Our Summer Camp

July 2021

One of the main reasons we fundraise is to enable us to run our week long Speech & Social Therapy Camp in the Summer Holidays. Due to Covid 19, we were unable to run in 2020 so our children were so excited to be getting together, having fun and learning once again this Summer.

A lot of planning and organisation goes into each Camp. We try to work with different suppliers and always have a theme that we know will resonate with our children – this year was The Greatest Showman!

Our aim is always to ensure each child gets the most out of the week (with the emphasis being very much on having fun, but with some underlying goals included as well). Every child has different aims – they could be speech related, confidence building, socialising, independence, team work, self-care, etc so care is taken to ensure the programme each day includes targeted elements, as well as introducing new concepts, experiencing new ideas and often pushing our children out of their comfort zone (which we all need to do every now and then).

This year we had a great Speech & Language Therapy Company https://symbolconnect.co.uk/ as well as a Specialist SEN Dance Company, Chance to Dance http://www.sendanceclub.co.uk/ and to round off the week, we were lucky enough to have 2 lovely members of the Swings & Smiles Team provide a fun morning of games, songs, crafts and activities https://www.swingsandsmiles.co.uk/. We were even treated to a visit and a street dance display from the actual Spiderman, who gave each child a Participation Certificate & Goody Bag

(Felix Clements – https://www.instagram.com/felix_clements/?hl=en

We build wonderful relationships with our Suppliers and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for supporting Chatterbox and for working hard to ensure our Camp is a success – which it REALLY REALLY was – the feedback from each child was

Spiderman was a hit

How do we fund our activities?

Well, we have a number of interesting ways of raising funds – one of which is by collecting books (as well as DVD’s and CD’s) and selling these on with every penny raised going straight back into Chatterbox.

We are very lucky in that we are given LOTS of donations of unwanted books (we will take literally any type of book – we were given the entire Library from https://www.furzeplatt.com/ at the start of the Summer!). We also collect unwanted DVD’s and CD’s (again – ANY type).

We have 2 drop off points (Maidenhead & Cippenham) or we can arrange collection.

So if you are having a clear out we would love to have any books / DVD’s or DC’s you no longer want.

Please send us a message and we can chat further.

Thank you to everyone who has already donated.

Its World Downs Syndrome Day 2021 (in lockdown!!).

This didn’t stop our little Chatterboxes having fun. After what seems like an incredibly long time since 21 March 2020, we were able to celebrate by wearing our new, limited edition t-shirts, designed for us by the lovely people at TwentyTwelve

https://www.twentytwelveonline.co.uk

We also got together (in a virtual way) and had a Chatterbox Zoom – which was a fantastic way to see each other, have some fun answering some quiz questions, getting involved in a scavenger hunt and celebrating this special day in our own way. We are lucky enough to usually have a whole calendar full of Social Sessions, where we can get together, have some fun, try new experiences and challenge ourselves. However this past year has been tough – just life everyone else in the UK – no meet ups, no Summer Camp, no adventures.

There is light at the end of the tunnel however and with restrictions to lockdown lifting, we are now looking at starting to plan our Summer Camp 2021 – which we really hope can go ahead this year – we have some great ideas in mind.

I thought I would finish with sharing a video made for WDSD 2021 which highlights employment opportunities within the Downs Syndrome community – something we will go into greater detail soon.

Hope you enjoy it and Happy World Downs Syndrome Day!

In preparation of World Downs Syndrome Day 2021, I wanted to share one of my favourite soundbites of people with Downs Syndrome talking about what its like to have Downs Syndrome, what barriers they face and how they are just like anyone else – wanting to have a happy, fulfilling life with work, health, relationships and friendships.

This is my first clip to share with you – hope you enjoy it.

World Downs Syndrome Day 2021 is on 21st March 2021

With everyone shut in at home #lockdown3, now is the perfect time for a spot of Spring Cleaning!

With this in mind, if you happen to come across any unwanted dvd’s, dcs or books, we would LOVE to take these off your hands. At Chatterbox we are always looking for new and innovative ways to raise funds and we have found a way to recycle your unloved items whilst raising money for Chatterbox in the process.

So …..

please contact us if you are able to donate cds (any type), dvds (all kinds) or books (any – adult or childrens, in any condition) – we are able to arrange ‘safe’, contact free collections or you can deliver them if you are local to Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead.

You can comment here or on our facebook page (search for ‘Chatterbox’)

Wow ….. the last post here was nearly 1 year ago (November 2019) and what a crazy ‘Covid 19’ World we have all experienced in that time. We were gearing up to our Summer Camp 2020 but due to lockdown this had to be cancelled, which was a real shame as lots of effort and some exciting activities had been planned for our little Chatterboxes.

Life goes on however ………..

Even though we haven’t been allowed to continue with any of our regular activities or fundraising events, we have been working hard in the background, doing what we can to fundraise and ensure a future for our Group.

With this in mind, we would like to thank the following organisations who have continued to support us over the last year – we really do appreciate all you do for us:

Tesco Bags of Help

Manor Green School – http://www.manorgreenschool.co.uk/

Chance to Dance – http://www.sendanceclub.co.uk/index.html

Ascot Racecourse – https://www.ascot.co.uk/

Mill Ride Golf Club – https://www.mill-ride.com/

The Westgate School – https://www.westgate.slough.sch.uk/

Jacobs Douwe Egberts – https://www.jacobsdouweegberts.com/

The Handmade Cake Company – https://www.handmadecake.co.uk/

Stoke Park – https://www.stokepark.com/

Clean Conscience – https://cleanconscience.org.uk/

Spirit and Grace – https://www.spiritandgracestyle.com/

Gilbeys – https://www.gilbeygroup.com/restaurants/gilbeys-old-amersham/

A massive THANK YOU to Adeeqah at Jacobs Douwe Ebgerts GB Ltd (Coffee) for supporting Chatterbox by holding a bake sale in the office this week.  With doughnuts donated and handmade Samosas and Sausage Rolls prepared, a grand total of £223 was raised and donated to Chatterbox!

We are very thankful to Adeeqah for thinking of us!

Its that time of year again – the Chatterbox annual Coffee & Cupcake morning!

Friday 6 December 2019

10 – 12

Burnham Park Hall, Windsor Lane, Burnham Village, SL1 7HR

As usual we will have a huge selection of delicious, handmade cakes and treats available to eat on the day or to take home with you (cake boxes provided).  Tea, coffee and soft drinks will also be available.  We will have our ever popular Silent Auction too (we already have some INCREDIBLE prizes and seem to be getting more & more on a daily basis), as well as a FAB raffle with some lovely items for you to win.

We are delighted to have some lovely local businesses supporting us once again this year – a great opportunity to get ahead with the Christmas shopping or to treat yourself!

Maria, Katie, Gwen and Mandy will be selling lovely, well priced gifts to purchase on the day.

The Miles Sparkle

Spirit & Grace Gifts

CleanConscience

Every single penny raised will go to Chatterbox – a local speech & social therapy group for children with Downs Syndrome. So please join us in making this our best one yet – bring friends, family, children, babies – ALL WELCOME!

No entry fee and free on site parking available.

Its been a little while since we have updated our website and for our regular followers we apologise for this BUT we are back!!

Whilst there has been no activity here, please don’t think we haven’t been beavering away, working hard in the background, because we have.  We have ploughed all of our resources and efforts into fundraising over the last year and have also launched the ‘Social’ part of our provision more fully.

As children with Downs Syndrome get older, the gap between them and ‘typically developing peers’ gets bigger which means that the opportunity to socialise, make friends, have fun and promote independence decreases. With this in mind, we thought we would take the matter into our own hands and create a programme of regular activities for our children.  This will not only provide new stimulation and learning experiences but will also provide a great opportunity to meet up & catch up with friends (for the children and Carers alike!).

So far we have been to :

• Clip n Climb – Clip n Climb
• Jump In – Jump In
• Thomley Hall – Thomley Hall
• Norden Farm – Norden Farm
• Cinema

We have plans for a Pantomime trip in December, Bowling and Karting in the New Year!

Friday 30 November 2018 saw our very first Pamper Night and what a huge success it was! We were lucky enough to have the beautifully decorated halls at St Edmund Campion School in Maidenhead at our disposal and put on a wonderful Pamper Night for local people, raising funds for Chatterbox.

As well as our usual FABULOUS raffle and INCREDIBLE silent auction, we also had 11 stalls, selling an incredible selection of products including Aromatherapy Candles, Handmade Artwork, Childrens Communication Aids, Handbags, Scarves, Jewellery, Health Products, Beauty Products.  We also had 2 incredibly talented local Artists – Laura Holloway Laura Holloway Art and Simon Ward Simon Ward Art

Our guests were able to sample DELICIOUS handmade cakes, mince pies, traybakes and were also able to enjoy some pampering with the help of 2 local Beauty Therapists – Dinara from Weleda Danira Farina Beauty Therapist offering complimentary relaxing facials and Rachel from The Beauty Box offering mini manicures.  Both ladies worked tirelessly throughout the evening, ensuring our guests left feeling truly pampered.

A small thank you to everyone who supported us at this event:

http://www.st-edmund.org.uk/

https://www.handmadecake.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/mymoodstars/

https://www.facebook.com/themilessparkle/

https://siennasixteen.com/

https://www.spiritandgracegifts.co.uk/

https://www.uk-aromessence.co.uk/

Jade Walden @Body Shop at Home, Mel Smith @Funky Families, Mandy Ward and Aurora @Forever Living.

TOTAL RAISED: £1,084