Family fun day to help fund sensory play area in Beeston

Newly incorporated Community Interest Company, Senses Through Elements (STE) is holding its second fundraising event on Sunday 7 August 2022 (see details below). We were thrilled to meet members of the local community at our first event last month. We are in the early stages of creating a free outdoor based sensory play provision for children with and without Autism and learning disabilities within the South Leeds area.

We see a huge gap in play provision within our community and we want to change that. Our intention at STE is to promote the inclusion and acceptance of all children regardless of needs, ability or background; it is of paramount importance for us to celebrate difference. Our environment will provide a safe space for everyone to explore and learn together, for children to make connections and build friendships. We plan to create a space derived of different ‘play zones’ each encompassing a different form of sensory play.

Who are we you may wonder? We are a couple with a three year old daughter living in the heart of South Leeds with a passion to promote social change. We are in the very early stages of what we think is a very exciting project. We have begun transforming the generous piece of land kindly donated to us by the wonderful members of the Rowland Road WMC.

Steve Firth and his partner Jo who currently run the club have been extremely helpful in aiding our journey so far, publicising what we are doing, giving us access to the grounds when needed, providing us with tea and coffee and introducing us to some of the clubs fantastic members. Walking into the club for the first time was particularly nostalgic for us and you couldn’t ask for a friendly or more welcoming group of people.

We are now on the hunt for volunteers who would like to get involved in our project and be a part of the amazing journey that we are on at STE. If this person is you then please do get in touch by emailing us at SensesThroughElements_STE@outlook.com.

So far we have managed to completely clear the surface of the land and rip out the brambles and weeds that stood at over three metres in height. This was made possible by the generosity of Bradford Bulls player Aaron Murphy who was kind enough to loan us a digger for the weekend from his company Warriorworxplanthire. Aaron is also currently supporting our project in various ways and we are excited to share exactly how at a later date.

So, what’s next then? We will be hosting a fundraising event on the first Sunday of every month in the club car park; the intention here is to raise awareness for what we are doing and raise funds for the project. There will be bubbles, bouncy castles and obstacle courses, tombola and raffles and lots of fun for the children at each event.

Our event on Sunday 7 August, 11am-4pm will feature:

  • Indian Food
  • Henna
  • A bouncy castle
  • Bubble machine (free)
  • Character Mascot (free)
  • Live music performance by Max Jones at 1pm
  • A head and shoulder massages by the fantastic Robert Docherty
  • The Tiny Tetley people will have creative/tactile/arty play set up 11am-3pm (free)
  • Candyfloss and popcorn cart
  • Tombola, Raffles and games.
  • Refreshments table ran by the wonderful club.

We are also welcoming people to come and set up their own table to sell their goods for just £5 per table. All proceeds from table bookings will go directly into the project of transforming the land into a fantastic sensory play space and all takings on the day are the stall owners.

If you can’t make it on the day but would like to contribute to our project please visit our GoFundMe page, you can also follow our progress on our Facebook page ‘Senses Through Elements’.

 

This post was written by Jade and James Belton

We encourage anyone living or working in South Leeds to use this website to tell their news. You can either use the Create an article for South Leeds Life page, or email us at: info@southleedslife.com