On Saturday 20th July, exactly 15 years since we opened our first summer holiday club, we invited the whole community to our building to join us in celebrating this enormous achievement.
Unique Kidz was launched in 2009 by two mums; Jane Halpin and Denise Armer who couldn’t find suitable childcare for their own disabled children. Beginning as a summer holiday club with 65 young people in attendance, now we have grown to offer after school, holiday and weekend clubs for children; daytime, evening and weekend support and sessions for young adults, as well as stay and play and sibling groups, with 187 disabled young people on our system and an ever-growing waiting list!
A group of young people surprised us with a performance of Rule the World by Take That.
To enable us to take on more disabled young people and provide more accessible spaces, Unique Kidz has submitted planning for an incredible two-stage project that will transform our current outside space and building, for not only us, but so that other local groups can also benefit from it.
The plans include the addition of two specialist lodges, accessible play area, cycle track, sensory gardens, and growing garden outside the centre, and an extension and reformation of the internal layout of the building with more accessible spaces as well as sensory rooms, therapy suites and an accessible kitchen.
Speaking about her 15 year journey with Unique Kidz, co-founder Denise Armer said: “Jane Halpin and I met over 15 years ago at a coffee morning at our children’s school where we were asked as parents what respite services we were looking for. We took part in various steering groups with professionals and ultimately decided that we could create better provisions ourselves!
“With Unique Kidz we wanted to create a place for our children, and other children with disabilities, that was made for them and where they could come and be one hundred percent be themselves, without being judged, and where they could meet and be with friends outside school.”
Jane and Denise spoke to the crowd about their journey so far.
“Disability can affect all walks of life and its life changing. As a parent, it’s almost expected that one of you will quit work, and this 15 year journey with Unique Kidz has given me and Jane an outlet and opportunities outside being a parent that I am truly grateful for. We wanted to create a happy safe place, registered with Ofsted, with experienced staff that could meet their needs – and we’ve done just that with Unique Kidz.”
Jordan Halpin, fundraising manager at Unique Kidz, said: “Thank you to everyone who came down to our centre on Saturday July 20 and experienced Unique Kidz for themselves. We had a fantastic day with entertainment, BBQ, stalls and raffles and so much more, and we are really pleased that so many people came to share in our celebration of our young people and the work we’ve done over the past 15 years, and to also get excited about the future of Unique Kidz and what it can mean for our community.”
