GYMPANZEES
Bristol, United-Kingdom
DESCRIPTION
GYMPANZEES – COMPLETED
The objective of this project is to support a 2-week Gympanzees POP UP event to be held at Easter 2020 in Bristol (1 500 children and their families).
The mission of Gympanzees is to enable every child and young person with a disability aged between 0-25 years old (in the UK) to access regular play, exercise and friendship, to improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing, and to take their families out of isolation.
Gympanzees’ long term objective is to open 13 centres across the UK while in the shorter term, they aim to operate pop-ups every summer and Easter until the first centre opens in order to help fine-tune the concept (Pop-up = Temporary facility within schools with rooms adapted as a pilot for the future centre)
IMPACT / MAIN INDICATORS
• Improve children’s health thanks to exercise and experiencing a varied sensory experience
• Create an inclusive playful atmosphere and spaces to allow the whole family to play
• Reduce isolation of families
LOCAL
PARTNER
Selection
Duration
Project selected in September 2019
Duration : 1 year
Financed
by
Comgest Asset Management
International Ltd
COMMENT FROM THE AMBASSADOR
Alistair Wittet
Unfortunately due to Covid19 the Easter 2020 pop-up we funded had to be cancelled, as has the Summer pop-up. The funding has been carried over to the Easter 2021 pop-up which we are hopeful will be able to go ahead. In the meantime, Gympanzees has launched a new “Our Home” project which provides online support to families with therapist-run Zoom sessions. They have also made available a Lending Library from which families can borrow specialist equipment such as sensory toys or therapy equipment. These have proven hugely successful with over 44000 views of the online content. The lending library was fully booked within 48 hours and currently has a 27-week waiting list for some items.
The charity has worked hard to secure funding during lockdown, despite all fundraising events having to be cancelled. They will start fundraising again for the Easter 2021 pop-up and have decided to continue running the “Our Home” programme with the aim of providing the service to 3500 families over the next 12 months.