Beneficiaries supported in 2024
The Community Matters Partnership is a registered charity, helping to connect business with community.
To support the community programmes it runs, CMP depends entirely on funds raised through membership fees and events such as Twilight.
Raise money for a local charity or school of your choice
Charities or schools are invited to use the Twilight Runway Challenge as a fundraiser. Community Matters Partnership is all about community and collaboration; once event costs are covered,, 100% of sponsorship raised by your supporters goes to your cause.
If you would like to discuss being a charity or school partner please contact us.
If you are taking part for a charity, please set up an online fundraising page such as Justgiving. If you require fundraising material, then contact the relevant charity who can help.
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Aerobility offers disabled individuals, without exception, the opportunity to fly an aeroplane. For some, that amazing first flight is enough to change their outlook on disability forever: “If I can fly an aeroplane, what else can I do?”. Others realising that the fantasy of flight is truly in their grasp and can achieve their Private Pilot’s License. We allow disabled people to fly for a fraction of the commercial rate, with a fleet of three modified aircraft, and operations out of Blackbushe Airport and Tatenhill Airport. 1,000 new individuals participate with Aerobility a year.
The Basingstoke and District MS Group is part of a large network of MS Society groups across the UK. A warm welcome awaits everyone with MS and their partners/carers to attend our Fitness Morning and social area each Wednesday from 10.00am to 1.00pm. The Neuro-Physiotherapist and our Complementary Therapist will assess and help you to feel much more positive. There is an area to socialise and enjoy meeting others while having some light refreshments. Our venue is at Popley Fields Community Centre in Basingstoke, RG24 9AE.
We are the dedicated charity for Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals. We aim to enhance our hospitals environment by providing supplementary equipment or additional services that are above and beyond what the NHS can provide.
The Ashford and St. Peter’s Charity comprises several individual funds, each designated to a medical theme, such as staff wellbeing, cancer, maternity, A&E, paediatric care, critical care, neonatal care or haematology, or to a specific ward, campaign project or hospital location.
By supporting us, you will be helping us to enhance patients and staff experiences at our hospitals.
The Berkshire MS Therapy Centre makes life with Multiple Sclerosis easier. We help people in the local community living with the condition make the most of life. The right support really does make all the difference.
Whether someone is newly diagnosed and reaching out for the first time or have lived with MS for a while we are here to help them with specialised treatments within an understanding, supportive community. With nearly 40 years of experience working with people from Berkshire and the surrounding counties, we must continue to raise funds to make sure everyone can access our services, based on their needs and not on their ability to pay.
The Autism Trust aims to create meaningful futures for young adults with autism. We provide a supportive environment fostering independence, building life skills, and generating community support and awareness of the capabilities of individuals with autism. Through ASDAN training, and functional work experience we equip young adults to work and enjoy the communities they live in. Work experience is gained managing ‘Polly’s Place’ shop selling handcrafted items and art made by people with autism, their families, and supporters. Young adults with autism learn retail, office, manufacturing, photography, social media, hospitality, housekeeping, gardening and independent living skills.
A charity supporting displaced people aged 16-25 in Surrey. They provide a nurturing programme of activities, projects and events that combat social isolation and improve well-being for the young people they support. Big Leaf Foundation is a product of first-hand experience working with displaced young people. Both academic research and direct experience has shown that being met with respect, compassion and understanding after arrival in the UK supports separated children to move forwards with hope and positivity. They want displaced young people to feel excited about the opportunities available to them. Their projects range from sports to leadership programmes and residential workshops.
Cancer Testing South is a 100% volunteer-based charity operating in the south of England currently providing men the opportunity of attending events where they can receive a simple blood test to hopefully uncover undetectedprostate cancer. Prostate cancer kills a man in the UK every 45 minutes. Caught early, the disease is over 90% defeated. The trained phlebotomists and nurses offer a pain free test which provides a chance of monitoring their prostate health. CTS follows research into early cancer detection in it’s many forms and hopes to expand it’s service to enable many more members of our communityto lower their risk of cancer.
Chloe's & Sophie's Special Ears Fund is a small charity to brighten the lives of Deaf children. We run a weekly drop in session at "Deaf Hub" for Deaf children and their family, along with local CODA Families on Sunday's from 11am-2pm. They play games, activities and workshops which include slime, arts and crafts, animal encounters and more. These sessions improve their mental health, self-esteem, confidence and allow them to be children. Deaf children need support in school and at home from charities like us. This year we are celebrating our 10th year and hope you will sign up for 10km to celebrate this amazing milestone with us.
Catalyst is a not for profit organisation, offering access to confidential support for individuals, their families and communities across Surrey. Our work is across three main areas: Mental Health and Wellbeing, Drug & Alcohol Support and Specialist Outreach. We offer non-medical interventions in a friendly, accessible, professional and non-judgmental way. Our aim is to help build self-esteem and confidence, reduce loneliness and social isolation and empower people to move forward. We provide wellbeing activities, 1-1 support, interest groups, early intervention, crisis support, access to volunteering opportunities, counselling for people affected by drug and/ alcohol use and specialist outreach. Self-referrals welcome.
Citizens Advice Hart is a charity, founded with the goal of supporting the community in finding solutions to problems and making their own decisions. Our principle aim is to provide information, advice and assistance for the most vulnerable individuals and families within our local community helping them with a wide range of complex social issues.
We advise on a range of issues such as debt, benefits, housing, employment, consumer rights, discrimination, healthcare, domestic abuse, immigration and family matters.
We give people knowledge and confidence to find their way forward by providing free, impartial, independent and confidential advice.
Challengers is dedicated to breaking down the barriers of play and make it possible for every disabled child or young people to play and have fun, without limits.
To achieve this, we provide inclusive play and leisure opportunities for over 750 disabled children and young people a year, aged 2-18 at our pre-schools, playschemes and youth schemes all based across the Southeast. Challengers is a place where all disabled young people can have fun, make friends and try activities they have never had the opportunity to before.
Citizens Advice Rushmoor is a charity providing free, independent, impartial, and confidential advice and information services. In addition to our small team of staff, over 50 volunteers help deliver most of our frontline services on issues such as benefits, debt, and energy, as well as specific projects relating to mental health, domestic abuse, and the cost of living. Our work ranges from brief one-off interventions to in-depth casework, with the service always tailored to meet individual needs.
Citizens Advice Surrey Heath is a local charity that relies on volunteers and fundraising to continue the valuable work we do. We empower people to find solutions and navigate complex issues – from debt and benefits to housing and family matters. Our free, confidential advice is tailored to an individual's needs, whoever they are and whatever the problem, giving them the knowledge and confidence to move forward. We can all face problems that seem complicated or intimidating. We believe no one should have to face these problems without good quality, independent advice. That’s why we’re here: to give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem.
FOCKSA (Friends of Charles Kingsley's School Association) is an active part of the school community. The committee is made up of parents, staff and governors and is a registered charity which raises money for additional activities, equipment and events for the children of the school which the school are unable to afford themselves due to lack of government funding.
So far this year we have funded Listen 2 Me music sessions and bought much needed IT and outdoor equipment for the school. We run a variety of events throughout the year for the children, parents and wider community, all with the intention of having fun whilst also raising much needed funds for the school.
Creative Response offers a variety of visual-arts based workshops for local people struggling with their mental health, learning and physical difficulties. We offer a unique, supportive environment in our studios in central Farnham, in which practising artists work collaboratively with our participants. We believe passionately in the benefits of the arts for wellbeing and are proud to have been serving the local community for more than 25 years.
The Fountain Centre is a small independent charity based at St Luke's Cancer Centre in Guildford. We provide complementary therapies, counselling, information and support to cancer patients and their families from all over Surrey and the surrounding areas. We depend on the support of local companies, community groups and generous individuals to cover our annual costs of over £200,000. As with many small charities, the pandemic has hit us hard and we have had to find new ways to raise money and support our patients and their families. It is a tough time for charities but every little helps.
First Days Children's Charity exists to reduce the effects of poverty on families. By the simple act of providing them with everything they need for their children to be safe at home, confident at school and to have fun they empower parents, restore dignity and give back choice. It is simply practical support at times of financial hardship, from one family to another.
The Friends of St Bernadette's is a registered charity that is run by a small group of parents to raise funds for St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School in Farnborough. The events we run throughout the year are not only to fundraise for extra resources for the school and pupils, but also to bring the school together as a community. We are delighted to be given the opportunity to be one of the named charities for the Twilight Runway Challenge and we look forward to joining our wider community whilst raising funds for our school.
Frimley Church of England School is a large family where children are happy, confident and caring, and ‘Learning Together We Grow.' As a church school we welcome students of all beliefs and offer an inclusive and spiritual education to all. We are a healthy school that promotes physical, social, emotional and mental health to help equip everyone with the skills and attitudes to make informed decisions about their health. We believe that learning should be fun, active, meaningful and creative. With our PTA, we are always trying to raise funds for additional resources to enhance our children’s learning and wellbeing.
Your support helps us get new projects off the ground and to a greater level than would have otherwise been possible, purchase the latest cutting-edge equipment in our drive for excellence, provide patient and family support, helping staff provide the best care posisble and helping create calm surroundings for care and recover, whilst helping reduce stress felt by many vulnerable patients and our staff to aid the recovery process.
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We, as an NHS charity, rely on donations to fund our work and everything we do is only possible thanks to the generosity and support of people like you. From specialist services to pioneering research, every donation helps to support our incredible NHS staff at our hospitals and enhance the level of care we provide to thousands of patients and their families every year.
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Harry’s Hat charity exists to support children and their families who suffer from hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus (known as water on the brain) is an incurable condition of which affects 1 in every 770 babies born in the UK each year. We work to make life better for these children and the families who love and care for them through awareness, training, research and provision. We provide peer-to-peer support, so families feel less alone and can meet others from within their community who are going through the same. Through our ‘Get-A-Head’ campaign, we speak up for better awareness of infant head circumference measurement as a tool for early diagnosis of hydrocephalus.
The Frogmore Infant School PTA works hard to provide additional opportunities, equipment and resources for the 150 children within the school and future pupils. Funds are currently raised through organising events at the school including discos, Christmas and summer fairs, fun nights and sponsorship events, as well as having stalls at externally run events.
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We want to raise funds to buy equipment and fund groundworks to improve outdoor play areas for the children to enjoy and learn in, with space to run freely to promote good physical and mental health.
Outdoor play can be particularly effective as a way of coping and developing independence and resilience. The project would benefit both current and future pupils in the community.
Headway Surrey supports adults over 18 in Surrey with acquired brain injury, their carers and family. Acquired brain injury may be from a stroke, road traffic incident, meningitis, encephalitis, tumour, aneurysm, sports injury, work injury, assault, combat, domestic violence, hypoxia, falling debris, trip, fall or slip etc.
An independent charity, established in 1985, offering a range of services to support cognitive improvement, strategies and skills. Headway Surrey aims to help people live well
and achieve their potential, hopefully returning to work. Young persons group, counselling, day centre, 1:2:1 sessions, drop-in, professional talks, hospital liaison, walking groups, carers support and webinars.
The Hook Schools Community Association (“HSCA”) is a charity dedicated to raising funds for Hook Infant School and Hook Junior School. We are parents, teachers and staff of both schools, as well as elected friends, who organise and run events within the school and the wider community with the support of dedicated volunteers. The aim of our organisation is to advance and enrich the education and experience of pupils in the school - we work closely with the schools to provide a programme of events that allow students to celebrate their school community and which raises funds that the schools use for facilities, equipment and other resources.
The Hope Hub is a registered charity that exists for the relief of poverty and specifically to help prevent and end homelessness in Surrey Heath Borough and surrounding areas.
We provide a comprehensive Services Pathway from CRISIS drop in to training and employment support through our EMPOWERMENT services. We support people who are aged 18+ years and homeless, sofa surfing or at risk of eviction, unemployed, in debt, struggling with mental health and/or addictions and seek to empower them to become the best they can be.
Maggie’s at the Royal Marsden provides free information and psychological support to people living with cancer in Surrey, London and beyond. Our centre is a warm and welcoming sanctuary away from the clinical environment of the hospital. In our centre visitors can find; practical advice about benefits and eating well; qualified experts providing emotional support; opportunities to meet other people; and places where you can simply sit with a cup of tea.
The Meath is a very special care home in Godalming, which supports adults who live with complex epilepsy and associated disabilities to live as independently as possible. In addition to providing residential care, they also provide a supported living service and welcome day clients. The Meath is proud to recognise ability and to enable the people they support to access a broad range of daily, life enriching activity sessions.
Mustard Seed Autism Trust provides therapy and support for the sensory, motor, social, communication and emotional needs of autistic children. We are dedicated to supporting the whole family and do this through parent courses and workshops, our advice line, and through posting free resources on our website and social media. Our monthly Funtastic Fun club is a sibling support group attended by around 30 children and young people. We work with children with a diagnosis of autism, living within 10 miles of Farnborough.
OFLAC provides a wonderful service, operating 2 days a week, for young adults with learning disabilities: each with their own individual needs, some more complex than others. Members live within the Hampshire, Surrey or Berkshire borders and can access OFLAC via a referral from their social services care manager. We enable members to develop their confidence and explore/enhance their strengths within a fun and safe environment. The centre provides a range of activities to stimulate the members physically, creatively, educationally and mentally i.e. drama, sports, quizzes, and tutorial sessions. We promote inclusion, with all members feeling valued, and most importantly - we have fun and make new friends!
Parenting Special Children’s mission is to improve the well-being of families of children/young people with additional needs living in Berkshire and the surrounding areas. We support parents through our services ∙ Parental workshops ∙ Trauma and Attachment ∙Sleep including assessments and individual children’s plans ∙ Support groups including socially deprived communities, adopters & kinship carers, Dad & Male carers ∙ Children’s project including an Autistic girls’ group, Social Interaction group ∙ Our vital Helpline. We empower families by giving them knowledge, skills, confidence, strength and a supportive community thereby reducing anxiety, stress, social isolation resulting in a stronger family unit.
Through Parity for Disability’s day services in Farnborough, Camberley and Mytchett, people with multiple disabilities aged 18+ work with our specialist staff, flexible transport, dedicated space, equipment and technologies to engage in activities, build friendships and networks, use and develop skills, contribute to their community – in fact, do what everyone else is doing. Parity exists because when a young person with multiple disabilities finishes full-time education, they’re left with few services to call on. They face isolation, inactivity and the loss of the skills and mobility that they have. Parity is a recipient of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Oakleaf Enterprise has provided work-related training and wider support to adults with mental health needs in Surrey since 1997. The charity aims to help individuals with mental ill-health improve their wellbeing and secure the skills, confidence and training needed to achieve their goals and return to the workplace. To do this, the charity provides free training and employment support, a wide range of wellbeing activities, and counselling services. Oakleaf also hosts the Guildford Safe Haven, an evening service available 365 days a year for those experiencing a mental health crisis, in partnership with Catalyst and SABP NHS.
We are the only Hospice Care service for adult patients, and their families, living with cancer or a terminal illness (such as heart, lung or neurological disease) across West Surrey and part of North East Hampshire. Every day we support over 250 patients, relatives and carers - in their own homes, in the community, at the Hospice in Farnham and the Beacon Centre in Guildford. Care is tailored to the needs of each patient, offering specialist clinical care alongside other services, including therapies, spiritual support, welfare and financial advice. As only 20% of our costs are covered by the NHS/Government, we rely on our community for their support to raise the £25,000 we need every day to continue to run our services free of charge.
Sebastian’s Action Trust provides emotional, social and practical care for life-limited and life-threatened children and their families. We offer family respite care at our flagship facility, ‘The Bluebells’, in Basingstoke, together with outreach and specialist support at our second centre, ‘The Woodlands’, in Crowthorne, that is aimed at reducing isolation, providing meaningful support and building resilience to help our beneficiaries face the uncertainties of the future. We passionately believe seriously-ill children should be able to have quality time together with their families, never having to face life alone. Our vision is to ensure lives, however short, are lived to the full.
At The Source, we're passionate about supporting local young people who are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing.
We provide a free 1 to 1 counselling service for 14 to 25's who are unable to access NHS mental health services. We know the value of early help too and our mentoring, creative workshops, volunteering opportunities, and small groups provide essential wellbeing support for young people aged 12 plus.
We help them to build confidence, resilience, and self-esteem, as well as boost aspirations, gain an understanding of their value, and develop hope for the future.
“You are my outlet. Talking to you has made such a difference, I feel like I’m a new person, and I actually like who I am”
Spotlight UK supports children and families from the Armed Forces, children in care, young carers, children affected by loss and separation, children affected by domestic abuse, children from low income families, children with mental health issues or long term medical conditions and their families.
We provide emotional and practical support including providing mental health care packs, Christmas presents, emergency appeals for clothes, baby equipment and toys.
Our view is we cannot take away the past but we can bring a bit of hope and smiles and create new positive memories through fun activities and family trips out.
Step by Step is a youth charity that believes every young person has the right to a safe place to live and the chance of a bright future. We operate across six counties in the South of England, offering accommodation and support to young people in crisis and helping them break the cycle of homelessness. As well as offering a stable place to live, Step by Step provides specialist services such as counselling, advice and guidance, and personal development opportunities. Our goal is to empower young people with the life skills and confidence they need to achieve the bright future they deserve.
Stepping Stones DS is a local charity dedicated to helping children and young people with Down syndrome to fulfil their potential. We rely entirely on grants and fundraising, so donations from incredible supporters like you make a real difference to the young people we support. Join us in guiding families in Hampshire, Berkshire, and Surrey from birth to adulthood.
Families tell us how much they value being part of a local support network:
"Without the help of Stepping Stones DS we would be clueless. They were the light at what seemed like a very long tunnel two years ago, & they remain our go-to today.”
“Fortunately, we were lucky to find Stepping Stones DS early on. They have been a huge support to our family!”
Together, we can empower our children and young people with Down syndrome with the tools and skills they need to thrive.
Treloar School and College is an outstanding and life-changing place, that enables our 170 students, aged between 4 and 25, to gain the skills and confidence they need to achieve their aspirations and goals. We are also helping them to become as independent as possible, despite having some of the most physically, complex disabilities in the UK. However, we can’t do this without you. We must raise £2 million each year to deliver the innovative support in classrooms and on our residential houses to help them to achieve this. With you by our side, our young people are striving towards a more fulfilled life.
Yateley Community Pre-School is a community based setting. We are a member of the Early Years Alliance and have been in operation for over 35 years in the local community. We are delighted to be part of the Twilight Runway Challenge this year. The past few years have been a real challenge with fundraising so be able to get out and raise money again for the children is just a fantastic feeling alongside our community spirit!
Yateley Industries works to sustain and increase the opportunities for people with disabilities in rewarding employment, both in its internal employment opportunities and mainstream work, with an occupation that enables a disabled person to contribute to society. It operates one of the few remaining supported factories that help vulnerable adults to do paid meaningful work and training intended to help progress them into mainstream employment. Our Vision is to create a thriving, sustainable and valued community creating living, learning and working opportunities for disabled people within wider society.
At York Road, our commitment is unwavering in the pursuit of ending homelessness, working 365 days a year. As a charity, we go beyond providing shelter, offering a supportive base for individuals on the journey away from homelessness. Nestled within the community of Woking, we serve as a refuge, extending a helping hand. York Road isn't just a shelter; it's a support system fostering independence. Working tirelessly every day of the year, we assist people in leaving the streets, navigating the complexities of the housing system, and securing a stable, long-term home.
The-Zone! supports families living with autism or other additional needs in the Hampshire/Surrey border area. We run monthly ‘Saturday Zone’ and ‘Teen Zone’ sessions during term time and Wednesday ‘Fun Zone’ sessions in the school holidays. The families enjoy meeting others and playing with games consoles, laptops, toys, crafts and, when it is dry, we have go-karts, bouncy castles and outdoor fun. We also organise trips out for the families such as bowling, donutting, laser run, soft play, farm etc. Families benefit from the opportunity to connect, where autism and similar needs are the norm and everyone can feel accepted.