Dates for Next Term
30th April, 14th & 28th May, 11th June (garden party for the Queen's Jubilee), 9th July, 23rd July (subject to staff to availability).
In addition to this we will have an information stall/activity for children at 'FiFi's Vision' SEN event at Abbey Rugby Club on Saturday 2nd July. Another date for your diary is Autistic Pride on Sunday 24th July in Prospect Park where we will also hopefully have a stall.
30th April, 14th & 28th May, 11th June (garden party for the Queen's Jubilee), 9th July, 23rd July (subject to staff to availability).
In addition to this we will have an information stall/activity for children at 'FiFi's Vision' SEN event at Abbey Rugby Club on Saturday 2nd July. Another date for your diary is Autistic Pride on Sunday 24th July in Prospect Park where we will also hopefully have a stall.
Easter Crafting and Egg Hunting
Congratulations Jack!
Huge congratulations to Jack Vaughan who completed the Reading Half Marathon in 1 hour, 55 minutes and 12 seconds and raised a whopping £1,451.16 for RAFT!
Jack said of the experience "During my way around the circuit I couldn't help think what a fantastic event the half marathon is for the town. The amount of people who fill the streets and cheer you on is unbelievable and I was filled with absolute gratitude, until mile 10 that was 😂. Thank you so so much for your donation. Your donation will make such a difference".
Your donations will definitely make a difference, enabling us to continue to provide free access to the Club, play and friendship opportunities for autistic children, and a short break and support group for parents and carers. Thank you so much Jack and your 60 supporters!
Huge congratulations to Jack Vaughan who completed the Reading Half Marathon in 1 hour, 55 minutes and 12 seconds and raised a whopping £1,451.16 for RAFT!
Jack said of the experience "During my way around the circuit I couldn't help think what a fantastic event the half marathon is for the town. The amount of people who fill the streets and cheer you on is unbelievable and I was filled with absolute gratitude, until mile 10 that was 😂. Thank you so so much for your donation. Your donation will make such a difference".
Your donations will definitely make a difference, enabling us to continue to provide free access to the Club, play and friendship opportunities for autistic children, and a short break and support group for parents and carers. Thank you so much Jack and your 60 supporters!
Annual General Meeting
We held our Annual General Meeting at our session on 26th March whilst the children celebrated the beginning of Spring. We were very pleased to welcome 10 parent/carers to the AGM. We welcomed Jack Vaughan to the Committee as a Parent Member and Sam Redman is staying on at the Club as a volunteer mentor. We will have spaces for new attendees from September 2022 so please do get in touch via our Contact page.
We held our Annual General Meeting at our session on 26th March whilst the children celebrated the beginning of Spring. We were very pleased to welcome 10 parent/carers to the AGM. We welcomed Jack Vaughan to the Committee as a Parent Member and Sam Redman is staying on at the Club as a volunteer mentor. We will have spaces for new attendees from September 2022 so please do get in touch via our Contact page.
Mother's Day
St David's Day
Sessions Update
Just to let you all know, we have had to move the next RAFT session on the 26th of February to the 5th of March as The Avenue have booked out the sports hall to another group on that day. This will mean that we will run 3 sessions in March on the 5th, 12th & 26th.
Just to let you all know, we have had to move the next RAFT session on the 26th of February to the 5th of March as The Avenue have booked out the sports hall to another group on that day. This will mean that we will run 3 sessions in March on the 5th, 12th & 26th.
Please find below a link to the JustGiving page for Jack Vaughan who is very kindly running the Reading Half Marathon in aid of RAFT this April. Please forward to any family/friends/colleagues who may wish to donate and support RAFT.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jack-vaughan |
RAFT is back for 2022!
We hope you are all well and that your lives haven't been too disrupted by the dreaded "C" over the past couple of months. We're excited to say that RAFT is still on track to start back on Saturday 12th February at our usual time of 2pm at The Avenue.
We have a Valentine-themed session planned with truffle making and and it will be lovely to see as many of you as possible. We also have Nina Crispin, a representative from Reading Borough Council, coming to talk to parents regarding the new Autism Strategy. We feel it is really important that we get involved as only we know what it's like on the 'frontline', so to speak.
In other news, RAFT parent Jack is planning on running Reading Half Marathon to raise funds for RAFT in April so watch this space for how to donate. I'm sure you'd like to join us in thanking Jack for helping us to keep the club running.
A reminder of the dates for this term: 12th & 26th February, 12th & 26th March, 9th & 30th April (to avoid Easter). Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the sessions so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
We hope you are all well and that your lives haven't been too disrupted by the dreaded "C" over the past couple of months. We're excited to say that RAFT is still on track to start back on Saturday 12th February at our usual time of 2pm at The Avenue.
We have a Valentine-themed session planned with truffle making and and it will be lovely to see as many of you as possible. We also have Nina Crispin, a representative from Reading Borough Council, coming to talk to parents regarding the new Autism Strategy. We feel it is really important that we get involved as only we know what it's like on the 'frontline', so to speak.
In other news, RAFT parent Jack is planning on running Reading Half Marathon to raise funds for RAFT in April so watch this space for how to donate. I'm sure you'd like to join us in thanking Jack for helping us to keep the club running.
A reminder of the dates for this term: 12th & 26th February, 12th & 26th March, 9th & 30th April (to avoid Easter). Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the sessions so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Thank You!
We were chosen as Charity of the Year for 2020 by the Village Green Quilters of Yateley. Due to the disruption to fundraising caused by Covid we remained as their chosen charity until now. We are very grateful for their very generous donation of £1000 to the Raft Club. All fundraising helps us to stay a free to access Club. Thank you so much Village Green Quilters.
We were chosen as Charity of the Year for 2020 by the Village Green Quilters of Yateley. Due to the disruption to fundraising caused by Covid we remained as their chosen charity until now. We are very grateful for their very generous donation of £1000 to the Raft Club. All fundraising helps us to stay a free to access Club. Thank you so much Village Green Quilters.
2022 RAFT Sessions and Covid Update
We have taken the decision not to run RAFT in January as the Covid Omicron variant is predicted to peak at this point. With this in mind the dates for 2022 are as follows:
Spring term: 12th & 26th February, 12th & 26th March, 9th & 30th April (to avoid Easter)
Summer term: 14th & 28th May, 11th & 25th June, 9th & 23rd July.
We have taken the decision not to run RAFT in January as the Covid Omicron variant is predicted to peak at this point. With this in mind the dates for 2022 are as follows:
Spring term: 12th & 26th February, 12th & 26th March, 9th & 30th April (to avoid Easter)
Summer term: 14th & 28th May, 11th & 25th June, 9th & 23rd July.
Season's Greetings
Thank you for your support of RAFT over the past year. The Raft Club team wish all a restful and happy Christmas with your families. Raft will be back in the New Year.
Christmas Crafting
Thank You!
A big 'thank you' to Brighter Futures for Children for providing a grant of £450 for the club. Mark Hobson, Short Breaks Co-ordinator said "We are happy to support and work with The Raft Club so that your great work can continue to support Reading Families".
A big 'thank you' to Brighter Futures for Children for providing a grant of £450 for the club. Mark Hobson, Short Breaks Co-ordinator said "We are happy to support and work with The Raft Club so that your great work can continue to support Reading Families".
Woodcote Village Fete 2021
On Saturday 11th September Raft had a stall at the Woodcote Village Fete. The weather was lovely and the rain held off. We had books, DVDs, toys and jewelry for sale. We sold out of our ladies secret gift bags and only had two of the men's ones left. Our children's tombola was very busy too. Thank you to all club members who donated items and for Woodcote Village Fete for having us. We raised £292.40!
2021 RAFT Sessions: Autumn Dates
Raft returns on the 11th September 2021.
The rest of the sessions are: 25th September, 9th & 23rd October, 13th & 27th November and 11th December.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft returns on the 11th September 2021.
The rest of the sessions are: 25th September, 9th & 23rd October, 13th & 27th November and 11th December.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft Returns!
We were very pleased to be able to hold a few Raft sessions in the run up to the 2021 Summer school holidays. Parents met on the benches outside whilst the children had their play sessions. It was a bit chilly at times but we were all glad to be back at the club. We ended term with a picnic for all in the School grounds.
We were very pleased to be able to hold a few Raft sessions in the run up to the 2021 Summer school holidays. Parents met on the benches outside whilst the children had their play sessions. It was a bit chilly at times but we were all glad to be back at the club. We ended term with a picnic for all in the School grounds.
Coronavirus: Message from Michele (Raft Club Chairperson)
Sadly, in the current unprecedented circumstances, I'm afraid we have to cancel our RAFT sessions for the foreseeable future. The Avenue centre has closed and I'm not sure when it will reopen. We need to practice social distancing as per the government advice and will review the situation going forward.
I'm sure some will find this period of confinement particularly challenging, and most of you will have some ideas on how to cope, but I thought you might appreciate a few extra ideas:
I hope some of this is useful and I'd love to hear from any of you with other ideas or just for a catch up. Keep well and keep safe.
Michele x
Sadly, in the current unprecedented circumstances, I'm afraid we have to cancel our RAFT sessions for the foreseeable future. The Avenue centre has closed and I'm not sure when it will reopen. We need to practice social distancing as per the government advice and will review the situation going forward.
I'm sure some will find this period of confinement particularly challenging, and most of you will have some ideas on how to cope, but I thought you might appreciate a few extra ideas:
- Try keeping to a timetable/structured day with wake up time/meal times/snack breaks at the same time every day. Put up a visual timetable that you can change so they can refer back to it if they are feeling anxious and let them help you decide what should be included as this will help them feel that they have some control. Differentiate between weekdays and weekends.
- Also Involve your children in any jobs you are doing or give them responsibility for a particular task. My son looks after our chickens as well as the washing.
- Build some form of exercise into the daily routine. (Joe Wicks You Tube workouts and Cosmic Kids yoga are good) but there are loads of others on-line. We already go running and use the Nike run app to keep us motivated/competitive. (When I say run, mine is more of a shuffle!)
- If you are lucky enough to have a garden you could get the kids involved with planting seeds in old loo roll tubes or plastic bottles, making bird feeders, art sculptures/ pictures from things they find outside ( good way to discuss recycling/plastic waste) or find a patch of garden to turn into a veg patch or build a den.
- If your children like stories try www.stories.audible.com - free stories streamed on laptops etc.
- For Lego fans try on line programs such as Stop Motion and The Lego Movie 2 Movie Maker which enables children to begin animating their own Lego shows.
- If you have time use the opportunity to learn a new skill/ improve an existing one. I'm going to pick up my Tenor recorder after years of neglect.
- If you feel like having a spring clean, have a sort out of your unwanted gifts/unused smellies/unopened toys and save them up for RAFT secret bags for Christmas. Also, hold on to books, CDs and DVDs for our car boot and online sales.
- Or dust off that sewing machine/ food processor and have a go at making something ( I love Pinterest for lots of ideas).
- Get the kids involved in cooking, planning meals or peeling veg etc (good for fine motor skills!)
I hope some of this is useful and I'd love to hear from any of you with other ideas or just for a catch up. Keep well and keep safe.
Michele x
Table Football
We are lucky to have built up a good collection of items to support and entertain the children at the club. Unfortunately we have limited on-site storage. It's a bit of a trick getting this into and out of the car so it's a bit of a rare treat for the children. Much fun was had and one of my boys sneaked an extra play whilst we were packing up to go home.
Truffles for Valentine's Day
The children created their own designs and built the boxes before hand-making truffles for family and friends.
Super Builders!
Celebrating Chinese New Year - the Year of the Rat
The children designed dragon masks and firecrackers, made finger puppet rats and cooked noodles.
The children designed dragon masks and firecrackers, made finger puppet rats and cooked noodles.
2020 RAFT Session Dates
Raft returns on the 11th January 2020.
The rest of the sessions are: 25th January, 8th & 22nd February, 14th & 28th March, 25th April, 9th & 23rd May, 13th & 27th June, 11th & 25th July.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft returns on the 11th January 2020.
The rest of the sessions are: 25th January, 8th & 22nd February, 14th & 28th March, 25th April, 9th & 23rd May, 13th & 27th June, 11th & 25th July.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Sales of Donated Hardback Books
Earlier in the year we were donated a very eclectic mix of hardback books. Committee member Polly has since been attempting to sell these on her local Facebook selling page and Ebay. Thanks to Ebay's automatic re-listing service this hasn't been too onerous a task, and she has been helping to prove that her village mobile Post Office is needed!
Sales this term have totaled £92.08 after selling fees and postal charges.
Earlier in the year we were donated a very eclectic mix of hardback books. Committee member Polly has since been attempting to sell these on her local Facebook selling page and Ebay. Thanks to Ebay's automatic re-listing service this hasn't been too onerous a task, and she has been helping to prove that her village mobile Post Office is needed!
Sales this term have totaled £92.08 after selling fees and postal charges.
Meanwhile the parents enjoyed mince pies and our Club Christmas raffle. £97.50 was raised from sales of toys, gift bags, jewelry, lavender bags and raffle tickets at the party.
We also received generous personal donations of £270. Thank you to Shrutha and Sandeep, Deborah, Pam and Mick, Paul and Veryan and D and V Hester.
Thank you to everyone who donated to the raffle and gift bags and for buying our items and raffle tickets. Every penny we raise helps us to continue to provide free access to the club.
Of course we couldn't run the club without our fabulous staff: Yvonne, Emma, Chloe, Nia, Sophie and Anna, or the guidance of our Committee: Michele, Polly, Ruth, Shrutha, Jo, Rachel, Rachael and Donna. Thank you all!
Have a wonderful Christmas break! Raft returns on 11th January 2020.
We also received generous personal donations of £270. Thank you to Shrutha and Sandeep, Deborah, Pam and Mick, Paul and Veryan and D and V Hester.
Thank you to everyone who donated to the raffle and gift bags and for buying our items and raffle tickets. Every penny we raise helps us to continue to provide free access to the club.
Of course we couldn't run the club without our fabulous staff: Yvonne, Emma, Chloe, Nia, Sophie and Anna, or the guidance of our Committee: Michele, Polly, Ruth, Shrutha, Jo, Rachel, Rachael and Donna. Thank you all!
Have a wonderful Christmas break! Raft returns on 11th January 2020.
Woodcote Primary School Christmas Fair
Raft Club committee members Michele and Polly had a stall at the Woodcote Primary School Christmas Fair on Friday 6th December. It was a lovely event with lots of stalls and Santa's Grotto. We had toys, handcrafted item's and jewelry for sale. We took advantage of the gym benches to create a stairway for our 'Secret Gift Bags', which were very popular, along with our children's lucky dip. We raised £142.50!
Celebrating Autumn
Yoga with Sarah from Oak Tree Yoga
The children enjoyed a yoga session, specially tailored to their needs, by Sarah of Oak Tree Yoga.
For information on how yoga can benefit children with additional needs please click here.
Precision cutting for super smoothie making
Norden Farm Centre: Relaxed Performances for Autumn 2019Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead has put together some information on their upcoming relaxed shows for children and adults, including two relaxed performances of their 2019 Christmas show 'The Bear' by Raymond Briggs. Please see the attached document for further information.
Autumn 2019 RAFT Session Dates
Raft returns on the 14th September 2019. The rest of the sessions for the Autumn term are: 28th September, 12th & 26th October, 9th & 23rd November and 14th December. Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children. Legacy DonationTowards the end of term we learned that a lovely lady had made a legacy donation of £1000 to the club. The mum of a local teaching assistant, this lady knew of Michele's son, and the work of the club, and chose to honour us with a bequest in her will. We offer our sincere condolences to her family and grateful thanks that she chose to remember us this way. Strengthening Fine Motor Skills
We offer lots of different activities for the children at Raft. We have some very imaginative builders and those determined to complete the jigsaws - both activities work on strengthening fine motor skills, which are often under-developed in Autistic children. In July we were delighted to learn that we had been nominated to receive funds, as charity of the year for 2019/20, by the Village Green Quilters of Yateley. We thank them very much and wish them a successful year. Autistic Pride 2019Raft had a stall at Reading Autistic Pride on Sunday 30th June at RSME, Prospect Park, Reading. Our children's tombola was so popular that we almost ran out of prizes. We raised a total of £197 - an substantial increase on last year. Thank you to committee members Michele and Polly, and RAFT Club mum Lorraine for staffing the stall. We are very grateful to Rachel for offering us a stall and to Reading Society of Mechanical Engineers for hosting the event.
10th Anniversary TreeWe checked up on our 10th Anniversary Tree which is planted in the grounds of the Avenue School to commemorate our ongoing relationship. We were delighted to see that our tree is doing well and even producing fruit (albeit only one!) Reading 'Lion's Den' Community Grant SchemeOn 12th June committee members Michele and Polly joined twenty local charities and groups in pitching to the Lion's Club of Reading. It was a much more friendly ‘Den’ than that seen on the TV! The event was held at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre at Madejski Stadium and was sponsored by Savills Estate Agents. It was the second such event and more are planned for the future. At the end of June we were delighted to learn that we had been awarded a grant of £500 in support of our Club. Thank you so much Reading Lions.
Afternoon TeaRaft mum Sarah hosted an Afternoon Tea Party for family and friends and raised £131 for the Club. Thank you Sarah and all who attended! Junk Modelling by DesignOne of our club members did a spectacular job of modelling her robot design out of junk. Well done Z!
St Laurence Relief Trust
At the end of May were were delighted to hear that we had been awarded a grant of £2000 from the St Laurence Relief Trust to 'assist in our ongoing work'. The church in Reading has a particular vision for working with young people. We are very grateful for such a generous grant which allows us to continue to offer free access to our club. Robot Designing
We had 2 awesome robot designs which we hope the children will create at our next junk modelling session.
A big thank you to Yateley Craft Club who hosted our Chairperson Michele on the morning of 21st May. Michele gave a talk on Autism, family life, and The Raft Club. They very kindly donated £75 to RAFT. AGM and St George's DayWe held our Annual General Meeting at our session on 27th April whilst the children made dragon masks and decorated cakes with the England flag to celebrate St George's Day.
We were very pleased to welcome 17 parent/carers to the AGM. We said 'goodbye and thank you' to outgoing Treasurer Sara Nash and welcomed Jo Lavelle, a qualified chartered accountant, to take her place. Rachel Lovett has also joined the Committee as a Parent Member. We will have spaces at the club from September 2019 so please do get in touch via our Contact page. Sale of Second Hand Cookery BooksWe recently had a generous donation of a box of cookery books. A Raft Club Grandma took these and kindly sold them amongst friends and colleagues raising £40 for the Club. Thank you to all who purchased. We hope you cook up a storm! Autism Awareness Talk
During Autism Awareness month (April 2019) Michele was invited to talk at Johnson Matthey in Sonning Common to increase their awareness of autism and let them know a little about Raft. We whole-heartedly agree with Michele when she says "It’s great to see a company making an effort to understand neuro-diversity and how they can become more inclusive in the work place". They held a cake sale on our behalf and have been selling our second-hand books raising over £200 for the club. Thank you Johnston Matthey!
Springtime Fun |
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Table Top Sale
RAFT had a table, staffed by Committee members Michele and Polly, at the 'Loddon Primary School PTA Table Top Sale' on Sunday 27th January 2019. We had books, DVDs, CD's and toys for sale.
Unfortunately the event wasn't very well attended but we raised £42.50 nonetheless. We also enjoyed having a quick browse of the other stalls and sampling the homemade cakes!
RAFT had a table, staffed by Committee members Michele and Polly, at the 'Loddon Primary School PTA Table Top Sale' on Sunday 27th January 2019. We had books, DVDs, CD's and toys for sale.
Unfortunately the event wasn't very well attended but we raised £42.50 nonetheless. We also enjoyed having a quick browse of the other stalls and sampling the homemade cakes!
Dreaming of our next Holiday
Reading Rockets Training Session
We were very lucky to engage Steph Johnson for a basketball training session in January. Steph is the Head of Reading Rockets Community Programmes and SEN Basketball Lead. The children formed two groups and had a great time with a training session followed by mini-games.
Spring and Summer 2019 RAFT Session Dates
Raft returns on the 12th January 2019. The rest of the sessions for the Spring and Summer terms are:
26th January, 9th and 23rd February, 9th and 23rd March, 27th April, 11th and 25th May, 8th and 22nd June, and 13th July.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft returns on the 12th January 2019. The rest of the sessions for the Spring and Summer terms are:
26th January, 9th and 23rd February, 9th and 23rd March, 27th April, 11th and 25th May, 8th and 22nd June, and 13th July.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Christmas Message from our Chairperson Michele
"I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all who attended the RAFT Xmas party. I think the children had a lovely time! Thank you for bringing along prizes for the Club raffle, buying tickets, books and gift bags and generally being wonderful. Thank you to our Committee for once again steering the Club through the year, and to our lovely staff members: Yvonne, Emma, Chloe, Anna, Sophie and Nia for their endless energy and enthusiasm! And not forgetting our very kind donors without whom the Club couldn't run. Have a lovely Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2019".
"I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all who attended the RAFT Xmas party. I think the children had a lovely time! Thank you for bringing along prizes for the Club raffle, buying tickets, books and gift bags and generally being wonderful. Thank you to our Committee for once again steering the Club through the year, and to our lovely staff members: Yvonne, Emma, Chloe, Anna, Sophie and Nia for their endless energy and enthusiasm! And not forgetting our very kind donors without whom the Club couldn't run. Have a lovely Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2019".
Fundraising Update
- Our 'Christmas' club sales of books, toys and CD's, our 'Secret' Gift Bags and Club raffle raised a total of £234 through November and December.
- We received a generous donation of £275 from St Barnabas Church, Emmer Green.
- Over the course of this year we have received £150 in personal donations.
- A very kind friend of our Chair Person has set up a monthly donation of £25.
Remember, Remember, the 5th of November
Hallowe'en Fun
Cookies and Crafting
10th Anniversary Tree Planting
Symon Cooke, head teacher of The Avenue School, very kindly allowed us to plant a tree in the school grounds to celebrate our 10th Anniversary and our on-going relationship.
Each Club member had the opportunity to re-fill the planting hole - see slideshow below. We chose a Cherry for it's beautiful blossom and edible fruits.
Symon Cooke, head teacher of The Avenue School, very kindly allowed us to plant a tree in the school grounds to celebrate our 10th Anniversary and our on-going relationship.
Each Club member had the opportunity to re-fill the planting hole - see slideshow below. We chose a Cherry for it's beautiful blossom and edible fruits.
Waitrose Community Matters
Raft Club mum, Jo, recently applied for Raft to be considered for the Waitrose Green Token Scheme. We are pleased to report that Raft was nominated as one of the good causes for Waitrose Tilehurst and we received £356 which is more than a third of the £1000 available to local good causes. Once again we are very grateful to Waitrose and all members of the shopping community who chose to donate their tokens to The Raft Club.
Waitrose Community Matters
Raft Club mum, Jo, recently applied for Raft to be considered for the Waitrose Green Token Scheme. We are pleased to report that Raft was nominated as one of the good causes for Waitrose Tilehurst and we received £356 which is more than a third of the £1000 available to local good causes. Once again we are very grateful to Waitrose and all members of the shopping community who chose to donate their tokens to The Raft Club.
Crumble!
We made the most of 'nature's bounty' on our return following the summer break by making a delicious apple, plum and blackberry crumble - making the most of windfalls. A yummy welcome to Autumn!
Crumble!
We made the most of 'nature's bounty' on our return following the summer break by making a delicious apple, plum and blackberry crumble - making the most of windfalls. A yummy welcome to Autumn!
Woodcote Village Fete
We were very grateful to be offered a space at the Woodcote Village Fete on 15th September. The weather was very kind to us with a warm and bright day. Our secret gift bags went down a storm and our children's tombola was very popular. Thank you to all club members who donated tombola prizes and items for our gift bags. We raised £138.40!
We were very grateful to be offered a space at the Woodcote Village Fete on 15th September. The weather was very kind to us with a warm and bright day. Our secret gift bags went down a storm and our children's tombola was very popular. Thank you to all club members who donated tombola prizes and items for our gift bags. We raised £138.40!
Autumn 2018 RAFT Session Dates
Raft returns on the 8th September 2018. The rest of the sessions for the Autumn term are 22nd September, 13th & 27th October, 10th & 24th November & 8th December.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft returns on the 8th September 2018. The rest of the sessions for the Autumn term are 22nd September, 13th & 27th October, 10th & 24th November & 8th December.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Car Boot Sale
On the 22nd July committee members Michele and Polly, and RAFT Club mum Shrutha, had a stall at Sonning Common Primary School's car boot sale. We took our second hand books, cds and dvds, hand-crafted items and toys. It was rather quiet but we raised a surprising £85. As always thank you so much to our club members and friends for donating items and to those who enjoy car-booting.
On the 22nd July committee members Michele and Polly, and RAFT Club mum Shrutha, had a stall at Sonning Common Primary School's car boot sale. We took our second hand books, cds and dvds, hand-crafted items and toys. It was rather quiet but we raised a surprising £85. As always thank you so much to our club members and friends for donating items and to those who enjoy car-booting.
RAFT'S 10th Anniversary Celebration
The RAFT Club was set up by a group of parents in 2008 and we are very pleased to have made it to our 10th Anniversary in July 2018! In a climate of budget cuts and a lack of resources we are determined to keep working hard to raise funds to provide a safe and fun setting for families affected by Autism.
The RAFT Club was set up by a group of parents in 2008 and we are very pleased to have made it to our 10th Anniversary in July 2018! In a climate of budget cuts and a lack of resources we are determined to keep working hard to raise funds to provide a safe and fun setting for families affected by Autism.
We were very happy to welcome previous members of the club, staff and committee members and said a heartfelt thank you to our Chair Michele and Play Leader Yvonne.
We were very happy to welcome previous members of the club, staff and committee members and said a heartfelt thank you to our Chair Michele and Play Leader Yvonne.
Our tea party afternoon was enjoyed by all with Jester Giggles entertaining the children.
Our tea party afternoon was enjoyed by all with Jester Giggles entertaining the children.
May we continue for another 10 years!
May we continue for another 10 years!
Autistic Pride 2018
Raft had a stall at Reading Autistic Pride on Sunday 10th June 2018 at RSME, Prospect Park, Reading. Our children's tombola was again very popular and we sold lots of children's books. We raised a total of £135.40 - an increase on last year. Thank you to committee members Michele and Polly, and RAFT club mums Lorraine and Jo for staffing the stall. We are very grateful to Rachel for offering us a stall and to Reading Society of Mechanical Engineers for hosting the event.
Raft had a stall at Reading Autistic Pride on Sunday 10th June 2018 at RSME, Prospect Park, Reading. Our children's tombola was again very popular and we sold lots of children's books. We raised a total of £135.40 - an increase on last year. Thank you to committee members Michele and Polly, and RAFT club mums Lorraine and Jo for staffing the stall. We are very grateful to Rachel for offering us a stall and to Reading Society of Mechanical Engineers for hosting the event.
Yoga with Sarah Raspin (Oak Tree Yoga)
The children had a lovely restful yoga session specially tailored to their needs by Sarah.
The children had a lovely restful yoga session specially tailored to their needs by Sarah.
Summer 2018 RAFT Session Dates
Raft returns on the 28th April 2018. The rest of the sessions for the Summer term are 26th May, 9th & 23rd June, 14th & 24th March, 14th July (10th Anniversity Tea Party).
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft returns on the 28th April 2018. The rest of the sessions for the Summer term are 26th May, 9th & 23rd June, 14th & 24th March, 14th July (10th Anniversity Tea Party).
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Chocolate Easter Nests
Farms 2 Ewe
The children had a wonderful time when Farms 2 Ewe brought their mobile farm to visit us in March 2018.
The children had a wonderful time when Farms 2 Ewe brought their mobile farm to visit us in March 2018.
Mother's Day Card Making
Waitrose Community Matters
Our Chair, Michele, recently applied for Raft to be considered for the Waitrose Green Token Scheme. We are pleased to report that Raft was nominated as one of the good causes for Waitrose Caversham in January 2018, and in February we received £372 which is more than a third of the £1000 available to local good causes. We are very grateful to Waitrose and all members of the shopping community who chose to donate their tokens to The Raft Club.
Our Chair, Michele, recently applied for Raft to be considered for the Waitrose Green Token Scheme. We are pleased to report that Raft was nominated as one of the good causes for Waitrose Caversham in January 2018, and in February we received £372 which is more than a third of the £1000 available to local good causes. We are very grateful to Waitrose and all members of the shopping community who chose to donate their tokens to The Raft Club.
Pancakes, Crafting and Soft Play
This month the children had fun celebrating an early Shrove Tuesday by making pancakes and scoffing them all before we could get a photo (again!).
There was geometric and spiral design crafting, a make your own door hanger session, and the usual Lego builders extraordinaire. All the children are offered the option of time in the soft play at most sessions. Great for tiring us all out!
This month the children had fun celebrating an early Shrove Tuesday by making pancakes and scoffing them all before we could get a photo (again!).
There was geometric and spiral design crafting, a make your own door hanger session, and the usual Lego builders extraordinaire. All the children are offered the option of time in the soft play at most sessions. Great for tiring us all out!
New Year Cookies and Crafting
What better way to teach some cooking life skills than by tempting the children with the promise of cookies!
What better way to teach some cooking life skills than by tempting the children with the promise of cookies!
We ate the cookies so quickly that we forgot to take a photo. They looked like the recipe photo - honest! Here is the recipe if you'd like to make your own:
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 cup corn flakes, crushed.
Cooking Process: Preheat oven to 180/ gas mark 4; lightly grease baking sheets. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add mixture of flour and baking soda, combining well. Add corn flakes. Drop by teaspoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool before handling.
For those not keen on cooking there was the option of animal crafting, whilst some attempted a bit of structural engineering.
Spring 2018 RAFT Session Dates
Raft returns on the 13th January 2018. The rest of the sessions for the Spring term are 27th January, 10th & 24th February, 10th & 24th March, 14th & 28th April.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Raft returns on the 13th January 2018. The rest of the sessions for the Spring term are 27th January, 10th & 24th February, 10th & 24th March, 14th & 28th April.
Please remember to request a place early in the week running up to the session so we are able to maintain our child to play-worker ratio and ensure we have sufficient supplies for all the children.
Christmas Message from our Chairperson Michele
"Thank you to all for your continued support of RAFT through 2017 and for all the personal donations, raffle prizes and secret santa bags. I would especially like to thank our committee, Polly, Ruth, Sara, Donna and Racheal who have helped me keep RAFT going strong and moving into the 21st century. I would also like to thank our energetic Play Workers; Yvonne, Rebecca, Chloe, Emily and Emma who manage our sessions with endless amounts of patience and enthusiasm.
Today we raised an amazing £133!
£59 raffle
£50 personal donations
£24 secret santa bags
All that remains for me to say is "please have a safe and happy Christmas and I look forward to welcoming you back to RAFT in the New Year".
"Thank you to all for your continued support of RAFT through 2017 and for all the personal donations, raffle prizes and secret santa bags. I would especially like to thank our committee, Polly, Ruth, Sara, Donna and Racheal who have helped me keep RAFT going strong and moving into the 21st century. I would also like to thank our energetic Play Workers; Yvonne, Rebecca, Chloe, Emily and Emma who manage our sessions with endless amounts of patience and enthusiasm.
Today we raised an amazing £133!
£59 raffle
£50 personal donations
£24 secret santa bags
All that remains for me to say is "please have a safe and happy Christmas and I look forward to welcoming you back to RAFT in the New Year".
National Lottery - Awards for All
What a fabulous end to 2017 to hear that we had been successful in our application for a grant from the National Lottery.
National Lottery Awards for All offers funding from £300 to £10,000 to support projects or activities that will:
We are very grateful to have received the sum of £6950 which will cover all of our costs for the coming year.
"Receiving this award is a mark of quality of the work you are doing in your community".
Thank you to all those people contributing to the success of the National Lottery. Your support really does help!
National Lottery Awards for All offers funding from £300 to £10,000 to support projects or activities that will:
- bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities
- improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
- enable more people to fulfil their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possible stage.
We are very grateful to have received the sum of £6950 which will cover all of our costs for the coming year.
"Receiving this award is a mark of quality of the work you are doing in your community".
Thank you to all those people contributing to the success of the National Lottery. Your support really does help!
Skipton Grassroots Giving Success
Thank you to all our supporters who voted for RAFT in the Skipton Grassroots Giving Campaign of November 2017. We're delighted to announce we are one of the successful applicants and we will shortly receive £500 for the Club.
Fireworks were especially appropriate for our crafty session.
Thank you to all our supporters who voted for RAFT in the Skipton Grassroots Giving Campaign of November 2017. We're delighted to announce we are one of the successful applicants and we will shortly receive £500 for the Club.
Fireworks were especially appropriate for our crafty session.
Celebrating Diwali - The Festival of Lights
The children learned all about Diwali and attempted to create their own Rangoli patterns based on the images below:
The children learned all about Diwali and attempted to create their own Rangoli patterns based on the images below:
This wonderful festival is a celebration of five days. On the third day the key rituals of the Diwali festival take place. Lighting of Diyas and candles all around the house, worshipping the Laxmi Ganesha to summon health and wealth, and bursting crackers are the chief rituals of the festival. In addition, the exchange of gifts has become part of the celebration. Friends, families and colleagues share with each other Diwali gifts as a gesture of affection. Also, grand feasts with delicious food that include different varieties of sweets is the special attraction of the occasion.
Marshmallow Lollies and Marionettes
RAFT has been shortlisted for Skipton Building Society Grassroots Giving 2017!
Message from our Chairperson Michele:
"Over the summer I applied for the Skipton Building Society Grassroots Giving campaign and RAFT has successfully been shortlisted to receive a donation of £500. We beat hundreds of other applicants to get to this stage, however to receive this money we need to have enough votes on their website to be one of the top 164 good causes.
To vote for RAFT you can either go into a branch of Skipton Building Society or click here.
I'm sure I don't have to stress the importance of this funding to continue supporting families affected by autism and keep the club up and running. Please circulate to as many people as possible to maximise our chances. The voting is open until the 13th of October so please don't delay.
Many thanks in advance and please VOTE NOW!!"
Message from our Chairperson Michele:
"Over the summer I applied for the Skipton Building Society Grassroots Giving campaign and RAFT has successfully been shortlisted to receive a donation of £500. We beat hundreds of other applicants to get to this stage, however to receive this money we need to have enough votes on their website to be one of the top 164 good causes.
To vote for RAFT you can either go into a branch of Skipton Building Society or click here.
I'm sure I don't have to stress the importance of this funding to continue supporting families affected by autism and keep the club up and running. Please circulate to as many people as possible to maximise our chances. The voting is open until the 13th of October so please don't delay.
Many thanks in advance and please VOTE NOW!!"
Reading Autistic Pride 2017
Raft had a stall at Reading Autistic Pride on Sunday 23 July 2017 at RSME, Prospect Park, Reading. Many people came along to say hello, find out more about our club and bought some of our hand-crafted items and second hand books. Our children's tombola was especially popular. We raised a total of £114.60. We are very grateful to Rachel for offering us a stall and to Reading Society of Mechanical Engineers for hosting the event.
Oak Tree Yoga
We had a wonderful end of term yoga session with Sarah Raspin who can tailor sessions for children with SEND. You can find out more via Sarah's website - Oak Tree Yoga.
We had a wonderful end of term yoga session with Sarah Raspin who can tailor sessions for children with SEND. You can find out more via Sarah's website - Oak Tree Yoga.
Reading Half Marathon and the Green Park Challenge
Our Treasurer Sara, and our Child Protection Officer Rachael, ran the Reading Half Marathon, on the Club's behalf, on 19th March 2017. Two former members of the club came along to cheer them on.
Raft Club Mum Lorraine, and her nephew Luke, ran the Green Park Challenge on the same day starting at 8:30am(!!). Together, sponsorship for the two events raised a whopping £800. We can't thank our runners and sponsors enough!
Our Treasurer Sara, and our Child Protection Officer Rachael, ran the Reading Half Marathon, on the Club's behalf, on 19th March 2017. Two former members of the club came along to cheer them on.
Raft Club Mum Lorraine, and her nephew Luke, ran the Green Park Challenge on the same day starting at 8:30am(!!). Together, sponsorship for the two events raised a whopping £800. We can't thank our runners and sponsors enough!
Events pre-Website
Emily, one of our Play-workers, nominated The Raft Club as a beneficiary of a Fundraising Ball held by the Psychology Department at Reading University. A £250 donation was the result. Thank you so much Emily! February 2017.
Emily, one of our Play-workers, nominated The Raft Club as a beneficiary of a Fundraising Ball held by the Psychology Department at Reading University. A £250 donation was the result. Thank you so much Emily! February 2017.
Christmas Party with Jester Giggles. Sales of donated goods, secret Santa bags and the Club member's raffle raised £153.65. Dec 2016.
Personal donations of £80 to Michele Page in lieu of Christmas cards and gifts.
Donation of £250 from St Barnabas Church, Emmer Green, Reading. Dec 2016.
Donation of £500 from Boyes Turner. Nov 2016.
Hallowe'en Fun. October 2016.
Swallowfield Car Boot sale and Raft Club pre-sales raises £105.70. September 2016.
End of year Nerf Party! July 2016.
Session with Yoga Teacher, Sarah Raspin, who specializes in working with SEN children. July 2016.
Armed Forces Day craft session. June 2016.
Queen's 90th birthday 'street' party. June 2016.
The RAFT Club was chosen as 'Good Cause of the Year' by Mr Brendan McKevitt, the Men's Captain at Reading Golf Club, with a fabulous donation of £6,500. We are very grateful to Mr McKevitt and all at Reading Golf Club for such a generous donation!
The RAFT Club was chosen as 'Good Cause of the Year' by Mr Brendan McKevitt, the Men's Captain at Reading Golf Club, with a fabulous donation of £6,500. We are very grateful to Mr McKevitt and all at Reading Golf Club for such a generous donation!
Mother's Day session making cards and chocolate truffles. Feb 2016.
Fox & Hounds Pub Quiz.
RAFT trip to the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe to see Peter Pan (starring Craig Revel-Horwood). Dec 2015.
RAFT Christmas Party. Dec 2015.
Session with Yoga Teacher, Sarah Raspin, who specializes in working with SEN children. Nov 2015.
Sale of Body Shop goodies.
Grant from Berkshire Community Foundation.
Waitrose Community Fund.
£500 received from the Skipton Building Society Grassroots Giving Campaign 2014.
http://www.skiptongrg.co.uk
RAFT Christmas Party. Dec 2015.
Session with Yoga Teacher, Sarah Raspin, who specializes in working with SEN children. Nov 2015.
Sale of Body Shop goodies.
Grant from Berkshire Community Foundation.
Waitrose Community Fund.
£500 received from the Skipton Building Society Grassroots Giving Campaign 2014.
http://www.skiptongrg.co.uk