice skate and
visit Santa with their whole family which was so special, so we would
like to give extra magical hugs to our sponsors for making this possible.
We’re very grateful to all who bought Christmas Prize Draw tickets
and a great big well done to all of the winners. Here are the top 3
winners but a full list can be found on the news page of our website or
by contacting the fundraising team.
1st Prize (£250 cash)
2nd Prize (Tablet)
3rd Prize (Blu-Ray Player)
L Deacon, Aberdare
P Davies, Cardiff
K Pitson, Swansea
Our volunteering Christmas elves worked sooo
hard making this the bestest
Yuletide ever so all that’s left to
say is
Thank you thank you thank you!
From: All your friends at
the Bobath Centre
18
www.bobathwales.org

Spring/Summer 2016
@bobathwales
facebook.com/bobathwales
19

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Registered Charity: 1010183
20
www.bobathwales.org