News
Abseil The Forum
May 2024
CONQUER THE FORUM IS BACK FOR 2024
If you missed out last year, or loved it so much last time that you want to do it again, well here is your chance! This year, a HUGE thank you goes to Regency Security Services for sponsoring the event, making such a difference to both charities taking part.
Saturday 3rd August
The Forum, Norwich
9:30am – 4:00pm (various time slots available)
Simply book your space and pay the £30 registration fee via Eventbrite, create a JustGiving page, then spend the next 2 months looking forward to the moment you get to abseil down the iconic Forum building!
Last year you raised thousands for Nansa, can we do it again?!
70 Years of Nansa
January 2024
Nansa was established in 1954 by a group of families for the purposes of providing meaningful and enriching activities and support to their adult children with cerebral palsy.
In the years since, Nansa has grown to provide a far wider range of specialist provision, for people of all ages living with, or caring for others with, special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
In addition, Nansa also facilitates a range of projects that promote inclusion, advocacy, participation, accessibility, and awareness of/for not only those with SEND, but a wider community of neurologically diverse individuals, who may feel excluded, marginalised, or unsupported because of social, behavioural, and/or developmental differences.
Join us throughout 2024 as we celebrate 70 years of Nansa.
Christmas Fair
December 2023
The Nansa Christmas Fair once again welcomed families, members and people from the community into the Family Centre. Visitors were able to play various tombola’s, have a piece of DELICIOUS cake, decorate cookies in Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen and shop at the pop up charity shop!
Re-Do Fashion Show
September 2023
Nansa were invited to take part in the Re-Do Fashion show on Sunday 24th September. We had a pop up charity shop and Nansa trainees took to the runway to model some of the fantastic looks you can get second hand!
Re-Do Norfolk’s vision is to live in a world where everything and everyone gets a second chance and where nothing goes to waste.
Visible Festival
March 2023
Friday and Saturday (31st March and 1st April) will see Norfolk’s first Neurodiversity Festival (appropriately named Visible) held at The Forum in Norwich… at Nansa, we want to get everyone talking about Neurodiversity, but what is it?
Our CEO, Leon Knight-Smith, explains:
“Neurodiversity is used to describe the wonderfully varied ways in which our brains work, and in turn, how our cognitive functions determine our behaviour, the way in which we process information, how we learn, and how we communicate with the world around us.”
“Neurodiversity is an especially common term used in the conversation around Autism, but it is about so much more than that. We are all physically different, and what Neurodiversity helps us to recognise is that we are all different on the inside too. For those with a specific cognitive/behavioural diagnosis (such as Autism, ADHD, OCD etc) the world around us may need to be navigated differently (in a non-typical way). What our festival aims to do is; put Neurodiversity in the spotlight; start a conversation; and help make these hidden characteristics Visible, by celebrating the individually unique challenges and triumphs that people face as a result of being different.”
The Visible festival is FREE to all, and is facilitated in association with Reflex Theatre (a Norfolk based company that tackles emerging issues and enables access to essential arts-based learning across the country) and with thanks to sponsorship from Loveday and Partners (an independent firm of financial planners and advisers based in Norwich).
The Visible festival has been in the planning for nearly 2 years, Amanda Lockwood (Head of Trading and Partnerships) explains how the idea came about:
“Nearly two years ago, Leon and I got talking one day about how great it was to see that Neurodiversity is now attracting more attention and how powerful that could be in terms of recognition and support. These conversations create opportunities to think about change in how we approach things in the workplace, education and more. We then questioned the awareness of Neurodiversity in Norfolk, there was very little happening. So, we thought what could we do to change that, how could Nansa make a difference?!”
“My passion for Neurodiversity and the aims of this festival, derive from my lived experience as a parent of two children who are neurodivergent. Also, from my work with young people whom I have seen struggle to understand themselves and the world around them. I hope that the festival gets everyone talking about Neurodiversity, and it helps to promote a more inclusive and considerate community for those with a more unique way of interacting with the world around them”.
Maddi Mason (Community Engagement Officer) explains what the festival has to offer:
“We have tried to ensure the festival offers something for everyone. Outside of the Forum we have the Autism Reality Bus, which offers an immersive activity for people to experience the sensory processing difficulties that some people with Autism face; in The Atrium, we have lots of local businesses and agencies attending to showcase their services for those with a variety of Neurodiverse diagnoses; we have 2 days of specialist talks taking place in The Auditorium as well as more intimate workshop-style discussions in The View; our partners at Reflex Theatre have designed an interactive exhibition for visitors, taking place in The Gallery; and there will be various performances taking place across the two days.”
Run Norwich
July 2022
Run Norwich was due to take place on Sunday 17th July, however due to the hot weather has been re-scheduled to Sunday 23rd October.
We have over 20 runners running for us in Run Norwich and can’t wait to cheer them on at the finish line in October!
You may notice that this date is the same weekend as the VISIBLE festival but fear not, VISIBLE will now take place on Friday 31st March and Saturday 1st April. To find out more about the VISIBLE festival…
Charity Focus
March 2022
As part of the EDP’s new drive to support local charities, they have been highlighting various charities and the vital work they do in our community.
This week they featured Nansa; click the button below to take a look:
SENsational News
January 2022
Two Norfolk based charities, the Norfolk and Norwich SEND Association (Nansa) and SENsational Families, have been working collaboratively throughout the pandemic to ensure ongoing support for families of children and adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
SENsational Families provides help and advice to families in Norfolk with children and young people affected by special educational needs or disabilities.
The service supports parents from pregnancy through to birth, childhood and then young people up to 25 years old. Parents can self-refer to a family advisor support system for face-to-face and virtual support groups.
Range Rover Crashes…
November 2021
A Range Rover crashed into one of Nansa’s Charity Shops in Norwich on Wednesday 24th November.
Police and fire crews were called to the Nansa Charity Shop on Thorpe Avenue in Thorpe St Andrew after a car crashed into the side of the building and caused some damage to the shop.
Staff and customers at Nansa’s Thorpe Avenue charity shop were aghast when a Range Rover crashed into the front of the building shorty after it opened yesterday morning. Luckily no one was hurt although the building sustained structural damage.
The photograph shows damage to the interior from an incident that could have much more serious. Shaken staff and a young trainee were removed from the scene.
Richard Mills, the Development Coach, described the terrifying moment the impact happened:
“There was a very loud noise and everything fell down from the window display. A few feet to the side and it would have been inside, half way across the shop floor. I had just helped a customer who wanted an item from the window and we were walking to the till when it happened. We had a lucky escape.”
Nansa’s charity shops offer work experience and training for adults with learning disabilities as well as generating income to help keep the charity running.
Amanda Lockwood, Head of Trading and Partnerships, said:
“The incident has been a real shock, we provide services for people with SEND to gain work experience in our shops and this was a frightening experience for them and our staff.
Nansa are reliant on income from our shops to support our services and we were just beginning to recover from the loss of income due to Covid and now we face no income during our busiest trading period over Christmas.
We hope that the community will get behind us and support us, now more than ever by donating to our Christmas campaign, details of which can be found on our website and our Facebook page.”
Loyal customers of the Thorpe Road shop are likely to continue support once it reopens; in the midst of firefighters, police and a wrecked shop, a regular customer insisted on purchasing a roll of carpet they had had their eye on!
Photo (left to right): Jake (Trainee) and Richard (Development Coach)
Norfolk
Social Infrastructure
Fund
Autumn 2021
Nansa are delighted and overwhelmed to receive £165,000 for urgent and necessary roofing works at their Adults’ Centre on Bowthorpe Rd in Norwich.
Norfolk County Council has handed out £1.02 million to 25 different organisations, with grants ranging £3,400 all the way up to £250,000.
Andrew Proctor, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said:
“Our county’s voluntary and community groups are an essential part of Norfolk’s infrastructure and that has been demonstrated by the excellent work they have done and continue to do in the pandemic. The funding through the Social Infrastructure Fund will support some of Norfolk’s most vulnerable people and communities and enable them to safely come together again to enjoy a range of activities in improved facilities.”
“The number and quality of the applications we received this year proved that Norfolk is full of great initiatives that will really benefit our residents. My thanks to everyone who submitted a bid for the work done to support your communities. The £1m we have awarded will provide a real boost to the successful projects and allow them get new ideas off the ground or accelerate what they’re already doing.”
In total, the fund saw 64 applications with funding requests that totalled almost £5million. This was more than double the number of applications received last year.
The Norfolk Social Infrastructure Fund was established to award £1million to community groups and voluntary organisations for new initiatives or improvements to existing offers or facilities. This year the grant was widened to make more money available smaller projects, with 25% or £250,000 offered for grants of between £5,000 and £50,000.
Applicants were able to apply for capital grants that support the Council’s plan ‘Together, for Norfolk’, and that help the county recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Leon Smith, CEO at Nansa, said: “We are thrilled to have received this award from Norfolk County Council, having secured funding for our internal refurbishment last year, we then set about securing further funds for the necessary (and quite urgent) repairs and restoration needed on our Adults’ Centre roof. We cannot thank NCC enough; this project is the next phase in a range of works that will see us future proof the building for the next generation. With the roofing work complete, we can then seek funding to install solar panels as part of our efforts to reduce our costs and carbon footprint.”
The Nansathon 2020
Summer 2021
On Sunday 20th June, Nansa hosted it’s first online fundraiser… staff and service users took inspiration from events such as Children in Need, Comic Relief etc and created their own series of fun videos; raising funds for (and awareness of) Nansa. Next year we hope the Nansathon will return, bigger and better. Check out the youtube playlist above and watch just some of the videos we created for the event.
Nansa and Wroxham Barns Launch New Project
Spring 2021
The Covid-19 crisis has impacted all areas of society, but has particularly hit the most vulnerable, including people with disabilities. The rise in unemployment, coupled with the vulnerability of many people living with disability, has meant that there are even fewer opportunities for them to gain work experience or explore meaningful activity during their day. Norfolk has areas of severe deprivation in rural and coastal communities as well as in the city of Norwich; these have higher than average rates of unemployment and therefore meaningful day and work experience opportunities in the region can be lacking for people with disabilities.
Nansa’s new project aims to offer adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities, meaningful placements in a new retail outlet (the Kids Kiosk) to be located at Wroxham Barns; and will also offer opportunities for participants (trainees) to work on the land with the animals.
Nansa has many years of experience in offering work placements to people with mild to moderate learning disabilities, and have successfully helped many trainees further their journey towards paid or voluntary work in their community.
Nansa facilitates these traineeships in a range of work settings, one such placement has been at Wroxham Barns for the past 5 years, and it is the charity’s hope that this location, offering the combination of retail and outdoor farm work, will be beneficial to many more Trainees who will access the project over the coming 12 months.
The kids Kiosk will sell a good selection of pre-loved toys and children’s clothes that have been kindly donated by Nansa’s established charity shop supporters and donors. The charity will also be accepting donations at the Kiosk itself as well as asking local business to donate newer items for the launch of the project in May.
Leon Smith (CEO at Nansa)
“Nansa has an environmentally sustainable approach to retail that perfectly blends with the ethos of Wroxham Barns. We have worked with them now for a number of years but I am so delighted we have this opportunity to expand on, and formalise, our partnership thanks to funding from the NEW Anglia LEP and The Garfield Weston Foundation.”
Craig (trainee pictured) has had a supported work placement at Wroxham barns since 2016. Craig told his Coach Mary that he feels very much a part of the team there and he really enjoys working outdoors. Craig likes greeting visitors and often exchanges a few words with them when possible. Craig has learnt the specific skills around feeding small animals, topping up all water dishes, cleaning chicken coops and runs and bedding.
Mary McCambridge (Outreach Supervisor at Nansa)
“I am thrilled that, after all these years, we have the funding to offer others with learning disabilities the same wonderful opportunities that Wroxham Barns have facilitated for Craig. It could also allow Craig to mentor new participants, show them the ropes so to speak, and this, I feel, would provide all involved with a deservedly assured sense of self-worth and belonging.”
Ben Marshall (General Manager at Wroxham Barns)
“We’re delighted that we can take our long-standing relationship with Nansa even further, and help even more people get hands-on experience in a real working environment, this new studio fits in perfectly with our goal at Wroxham Barns of providing a great day out for children and families alike, with lots to see and do. We’re so excited to see this venture progress”
Remembering Peter Blackburn
February 2021
Today we remember our founder Peter Blackburn, who sadly passed away last week (on the same day as Sir Captain Tom, which we feel is quite fitting in terms of his legacy of kindness and generosity).
Peter Blackburn, who passed away on the 2nd February 2021, was a founder member of Nansa and also, over many years, a highly-valued fundraiser, Trustee and Patron of our charity.
Peter, a farmer from Pulham Market, along with his wife Alice and a small group of parents of children with disabilities, founded Nansa in 1954 after his daughter Joy was born with cerebral palsy.
The newly-formed group supported each other and new parents, and also raised awareness through fundraising events and activities. The charity grew and later joined forces with national Scope (which had also been formed in the early 1950s) to raise funds for the Nansa Work Centre which was then opened in 1965.
Peter was also part of a regional fundraising group which established a Scope Family Help Unit/Respite Centre in Bury St Edmunds. Sadly, Joy did not live to enjoy breaks at the centre, but the Blackburns stayed in touch and carried on supporting the unit for many years.
Once the Nansa Centre was opened, Peter would travel up from South Norfolk every month for committee meetings, and was an active committee member of the charity for many years.
He and Alice, supported by their daughter Alison and her family, attended events, bought raffle tickets, made cakes, supported staff and service-users, and spread the word about Nansa and those we support. Alice, along with her friend Cynthia, chaired South Norfolk Nansa, a fundraising group which held annual sales in Pulham Market for fifty years, and sent regular donations to support the wider charity’s work.
They were very excited about the establishment of the new Family Centre which was opened in 2001, knowing from personal experience what a great support this centre would be for the parents of children with disabilities, and as always they were generous with their donations towards the purchase of the building. Peter and Alice are part of the fabric of Nansa, and their generosity, enthusiasm and determination to improve the lives of children and adults with disabilities has been realised with the continuing success of Nansa.
Peter was a true Norfolk gentleman who was always available to offer help, advice and, above all, endless support for the service-users, families and staff of Nansa; he will be fondly remembered by all who knew him.
Benny The Bear 2020
Christmas 2020
In December 2020, Nansa released a Christmas campaign video to promote sustainable shopping and donations to charity shops.
Watch our #BennyTheBear video by clicking the button below… you may need some tissues!
Navigating the New Normal
Summer 2020
In Summer 2020 Nansa commissioned a film to document the stories and experiences of staff and service-users during and after the lockdown. The film shows how Nansa’s services have had to adapt to meet the needs of their families and members. Check out the documentary below:
Norfolk Freemasons are All Aboard
Summer 2020
Norfolk Freemasons first became aware of Nansa in 2017 when they were invited to our Family Centre on Woodcock Road, Norwich. The following year, their national grant making organisation, the Masonic Charitable Foundation, chose to fund Nansa’s Sleep service for a period of 3 years up to 2021. Since then local masons and Nansa have stayed in close contact, in June Nansa CEO, Leon Smith, approached them to see whether further funding support might be possible in order to sustain our All Aboard project into 2021.
“We were able to utilise an existing pot of funding to see us through to August 2020 but were concerned we would not be able to secure funding beyond that point and as a result; the varied range of support covered under the project was at risk of being discontinued. Our freemason friends have always been incredibly supportive and approachable, once I had explained our predicament they kindly offered to fund the project for an additional 6 months with an award of £28,000. This generous donation enables Nansa to not only provide families with support during this difficult period, but also gives us the time and space we need to secure a more long term funding partner for the project at the end of the financial year in 2021”
Leon Smith (CEO)
“Having seen how families across Norfolk whose children with Autism, Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and other learning difficulties and disabilities are being helped by Nansa we welcomed the opportunity to ensure their latest All Aboard project could be started as soon as possible“
Stephen Allen (Head of Norfolk Freemasons)