Thame MP’s Christmas card competition
THAME’S MP, John Howell, has asked Thomley Hall’s young people to design his Christmas card.
Thomley Activity Centre is for children and young adults with disabilities and specific needs such as autism. and is based near Worminghall on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border.
The front picture for John Howell’s Christmas card will be selected from designs prepared by the children and young people in a competition which will take place at the Centre during October.
The winning picture will be selected by Henley resident, Dame Stephanie Shirley who, through The Shirley Foundation, is helping to facilitate scientific research into the causes of autism, by 2014 and to halve its global costs by 2020.
John Howell said: “I am delighted to use my Christmas Card to promote Thomley Activity Centre and am particularly pleased both that the young people at the Centre will be producing the picture for the front cover and that Dame Stephanie, who has pioneered so much work into autism, has agreed to select the winning picture.
“This is a constituency filled with examples of exceptional charitable activity. I have seen the impact Thomley Activity Centre can have on the lives of families in which a young person is disabled or has specific needs and it is a pleasure to be able to work with it on this project.”
Claire Acworth from Thomley Activity Centre added:
“We were pleased that our new MP came up with such an original idea to support us and the work we do. Thomley Activity Centre provides a unique recreational facility for disabled children who attend with their families, schools, respite carers, play schemes and groups. We are delighted that this Christmas card will reach people who do not yet know about the Centre.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
(1) A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY WILL BE NOTIFIED SEPARATELY WHEN DAME SHIRLY PICKS THE WINNING DESIGN
(2) Contact: John Howell MP ? 0207 219 6676 or 07889 646845
(3) For information about Thomley Activity Centre – contact Claire Acworth on 01844 338380 or claire@thomleyhall.org
Thomley Activity Centre is the only facility of its kind within a 35 mile radius. Set in 7 secure acres of countryside, Thomley enables children to learn through freely exploring our soft play room, music room, computer room, chill-out room, craft room, play rooms, swings, roundabout, aerial zip wire and a cycle track.
The aims of the centre are to achieve the following outcomes.
o To increase the self esteem, health, confidence and social skills of disabled children and their siblings through accessible play and recreation.
o To provide parents with an opportunity to meet others who have disabled children, to lessen their isolation and to increase their ability to support their children through play.
o To help the community gain understanding and acceptance of disability issues so they can include disabled children within their own community activities.
Due to the uniqueness of the centre, families, schools and groups come from 13 different counties to use the facilities offered, with the majority coming from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Thomley is seeing a trend of over 30% annual increase in centre usage and expect approximately 6,000 child visitors this year, not taking into account the increasing numbers of parents who also benefit from support through the centre.
(4) For information about Dame Stephanie Shirley and the work of the Shirley Foundation visit www.steveshirley.com. To see the work of Autism Speaks visit http://www.autismspeaks.org.uk
Photo: Staff and children from Thomley Activity Centre
