The team at Cygnet Views, on Wellington Street, in Matlock, were inspired to fundraise for the cause after finding out how much the charity helped the son of two co-workers who has Down’s Syndrome.
Staff at the nine-bed service, which cares for women with learning disabilities, raised money throughout 2024 for Footprints Conductive Education Centre; a local Nottinghamshire charity that supports children with mobility and communication difficulties and their families.
They raised more than £6,000 through events such as the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, charity raffles, non-uniform days and even a skydive.
Earlier this month, staff members went to the charity’s headquarters to deliver the cheque.
Hospital Director Kelly Shortt explained: “I’m incredibly proud of our amazing team at Cygnet Views for coming together and raising an incredible £6,000 for Footprints Conductive Education Centre.
“Their dedication, compassion, and enthusiasm truly reflect the heart of what we do every day. Supporting such a meaningful cause – helping children with disabilities to thrive – is something that resonates deeply with all of us. We know from our colleagues the vital work the charity does and the positive difference it can make.
“Handing over the cheque was a truly emotional and uplifting moment. Knowing that our efforts will make a real difference in the lives of these children and their families made it all so worthwhile.”
Melissa Fox is a Team Leader at Cygnet Views and her partner, Lyndsey Fox, is the Regional Safety Intervention Trainer for Cygnet Health Care. Together, they have three-year-old Archie, who has Down’s Syndrome.
The family have been supported by Footprints for nearly two years and during this time, he has met lots of developmental milestones, made friends, and his Mums have had the opportunity to network with other families with similar needs.
Footprints offers a holistic education approach to help children with disabilities consciously learn the life skills that come more naturally to others. They encourage the development of physical, communication, social, sensory, self-help and thinking skills, such as sitting, standing, touching, listening, looking, eating and playing.
Lyndsey explained: “Footprints is an incredible charity that gives us so much hope. For us as a family it has provided us with opportunities to meet other families and for Archie to develop his confidence in a variety of social settings exploring different activities.
“We have learnt Makaton and continue to learn to support Archie’s early communication so he can express his needs.
“I will be forever grateful to the team at Cygnet Views for taking the time to ask and understand Archie’s needs and learn about his support network.
“To know that staff took their time to fundraise is heartwarming. We know first-hand how beneficial this resource is to families as sometimes families get very little support from other professionals so charity fundraising means so much to the them.”
Josie Park, Head of Income at Footprints, thanked Cygnet Health Care for their fundraising and commented on the difference the money would make.
She said: “We are enormously grateful to the incredible team at Cygnet for everything they have done to raise such an amazing amount of money for Footprints, and everything they have done at the same time to help raise awareness of our work which has helped more children to access our support.
“As a small charity, the money raised goes a very long way, for the children and families we work with it means everything. This amount will provide more than a year of all of our transformational services to one of the families we work with, helping children to achieve their full potential, which could have a life changing impact.
“It’s been wonderful to work with you and we are beyond grateful, thank you so much from all of us at Footprints.”