Charity fundraises for new base after demand soars

A charity that supports disabled children and their families is fundraising to move to a new home after demand for its services grew.

For the past 12 years, Building for the Future has provided a disability play centre and family support service from its current base in Wokingham.

But the charity's chief executive Jane Holmes said it was now "having to start turning people away" due to a lack of capacity.

It is now in the process of building a new, much larger, base in Reading and has so far raised half of the £250,000 the project is expected to cost.

Holmes said the charity's current lack of capacity was a "very regrettable situation" which "goes against absolutely everything that we stand for".

But "everything is twice the size" at its new base, which is expected to be up and running by August, she explained.

"We've got a tiny sort of postage stamp sized garden at the moment," she said of their current home, before adding that the new site's offer of an outdoor space was "a big one".

Building for the Future say its new base will be a "much larger, safe and purpose-built facility" which will "increase confidence and the mental wellbeing of disabled children and young people".

Among the facilities the charity is looking to install at the new base are a kitchen, outdoor play areas, multi-sensory and soft play areas and specialist mobility equipment.

Its services are currently used by more than 500 children and families across Berkshire, including by Hayleigh Woolven - who has two sons with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

"They've got soft play, they've got a little ball pit, they've got a sensory room," she explained.

"It's just the most relaxed I've ever been with the kids out, which is such a nice feeling.

"You never get that as a SEND mum."