OPEN DAY – FREE ENTRY

We are thrilled to announce the date of this year’s open day as Sunday 8th July 12.30 until 16.30.

We hope you can make it along to this highly anticipated day of fun and excitement here at The Stables?

The volunteers have been working hard on the gardening projects and we are keen to show off our amazing venue and home to our beloved animals!

On the day children will be able to enjoy feeding, petting and grooming our animals including; miniature Shetland ponies, reindeer, alpacas and goats. They can also take part in activities around the stables including face painting, bouncy castles and garden games. And for the adults there will be a prosecco bar, raffle, BBQ and live entertainment plus much more.

We can’t wait to see you all here!

THE PHOENIX CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of up to £4,000, up to £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

THE PHOENIX CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION is one of the groups on the shortlist.

PROJECT DETAILS: GARDENING PROJECT FOR DISABLED, VULNERABLE, TERMINALLY ILL CHILDREN.

We have found that in some cases disabled/disadvantaged children do not have access to outdoor facilities, we want to change that with our gardening project and your help!

We are in the process of completing a facility where many different groups (special needs schools, children with special needs and disabilities) can access our team of miniature Shetland ponies, along with our range of small farm animals and our very special reindeer. We have created a beautiful sensory garden, a delightful picnic area close to the animals giving the children a safe and controlled environment to enjoy. We have also completed an installation of a disabled toilet facility, and a music therapy room which is proving to be successful. We have already seen the results of encouraging children to plant bulbs and flowers in the sensory garden and have been asked to create an allotment style area where the children can grow vegetables, which we are hoping to do with raised bedding for ease of access. We are now working towards a specific gardening area to really focus on planting, growing vegetables, harvesting and hatching eggs.

“We have found that in some cases disabled/disadvantaged children do not have access to outdoor facilities and have no real knowledge or experience of the environment. These children absolutely love the facility, they gain a real zest for life being so involved with the care of the animals. Marked improvement in not only their physical ability, but also mental state has been recorded by their families and carers. Giving these children the opportunity to bond with and care for the animals, and nurture the plants gives them a real sense of achievement and self-worth”. Anita Withers – Collections Manager
Voting is open in all Tesco stores throughout March and April. Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £40 million to 9,700 projects up and down the UK. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said:

 “We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for March and April. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:

 “We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between. We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.

We are incredibly proud to have been chosen as M&S Ashby’s charity of the year and to have been involved in the opening of the brand new store today.

We were especially thrilled that one of our long term grant recipients Harry, and his twin brother Luke, were local celebs for the day as they were given the honour of opening the store.

You can read the official press release from Burton Mail here: Burton Mail – M&S Ashby Store Opening

We’d like to introduce you to our latest edition; Pot Man. He has lived for many years in the garden of Laura & Peter Cooper. Laura was a teacher at our local school in Packington. She was truly a champion for all children who needed that little bit of extra support.

The Pot Man has been kindly donated to The Phoenix Children’s Foundation by Laura & Peters Son, to hopefully continue to inspire children in the kind and loving way Laura inspired and supported so many.

1-7 June is Volunteers’ Week, an annual event that celebrates the contribution made by millions of volunteers across the UK.

The Phoenix Children’s Foundation couldn’t do the work we do without the dedication and commitment of our amazing volunteers.

Whether they are caring for our animals, fundraising or providing administrative support, our volunteers are a core part of our team and an essential part of the Phoenix family.

Many have experienced difficult situations themselves and have worked hard to turn their lives around.  We are incredibly proud to welcome these individuals in particular to our team as they are able to engage at a much more personal level with, and relate brilliantly to, the children we help.

We are always in need of more volunteers to help us deliver our important work, so if you’re thinking of volunteering – even for just a few hours a week – there has never been a better time to get involved.  Please get in touch via our volunteering page, through email or by calling us on 01530 382 116.

We’re absolutely thrilled to have recently been named by Amazon in Coalville as their Stand Out Charity for 2017.  This accolade awarded by their Fun and Community Committee – some members of whom have experienced our work first hand – means that the charity will receive a donation of £5000 during the course of the year.

These vital funds will help pay for solar panels at our Packington base so that we can reduce our running costs and become more self-sufficient.  The other half will fund Animal Assisted Therapy for children living with disease, illness or limited opportunity.

In addition to this amazing grant, Amazon Coalville will also be providing volunteers for specific projects and we will be taking our animals to various Amazon events throughout the year to help deepen this new relationship.