1st August 2023 Mace Foundation awards £22,500

Mace Foundation awards Rose Road £22,500 for redevelopment of sensory and soft play rooms

We are really pleased to have recently been awarded a grant of £22,500 from the Mace Foundation. Rose Road was nominated by Mace employee Jamie Butt, whose son JT regularly attends Rose Road’s respite service for overnight stays.

This money will be used to complete the redevelopments of our sensory room and soft play space, creating new and exciting opportunities for our young people to play and learn in a safe, dynamic and stimulating environment. A portion of the money will also form the first donation towards the complete renovation of our respite unit’s outdoor courtyard space, which aims to create a multi-functional garden and sensory experience.

(1) Our soft play area, (2) young person enjoying sensory lights, (3) Oaks respite outdoor area before redevelopment.

Jo Drummond, Head of Partnerships & Fundraising, Mace Foundation, says: “The Mace Foundation supports charities around the world that are most important to Mace employees. Jamie Butt [Mace employee] and his family have received support from Rose Road for several years and he told us all about the great work they do and how they make a real difference to families in his local community. Therefore, we are extremely pleased to give a grant to Rose Road to support their ‘Right to Play’ and ‘Oaks Garden’ projects. We know how important it is for young disabled people to have safe spaces where disability is not a barrier… This will benefit young people and their families for years to come.”

Jamie explains more about the difference Rose Road has made to his family's life, which is what inspired him to nominate us for this grant:

"Our son JT has profound Autism. He finds new things really hard and has become quite isolated over recent years!"

"Because of the pandemic, there was a long pause in respite provision. That time waiting for Rose Road services to begin was hard and long, we really needed help, and we were also really nervous that JT might also not settle at Rose Road. We were delighted that JT settled in very quickly once he started, which is a great testament to the patience of Rose Road staff who really seem to 'get him'. Amazingly because of the great people at Rose Road, JT soon started to build up confidence and settled much quicker than anywhere else he had been."

"JT really enjoys his stays at Rose Road and we can tell he is happy and is thought of very fondly by the staff. It is hard to put into words how much Rose Road means to us.

JT with his family.

"We cannot thank Rose Road enough. Rose Road is not just a place to take JT so that our family can do certain things, it is somewhere he really enjoys, where he can build independence and confidence for his life ahead."

Tina Fullbrook, Head of Care at Rose Road said “improving our playable spaces will make a huge difference to the children and young people we care for. Play has the power to build relationships between a child and carer, is a great way of increasing physical activity, can help improve mental health and most importantly brings smiles to faces of children and adults. We are really grateful for the support of the Mace Foundation in helping us to achieve this!”