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Status
Received: 5 days late
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Income
£40.7K
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Spending
£36.3K
- Charity no. 101356
- Date registered. 02/02/2015
Public benefits
Down's & Proud is a public benefit as it enhances the lives of people with Down's syndrome and their families primarily in the Lurgan area but is also available to anyone throughout Northern Ireland via our website and telephone contact. It helps our children build friendships and allows them to grow up together. We run a 2 week annual Summer
Scheme for all of the children in the group and hire qualified assistants to look after the children to ensure their safety requirements are fully met. We provide all aspects of support for our children and their families as and when required. We want to make sure the parents are happy and that they have adequate support and information to help with decisions they may face throughout their child’s education and beyond. We also provide financial assistance for various reasons, for example educational aids and speech programs. We have recently started our own Tell Tales Speech Club. We have symbol qualified 3 co-workers which under the guidance of a speech therapist hold weekly speech sessions for the children in Down's & Proud. This gives the children the extra help that they need with their speech and also encourages friendships within the group. We aim to provide support and a listening ear for those who want to share their thoughts and experiences. Down’s & Proud aims to raise awareness for Down’s syndrome, as the more people are aware and educated about the condition, the easier it will be on our children. These benefits are demonstrated through positive feedback from parents and families and the actual improvements in the capabilities of the children who are involved in the group. There is no harm or private benefit flowing from the purposes.
What your organisation does
Down’s & Proud is a group that was set up to help local children with Down’s syndrome overcome any obstacles that may be in their way. From the very onset of the group, it became so apparent that the one thing that we all shared as parents of children with Down’s Syndrome was how proud we all are of our children and how proud we are of their
siblings for the way that they cope with having a brother or sister that may need that little bit extra help. We act as a Support Network for the wider family circle by helping each other out when it comes to dealing with issues and gaining much needed advice. We provide a listening ear for those who want to share their thoughts and experiences. Throughout the years many lifelong friendships have grew amongst our children, and with the parents too! The parents meet on the third Monday of every month in The Hub, Craigavon from 8.00pm to 9.00pm. Throughout the year we raise funds to pay for many events, trips and activities. Examples of these are our yearly two-week Summer Scheme, a fun filled two weeks that caters for all our children, our much needed weekly Tell Tales Speech Clubs, weekly football training and a yearly tournament for our very own football team Down’s & Proud F.C. to compete in. We also have weekly Singing sessions, provide educational aids for our children, hold training courses, monthly activity days for our all the family and much more.
The charity’s classifications
- The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
Who the charity helps
- Children (5-13 year olds)
- Learning disabilities
- Preschool (0-5 year olds)
- Youth (14-25 year olds)
How the charity works
- Counselling/support
- Cross-border/cross-community
- Disability
- Education/training
- General charitable purposes