As supporters of the official Changing Places sponsor Aveso we’re very pleased to announce that Gloucestershire based charity Hop, Skip and Jump will be speaking at the first ever Changing Places Conference on 21stFebruary 2015.
Established in 1982, Hop Skip and Jump provide immediate and flexible respite care to children and young adults across the South West. In the thirty years since the launch of their first centre in Cheltenham, they have gone on to launch two further centres in Bristol and Swindon, with new centres in Horsham and Cardiff scheduled for the near future.
Hop Skip and Jump provide support for children with any additional need, from complex physical conditions to special educational needs and behavioural problems. Hop Skip and Jump offer thousands of placements every year; care and support for children with help and advice for their families. Through targeted therapy sessions – after school care, weekend respite, teens and twenties clubs – Hop Skip and Jump provide valuable support to the community.
In 2014, the Hop Skip and Jump’s founder trustees Clarissa and Celia, together with C4’s Dr Dawn Harper and Changing Places campaigners Natalie Gazey and Samantha Buck went to number 10 Downing Street to discuss their new Care in the High Street initiative which aims to make respite care easily accessible to all. With centres across the country, Care in the High Street will help support families when they need it most.
These units will offer parents the opportunity to have some time off from the responsibilities of care, give children a stimulating environment to play in that is safe and secure and encourage footfall to Britain’s high streets by enabling parents who cannot otherwise go shopping the opportunity to do so. The first centre was opened in Swindon in October 2014 by their patron, actress and model Elizabeth Hurley.
To see the official Press release for the Care in the High Street project click here
Interesting Fact:
Hop Skip and Jump’s founder trustees have recently been named as Samantha Cameron’s most inspiring women in a feature for Glamour magazine saying: ‘Clarissa and Celia are two of the most dynamic women you could ever meet. Their charity is transforming the lives of families with disabled children…their kindness and commitment to helping so many families is amazing.’
You can read more from Samantha Cameron here and you can hear their radio interview here