Naomi's Garden - #the keys #themove #theribbon
Naomi's Garden was set up in 2010 as part of the vision of The Kings Outreach charity, which has been providing services within our local community since its inception nearly 20 years ago. Naomi’s Garden was created in memory of Naomi Rebekah Franklin, who sadly died in 2007. She was 11 and 3/4 years old. Naomi had Cerebral Palsy, but this certainly wasn't what defined her. Naomi gave love, unconditional acceptance, unwavering belief in and complete openness to every single person in her beautiful world. In her short life she taught those around her countless life lessons, ones that we still live by today. We want to continue to honour Naomi's memory through what we do!
Naomi's Garden currently provides Conductive Education (CE) in Lincolnshire to many families who have loved ones with movement disorders such as Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson's, Dyspraxia and Motor Delay. We deliver therapy, which is both excellent and unique, to every individual.
We are also very excited to say we have a brand new professional who has joined our team as a SEND consultant who can meet the needs of children with autism, ADHD, and sensory processing issues. Her services are available in homes, in schools and also at Naomi's Garden HQ.
We currently have a waiting list of families wanting to benefit from Naomi's Garden. Therefore, we are looking to be able to create a centre - a professional and accessible hub - for children and families to access our services. Our Conductor and SEND consultant currently travel the length and breadth of Lincolnshire to provide their services and are therefore limited in the sessions they can run. With an official home for Naomi's Garden we would be able to extend working hours, provide group sessions and create a dynamic learning environment in which both children and adults will be able to learn, regardless of their diagnosis.
Not only this, we will be able to provide other much-needed therapies too. We will have an on-site counsellor who is qualified to provide sessions to those who access NG or those from the wider community. We also have a long term goal of training other conductors to further expand our Conductive Education team, & a Bowen Therapist, Massage Therapist & Nutritionist who would also offer services through Naomi’s Garden.
We feel incredibly excited about what comes next, & after a huge fundraising effort we have an exciting update. We now have the keys to our new building!!!! Originally, we split up the total cost of purchasing, renovating & cutting the ribbon on our new centre into 3 stages. The first was stage was to raise £60,000 for the initial down payment & plans. Through our previous Go Fund Me, Just Giving Pages & private donations - including major fundraising drives such as hiking the National Three Peaks, a skydive, a west end Christmas concert & a charity ball - we have hit that first milestone & gained access to what will one day be Naomi’s Garden’s permanent home. We are so overwhelmed and grateful for all the support we have received so far & have watched in awe & excitement as our profile has been raised, both in Lincolnshire & even nationally via tv & social media. Stage 1 - #thekeys has been completed!!!
We are now looking for financial donations to help us with the second & third stages of the project - to fully complete our ownership of the building, (Stage 2 - #themove) & to turn this building into Naomi's Garden's new home, finally being able to cut the ribbon & welcome families into our centre of wholeness (Stage 3 - #theribbon). Our facility needs a complete transformation! From floors being raised, ramps being put in and new doors and windows. We can see the incredible potential of our new space. We have come so far already, & now it’s time to get the building functional and ready to receive the families we want to reach.
For those familiar with our previous GoFundMe page (where we hadn’t been able to add private donations to our total), we have now figured out a way to update this new page with amounts from offline donations, so this is our total target for completion of the project, & you will be able to see this figure rise not just from online donations via the page, but also from private donations we receive.
We are also thrilled to announce our brand new reward scheme for all donations that come in. For ANY donation made - up to £500 (Supporters of NG) - we will honour the gift by recording the donors name in a huge book at the entrance to our centre . For those who have gifted beyond £500 & those whose gifts cumulatively reach that amount (Roots of NG), your name will appear on a mural painted on the wall in the entryway. For gifts above £2,000 & for those who have physically participated in our fundraisers (Angels of Naomi’s Garden), we will frame each individual’s name on a gold embossed certificate in a gallery in the centre, & for gifts above £10,000 (Giants of Naomi’s Garden) we will name one of the many rooms in our centre after the donor, or name of the donor’s choice. We also have an option for you to become a Friend of Naomi’s Garden by setting up a Direct Debit to the charity. Friends of Naomi’s Garden will receive a package of goodies from us & termly updates as a thank you to regular givers & supporters of this beautiful work.
We know Naomi’s past legacy, and we live and love as her present legacy. Now we are asking for help to create Naomi’s future legacy, not just in memory of her beautiful but short life, but in celebration of the lives yet to be touched. Thank you for reading our story and for your help in building something that will transform the lives of so many children and adults who really need it.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR PARTNERING WITH US!!
Here are some testimonies from our current families that access Naomi's Garden:
"Before my son started having CE with Sarah he had no way of moving around, however since practising every week raising his bum in the air and pushing with his feet he can now navigate his way around the room pushing with his legs and sliding on his back. This has given him freedom to get around the room & get up to serious mischief!"
"My little girl has been having CE for just over 2 months. Her progress is absolutely amazing. Before this she couldn’t put any weight through her legs. She’s now more than capable and loves nothing more than standing up. I can’t thank you enough Sarah for all you do and I’m so excited to be able to see the progress she will make through the coming years.”
“My little boy enjoys his sessions with Sarah and she knows how to get the best out of him. His attention is improving and he is eager to know what she has planned next. He loves to show us what he has been doing in the session.”
"We started accessing conductive education with Sarah in September 2019. We have an NHS physio and did access another private physio centre but we felt continuity was lacking. Sarah has been such a positive influence on Hettie and the most patient person I think I've ever met. If Hettie puts an argument forward of why she can’t or shouldn't do something, then Sarah just knows how to talk her around without Hettie knowing it!!! Hettie has gone from being frustrated that she couldn't take any independent steps to now being able to walk around the house with minimal help, plus much much more. Watching Sarah has also given me lots of ideas for getting the best work out of Hettie."
For more information - VIDEOS - testimonies - please check out our YouTube, Instagram & Facebook pages.
YouTube:
https://youtu.be/PNa2S1kMNqs
Instagram:
@naomisgardencharity
Facebook:
Conductive Ed
https://www.facebook.com/naomisgardenCE/
SEND Consultancy
https://www.facebook.com/Naomis-Garden-Special-Educational-Needs-and-Disabilities-Consultancy-105809871855576/
Further information can be found via our website:
www.naomisgarden.org
From the whole team at Naomi’s Garden,
THANK YOU.
Together we CAN move mountains.
