West Yorkshire Spring Grant Round 2019

Cash for Kids and their Local Executive Board granted over £6,000, supporting over 2,000 local children in their first Grant Round of 2019.

Boy A* Aged 3 - £708

Boy A was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy which means he cannot walk or sit unaided and has limited use of one hand. Amazingly, he attends mainstream nursery with assistance from a 121 support worker. He lives at home with his mum and dad, and loves to be outdoors. Cash for Kids were contacted by a support worker who is a close-friend of Boy A's family. She explained that Boy A would benefit from some outdoor equipment that is suitable for use with a wheelchair. Cash for Kids have agreed to fund an outdoor wheelchair swing.

Grange Farm Primary/Nursery - £1,000 - 750 children

Grange Farm Primary is located in Seacroft, Leeds. One of the teachers completed the application for funding from Cash for Kids, after she recognised a vital need at the school. Many of their families do not have safe outdoor spaces for the children to play, and they strongly believe this provision will help their youngest children to develop their fine and gross motor skills, communication and social skills. In addition, the opportunity to take controlled risks enables children to develop self esteem and perseverance, which are skills that their children find difficult but are essential for them to succeed. Cash for Kids have agreed to fund outdoor play equipment and items such as; bikes, woodwork benches, bug/insect kits, play tunnels and more...

Alexsander Aged 12 - £700

Alexsander has autism, severe learning difficulties and does not speak. His mother contacted Cash for Kids and explained that a lot of specialist sensory toys are very expensive. His mother has been advised that certain sensory toys would benefit Alexsander's learning and development. The Cash for Kids Board of Trustees agreed to fund £700, which will purchase a specialist fibre-optic seat with harness and light-source. This will go in Alexsander's room which his family are trying to enchance with sensory equipment.

Girl C Aged 8 - £1,000

Girl C has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, global development delay, cortical visual impairment, progressive intestinal failure and feeding intolerance with both a gastrostomy / Jej feeding tube. She has no independent movement and heavily relies on an adult for all her care needs. Due to her illnesses, her family moved her bed downstairs into the dining room, as getting up and down the stairs was a problem. Girl C's mother applied to Cash for Kids, for funding to transform their dining room into a proper bedroom for her daughter. This includes specialist sensory equipment, to make the room more interactive and to meet her needs.

RKLT: Temple Newsam Community Partnership - £1,000 - 400 children

The Temple Newsam Community Partnership is part of the Red Kite Learning Trust, which is a Multi Academy Trust. It is an exempt charity made up of nine schools, one children’s centre and a variety of community organisations all working together to support children, young people and families of East Leeds. Around five thousand families live in their target area including some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Their team supports children with social, emotional and behavioural needs. They applied to Cash for Kids for funding towards their Summer Holiday programmes. These are provided to local children to keep them off the streets, and give them something to do in the school holidays. The Board of Trustees agreed to fund £1,000 towards the programme.

Armley, Kirkstall and Hawksworth Wood Children's Centre - £350 - 300 children

The Children's Centre support families with children under 5 years old in the Armley area. They provide both intensive support in the home and advice and support through groups and courses in the Centre. Some of the areas of support they provide are around domestic abuse, substance misuse, financial difficulties, employment and child behaviour, routine and development. There is very limited safe outdoor space for children to play and explore, and at the Centre they have a small outdoor space, however the provision is limited and not engaging for children to access. Cash for Kids are funding a mud kitchen, complete with soil and utensils.

Crossgates and Manston Children's Centre - £300 - 800 children

The Children's Centre is a hub for families offering a range of support services and early learning opportunities with a target age range of 0-5 years (though older siblings are not excluded). Following their latest audit it has become apparent that the Centre needs to build a resource bank, that can fulfill their aim of supporting children to raise their mathematical scores at the end of the foundation stage. They identified resources that they would use to support the development of key concepts including shape, measures, number and problem solving - the latter being of prime interest to us. Cash for Kids have agreed to fund £300 worth of resources including; dominoes, measuring sets, water play kits, balancing items and number kits.