Charity appeal: the Garwood Foundation is a charity embedded in Croydon, conducting vitally important work
Inside Croydon is proud to have nominated the Garwood Foundation for its 2024 charity appeal, encouraging our readers to donate, support and engage with the South Croydon-based charity’s vitally important work at a crucial time in its history.
Founded in 1952, the Garwood Foundation provides a range of services for people with disabilities in Croydon and the surrounding boroughs. They operate a school and life skills centre, Rutherford School on Melville Avenue, a day centre on Bramley Hill, a residential home, Jean Garwood House, and run fund-raising charity shops on South End and in Addiscombe.
The charity’s focus is “to promote the care, welfare, interest, treatment and advancement of education of people with profound, multiple, acquired or other disabilities”.
They say, “At Garwood, we’re on a mission to provide the best education, care, and therapy we can.”
And this year is a specially challenging one, as they look to meet ever-increasing demand for their services while modernising Rutherford School, “providing an even greater space where not only can our students thrive, but members of the community can, too”.
The Garwood Foundation is Inside Croydon’s nominated charity for 2024
The Garwood Foundation has a £2.5million programme of capital improvements designed to support the flexibility that is needed to accommodate the very complex medical and physical needs of people with profound and multiple disabilities.
They are planning:
- A new hydrotherapy pool for use by our students and groups from the community
- An extra classroom and new student entrance
- Accessible meeting space (including accessible toilets) open to the community
One of Garwood’s bespoke offers is aquatherapy in a thermoneutral hydrotherapy pool.
This means that the water doesn’t affect the core body temperature, improving circulation and muscle relaxation. “Not only do our students benefit therapeutically from cardiovascular, muscular or skeletal points, there is also a noted reduction in pain levels, and students can access all areas of the curriculum whilst in the hydro pool.
The pool, they say “allows for a person with profound and multiple learning disabilities to be free and independent with truly minimal hands-on assistance”.
Local community groups have already approached the Garwood Foundation about their being able to use the hydro pool for therapies, such as physios for post-operative rehabilitation. “With the space bookable in the evenings and weekends, not only will our students thrive in this space, so will members of our community,” said a spokesperson for the Garwood Foundation.
And they say, “With such ambitious plans we’re seeking support from you. Donations, fundraising and partnerships will help us achieve our goals and provide a space to thrive. We have planning agreed and work is about to start. There’s no time like the present to help!”
Most of the funding for the ambitious “Space To Thrive” project has already been secured, and the Garwood Foundation is now appealling to the Croydon public for one last push to reach the target.
The public are encouraged to contribute to the cost of new equipment, items for the revamped and wheelchair-accessible sensory garden, items for our new accessible meeting space, or plants for our living roof above the hydrotherapy pool.
They are asking local companies, sports clubs, pubs, schools and community groups to stage fund-raisers, from hosting coffee mornings, to taking part in a sponsored challenge event or staging a pub quiz. The charity can support you with marketing collateral and promotion.
You might start by taking part in Inside Croydon’s autumn amble rambkle this Sunday, November 17, when all donations go to the Garwood Foundation. Click here for details and links to sign up today.
- To find out more about the Garwood Foundation and its work, click here
- To make a donation to the Garwood Foundation, click here
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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