Every year we share our successes and impacts of our work through our colourful interactive report.
You can now view and download the PDF version here: ROKT Foundation annual report 2023-24 – final
Zulu drumming, caving and music were on the menu for kids at our latest ROKT Foundation Healthy Holidays programme this summer 2024.
Healthy eating, rope climbing, bouldering, abseiling and escape rooms were of course all packed in too (plus some karate!).
Here’s a taste of the climbing, drumming and caving which our fab kids experienced.
Here’s a longer look at the amazing Safety Nets project at ROKT Foundation, run by Creative Minds.
It blends social, physical and mental health workshops with climbing and urban activity to engage, inspire and empower young people – improving lives along the way.
Thanks to funding from BBC Children In Need, this innovative project is making a difference.
Here’s Lidia – and helper Florence – with an amazing, tasty, cheap and easy traditional Italian chicken pasta recipe. Enjoy watching and cooking along!
All part of our Healthy Holidays programme, Lidia shows how easy it is to make great, healthy food for less.
Head to https://youtu.be/qHB5J1_r_hI?si=pg7fERQaq6x-rsBd for the full recipe in the description.
And watch the second cook along film below too for egg drop soup.
Daredevil fundraisers of all ages took on ROKTFACE – the UK’s highest outdoor man-made climbing wall – to raise cash for the amazing RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford & District branch this June.
Dubbed the Human Scratching Post Challenge, here’s a taste of what the humans got up to (and a few dogs too).
Run by ROKT Foundation in partnership with RSPCA at ROKTFACE in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, UK.
Here’s how our climbing charity ROKT Foundation, Andysmanclub and Recovery College Calderdale & Kirklees join forces to save and change lives.
This is Andy’s story – and thank you to him for having the bravery to speak so brilliantly. It’s why we do what we do.
Starring these three amazing kids!
This is integration, this is Block Rockin’ Meets! It was fantastic to welcome our new cohort of climbers from St. Augustine’s Centre, Halifax, recently.
The smiles on the faces of our new recruits and the laughter in the building was phenomenal. These are asylum seekers coming together to make friends, learn about their new surroundings and start their new life.
It’s brilliant to see the enthusiasm from the group and how they keen they are to challenge themselves and support each other.
Thanks to Community Foundation for Calderdale for supporting this programme.
Film Poucher PR. Music Pixabay. www.roktfoundation.co.uk ENGAGE | EMPOWER | INSPIRE
Huge thanks to BBC Look North’s Mark Ansell for coming down and doing a piece on ROKT Foundation and our Climbing For All Families project. Here it is on Marks blog https://markansell.blogspot.com/
Thank to Sam and Trudy at BBC too.
A ground-breaking new climbing scheme giving families with disabled children the chance to climb together is set to launch.
ROKT Foundation has secured funding from Sport England for Climbing For All Families where parents and siblings of children with special educational needs and physical disabilities can climb together – which is something of a rarity.
Many great courses give disabled youngsters the chance to climb, but often just on their own. This course is designed to include the whole family group, meaning they can experience the thrill of climbing and urban activities together rather than siblings and parents just watching on.
Our Brighouse-based charity trialled the concept last year and after overwhelmingly positive feedback, Sport England and Creative Minds are backing them to roll it out to up to 100 families in 2024 thanks to funding of nearly £20,000
Katie Kinsella, Director of ROKT Foundation, said: “We were told by a lot of families we come into contact with that having children with special educational needs and physical disabilities often makes it near impossible to have whole family experiences where they can all take part in the same activity. We wanted to change that through the power of climbing – and putting our specialist training, knowledge and equipment to good use.
“There are lots of great courses out there doing brilliant things. Where our courses differ is that it’s for the entire family, not just one participant with additional needs. The feedback from the trial programme was extremely positive, so thanks to Sport England and Creative Minds we can do more, help more and climb more.
“It’s not just limited to climbing because we’re experts in the whole urban activity arena. So families can enjoy rope climbing, harness swinging, bouldering, indoor caving, Project Breakout escape rooms and indoor abseiling.”
The course includes specially adapted climbing equipment like harness swings that can go up to 10 metres in the air. Children can work as a team to hoist their friends and family upwards – and it means almost any child can experience the thrill of climbing no matter what barriers they face.
Cat Clements, head of disability at Sport England, added: “Projects like this make a real difference not just to one child, but the whole family. Data from our latest Active Lives Survey shows that activity is less common for adults with a disability or long-term health condition than those without.
“So, to be able to get children with disabilities and special educational needs active and involved alongside their siblings and parents from a young age can only enhance the chances of them staying physically active well into adulthood.
“It starts now and it starts young, so ROKT Foundation’s work in this area is vital and we’re delighted to support it.”
ROKT Foundation recently opened a new £18,000 sensory room experience at the centre for service users to enjoy as part of their climbing and urban experiences.
It features a musical touch wall, light plinth, Bluetooth musical stool, rainbow ball, UV carpet and projection equipment for relaxing and watching educational films.
Since 2021 post-Covid, ROKT Foundation has supported hundreds of children and young people with learning disabilities to climb, cave, boulder, harness swing and abseil.
For more on ROKT Foundation please visit www.roktfoundation.co.uk
Notes to editors:
For all media enquiries contact graham@poucherpr.co.uk or call 07587 180005
Recent Comments