Cheshire charity’s £1.5 million dream to open a new centre for children with additional needs

A storage firm has donated 150 chocolate selection boxes to Tiny Steps, which supports children and young people with complex needs and their families across Northwich and Winsford.

Lock Stock Self Storage, which recently opened new storage parks in both towns, said it wanted to back the charity after being inspired by the efforts of its volunteers.

Supporters have raised about £120,000 towards the £1.5 million target and say the selection box gifts will raise plenty of smiles among the charity's families this Christmas.

Trustees Diane Dixon and Michelle Rayner accepted the chocolate treats from Ollie Beech, Lock Stock’s marketing officer, at The Playbarn at Blakemere Village near Northwich.

The Playbarn is one of several local venues often used by Tiny Steps for its regular stay and play sessions.

According to Diane, the charity’s ultimate ambition was to have a place of its own and fundraising was continuing to establish a permanent base.

Mum-of-three Diane, from Weaverham, said:

“Our aim is to have our own sensory centre and social cafe.

“We are hoping to set up in Northwich or perhaps Winsford.

“Northwich would be our prime location because that’s where everybody could get to because transport in and out of Northwich is a lot better than Winsford.

“We have nearly 200 families registered with us and probably about three quarters of those families have more than one child with additional needs.

“Obviously it’s a lot of money to do this, so it’s probably going to cost a minimum of £1.5 million just for the building.

“Having our own base would mean our services would be accessible for everyone.

“Some of the children are in wheelchairs and have disabilities, and others have autism and ADHD and complex needs, we do cover everyone.

“It would be designed with hoists, would be wheelchair accessible, we would have our own changing places.

“We need something which is especially tailored for all our children who have additional needs.

“Ideally we would want the base to be up and running now but we are a non-profit group so we need to fundraise and work with the local authorities.

“We are also looking to extend our offer to support siblings of children with additional needs and the parents and carers."

Lock Stock has a long-standing policy of supporting community groups in the areas where it operates.

Ollie Beech said the company had been deeply impressed by the charity’s passion to help families with children with additional needs.

He said:

“It’s amazing in terms of what they have been able to deliver and offer to families.

“Myself and many of my colleagues personally know families who would appreciate this type of support.

“It is a massive challenge on a daily basis for the families so it’s great the charity has stay and play sessions to offer support and for the children to be able to engage with each other.

“I hope our gift gives everyone connected to the charity a bit of a lift this Christmas.

“It is our first Christmas in Winsford and Northwich because we’ve only had the sites since the summer, so it’s brilliant for us to mark that through supporting the work of Tiny Steps.”

Diane was hugely grateful for the support from Lock Stock Self Storage.

The mum, who was joined by her four-year-old daughter Elara for the selection boxes presentation, said:

“The support is very welcome and it’s a nice boost for us.

“The selection boxes will definitely put a smile on a lot of children’s faces - because who doesn’t love chocolate?”

The charity was set up by Northwich couple Laura and Martin Clifton in 2013 to support families who have children with additional needs.

They were spurred into action following the birth of their first-born daughter in 2010, who was born with significant developmental delays and a rare form of epilepsy called West syndrome.

Diane said:

“The aim from the beginning was to set up a local sensory centre and social cafe to reduce the isolation felt by families with children with additional needs.

“We set up a stay and play programme and that has been really popular with families because they felt so isolated with nowhere to go.”

The growing charity now uses a variety of venues for its special stay and play programme including Simply Cycling at Wythenshawe, UA Trampoline Park at Winsford, The Playbarn, the Curzon Cinema at Knutsford and the paddling pool in Northwich, and has sessions with Jane Mullen Speech Therapy.

Diane said she understood how isolating life could be for families with children with additional needs as her 12-year-old daughter Lienna is non-verbal and attends a SEN school and her eight-year-old daughter Lucianna has autism and undiagnosed ADHD.

She said:

“I have been completely isolated and only found out about stuff through other parents and word of mouth because there is so little out there.

“The stay and play sessions massively reduce the isolation families feel. We’ve all got children with additional needs so as a parent you feel the isolation more than anyone.

“We don’t want anyone to feel isolated.”

Lock Stock, founded in Denbigh in 2000, has sites across Wales, Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire and under its expansion plans will have 38 sites across the UK by 2026.

For information about Lock Stock Self Storage, including off-site container hire, contact them on:

01745 817 178

...or go to: 

https://lockstock.biz/

Pictured from left - Tiny Steps trustee Michelle Rayner, Ollie Beech from Lock Stock Self Storage, Zoe Goodwin from The Playbarn at Blakemere Village, Tiny Steps trustee Diane Dixon and Diane's four-year-old daughter Elara with the 150 chocolate selection boxes.