We celebrated the release of our 4000th home this year and to acknowledge and celebrate we invited our residents to nominate a charity of their choice to receive a £4000 donation. We were overwhelmed by the nominations of so many fantastic organisations, from over 30 residents. We were delighted to donate £4,000 to Zoe’s Place in Middlesbrough to support their amazing work with families and young children. In addition, we will be providing a small £1000 donation to Wigan & Leigh Deaf Children’s Society and Black Country Touring, as further support of their brilliant work.
Zoe’s Place, Middlesbrough
“Zoë’s Place is an independent registered children’s charity providing palliative, respite and end of life care to babies and infants aged from birth to 6 years suffering from life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. Compassionate care is at the heart of our philosophy and this will be provided to all who access our facilities. There is no cost to the families for this service.
“We have 3 hospices located across the country – Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Coventry.
“We believe every child should be afforded the right to live their life to the maximum potential. The care we offer is provided in a safe home from home environment by our specialist team of Nurses.
“The £4,000 kindly donated by Sigma Capital, on behalf of their 4,000 resident, will go such a long way. It currently costs around £3,000 to keep our doors open for one day, for up to five children.
“During a typical day, we offer specialist services and care such as, a state of the art sensory and play room, therapy spa bath, specialised transport for days out, one to one care plans, art, music and play therapy, as well as physiotherapy and a beautiful garden area which hosts a playground, gingerbread house and quiet spots, for children to enjoy some solitude and to relax amongst our beautiful surroundings.
“Every single penny raised by Sigma Capital will go towards helping us provide these wide range of specialist services to all of our beautiful children for another day.
“From everyone at Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice, Middlesbrough, we would like to say a huge thank you to Sigma Capital for such an amazing gesture and we look forward to working with the team in the future.”
Sara Benson
Corporate and Major Donor Fundraiser
Wigan & Leigh Deaf Children’s Society
“Wigan & Leigh Deaf Children’s Society was established in 2013 by the parents of 3 children who were newly diagnosed as deaf. Since then we have grown considerably and we now include any child and their families with any Sensory impairment.
“We arrange regular activities for children and their families of all ages from pre-school to teenagers. We are a local source of support as we know 90% of deaf and visually impaired children are born onto families with no experience of hearing loss or blindness. This means that the majority of the people that we deal with are experiencing great uncertainty and are seeking answers to questions that they never thought they would need to ask. From our experience we know that this time is very daunting and we offer reassurance through facilitating the sharing of experience and knowledge.
“The money donated by yourselves will be used to continue our deaf and visually impaired swimming lessons. These lessons aim to build confidence and self-esteem, they help children and their families realise that their disability does not need to be a barrier.
“Also, the money donated will help towards British Sign Language (BSL) lessons. We have found that parents find it helpful especially when children are young to use sign language to communicate.”
Diane Roberts
WLDCS Co-ordinator
Black Country Touring
“This grant of £1,000 will support Black Country Touring as they resume activity in local communities following the pandemic. Working across Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton, the performing arts charity supports local people to programme live theatre and dance in small community venues, in areas where there are few opportunities to experience arts and culture. Black Country Touring believe that the arts have the potential to change lives by allowing us to see new possibilities, develop new skills and provide opportunities to reflect on our own lives, communities and the wider world.
“Black Country Touring also runs the pioneering Young Promoters scheme which sees children in primary and secondary school transform their school into a venue for professional live theatre dance, programming for their wider community. All aspects of the show are managed and organised by the young people involved. They lead on all decisions: from programming and marketing to running the box office and front of house. They host the visiting company and even fundraise for the show. It not only gives children agency and real-world responsibility, it also develops key life skills such as collaboration, resilience and effective communication.
“Black Country Touring is also a producing theatre company, making new shows that reflect and celebrate the rich cultural diversity of contemporary Black Country life. They are developed specifically to engage audiences with limited experience of theatre, often taking place in small spaces – libraries, shops, even caravans – and inspired by the stories and lives of local people.”
Matt Andrews
Fundraising & Development Manager
Black Country Touring
Building relationships with local charities is important to us and we are delighted to be able to support the work of all these charities, in response to resident engagement, and look forward to a growing partnership.