We will be holding our Annual General Meeting 2024 on Saturday, 30th November at 10.00am. This will take place at Penny Field School, Tongue Lane, Meanwood, Leeds, LS6 4QD.
For further information about the AGM or to request to attend, please email Lucy Owen: lucy@snapsyorkshire.org.
This week is Trustees Week, a time to step back and recognise the amazing contribution made by charity trustees.
There are almost one million trustees across the UK, and we are very lucky to have nine brilliant trustees of our own. They are: Chris Eatwell (Chair), Ross McWilliams (Vice Chair), Paul Rowson (Vice Chair), Lora Bedford (trustee), Victoria Moss (trustee), Sunjay Chauhan (trustee), Debbie Hingerton (trustee), Tom Wake (trustee) and Shelley Sheridan (trustee).
This wonderful group of volunteers give up their time to help SNAPS to thrive. They work collectively as a board, ensuring that our charity is run as effectively as possible and that we are complying with our legal requirements. Within our board, we aim to have a mix of skills to cover the various complexities that the trustees discuss in their meetings. Each trustee is a great support to the staff team and an invaluable part of the SNAPS family.
Some of our trustees are also SNAPS parents, ensuring that our families voices remain at the heart of everything we do. This includes Lora Bedford, whose family has been coming to SNAPS since 2017.
“Becoming a trustee is a role which I feel is really important, as I can help to bring the voice of all parents back to the board, drive change where needed and continue delivering the incredible services that are already provided. I am immensely proud to be a part of this wonderful charity.”
– Lora Bedford
This year’s Trustees Week happens to coincide with Chris Eatwell’s ten year anniversary as Chair of SNAPS. Chris came on board in 2014, when our charity was really struggling and in danger of closing down. He set the foundations for SNAPS to grow dramatically and deliver a wider range of services to many more families.
Chris says: “When I first joined the Board, our greatest asset was the enthusiasm of the families and children, who were so keen for SNAPS to survive. This has been a ten-year programme of strong managed growth, investment in development, creativity and bold decisions, led by the certainty that our model was right and would enable SNAPS to continue supporting children with additional needs and their families.
“We have built something of value. Our contribution is important to our city of Leeds – our actions in supporting children and their families, in delivering quality therapeutic outcomes, our presence on the decision making bodies across the city, our strong voice helping to deliver messages about the struggle of lived experience on behalf of the voiceless. This has all helped to make our city and our communities better places to live.
“I have loved helping to build this multi-award winning movement of ours. It truly is a thing of pride and passion, of belief in a better future, of the drive to change what is wrong or doesn’t work as well as it might, and to make a better world.”
We are also sorry to say that our wonderful Vice Chair Ross McWilliams will be stepping down as Trustee. Ross joined the Board in 2016 and his support has been invaluable. From fantastic advice and support at Board meetings, to being the friendly Boccia face for families at Saturday sessions, and dressing up as a superhero to brave our Superhero Knockout Challenge obstacle course! We are all hugely grateful for all his wonderful support over the years. He has been an incredibly committed member of the Board and we are very sad to see him leave.
Ross says: “I first came across SNAPS working as a medical negligence solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, who have supported SNAPS for many years. When there was an opportunity to apply to become a trustee and I decided to give it a go. Being a SNAPS trustee has been such a rewarding and enjoyable experience. I have met some amazing people along the way and been part of something really special, helping to grow a relatively small charity into the organisation it is today.
“Whilst my term as a SNAPS trustee is sadly coming to an end, I want to continue to be involved with this amazing charity and I am certain that I will become a trustee again in the future.”
We are so thankful to each of our Trustees, we couldn’t do what we do without them!
Find out more about Trustees week here: https://trusteesweek.org/
A group of SNAPS supporters are taking on a fundraising challenge with a difference this month!
Announcing the winners of our photography competition!
The SNAPS Superhero Challenge 2024 was our biggest yet!
On Sunday, 8th September, we were joined by over 100 children and their families for the best superhero party in town.
Children were entertained by Super Girl, Super Mario and other superheroes, and were also able to meet real-life superheroes from the fire brigade and police. The Lord Mayor of Leeds led a warm-up ahead of families setting off on their zoom around the athletics track and presented each child with their own special medal and goody bag.
Children then enjoyed a giant bouncy castle, inflatable obstacle course, face painting, craft area, slime, soft play and other activities.
This event was generously sponsored by Enfinium, Irwin Mitchell, Wade’s Charity and Taylor Wimpey. Volunteers from the Scouts, Grove Park Care Home, HSBC, Direct Line and Irwin Mitchell also kindly gave their time to help on the day.
The second ever SNAPS Corporate Knockout Challenge took place, with teams from Irwin Mitchell, HSBC, Grove Park Care Home and SNAPS battling it out to for the coveted champions trophy. We would like to congratulate Irwin Mitchell on being our 2024 winners!
The event has so far raised an incredible £9,797 in sponsorship and donations, which is fantastic! These funds will go towards providing vital support services to children and families.
Press coverage for the event included a feature in the Yorkshire Evening Post and interviews with BBC Radio Leeds (you can still listen to Lora and the brilliant Phoenix here, skip ahead to 1hr 40 mins).
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to the event – from families to volunteers, we hope that you had a wonderful time and see you next year!
We have more fantastic photos to share on our Facebook page, take a look via the link below.
Our late Trustee Howard Pickles was a wonderful photographer and always managed to capture special moments at SNAPS’ events. With this in mind, we thought that a photography competition, which we’ve named ‘The Howards’, would be a fitting way to honour him.
So, if you’re coming along to the SNAPS Superhero Challenge on Sunday, 8th September, don’t forget to take some snaps to be in with a chance of winning! There are three prizes up for grabs:
1st place: A family pass to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park (for up to two adults and four children)
2nd place: A children’s digital camera
3rd place: Your photo made into a children’s jigsaw
Some suggested themes/ ideas for photos are:
Howard’s family have kindly agreed to judge the contest and they will be looking for the best photo that captures the essence of the Superhero Challenge!
How to enter:
Once your submission is received, we will send you a consent form to ensure that you and all of those present within the photograph are happy for the photo to be shared within future PR. All photos submitted will be featured in a Facebook album.
Winners will be announced on social media and our website on Wednesday 25th September. Good luck!
We’re very pleased to share our latest Impact Report, which illustrates the support we’ve been able to provide to children with additional needs and their families over the past 12 months.
We’re proud of everything that we’ve achieved over the past year, including:
…and much more!
Our report isn’t just about numbers, though. We also wanted to hear directly from the families we work with to find out how our services have helped them. Through our impact questionnaire, we were told that:
Over 90% of families attending SNAPS have seen improved mental health for them and their children, improved feelings of isolation and improved feelings of happiness.
83% of families saw improvements to their child’s physical health with 73% reporting improvements to their child’s pain.
100% of families who attend SNAPS with a sibling without additional needs saw an improvement to their feelings of happiness.
We couldn’t have achieved this without the hard work of our amazing team, our brilliant supporters and of course the amazing children and their families that we work with!
To read the SNAPS Impact Report 2024 in full, click the button below.
Our friend Mark Bramfitt has once again undertaken a fundraising challenge for SNAPS, this time raising over £3,000!
Mark raised the funds by completing a sponsored football themed distance challenge using the cycle, row and cross trainer machines at his gym. He completed over 435 km, the equivalent of travelling between Leeds, Manchester United and Liverpool football stadiums!
Both Mark and his wife, Ann, are passionate about supporting children’s charities. They chose to raise money for SNAPS as their grandson, Jack, faces challenges from acute epilepsy and cerebral palsy because of complications at birth. Jack and his family come to SNAPS sessions at Penny Fields school, where he enjoys hydrotherapy and rebound therapy.
Ann says: “It’s heartwarming to see how much Jack enjoys his sessions with SNAPS, and we’ve really witnessed him growing stronger and more confident along the way.”
This isn’t the first time that Mark has raised money for SNAPS, having raised over £4,500 for SNAPS previously through two challenges, including a step challenge. Mark says: “Every child deserves the very best that life has to offer. SNAPS is such a great setting for families to meet and provide mutual support. It’s so important for families with children with additional needs to know that they are not alone.”
Mark is also the Development Manager and Coach for North East Leeds Juniors. He believes that football should be for everyone, regardless of their abilities, and he’s committed to never turning a child away. He says: “I’ve had kids with additional needs join our sessions, and it fills me with joy to see them progress. I truly believe in the power of sports to boost confidence, teach valuable life skills, and promote the importance of exercise and being outdoors.
“Before Jack came into our lives, we didn’t know much about children with complex and additional needs, but we’ve learned so much since. These kids are incredibly special and deserve every chance to live life to the fullest, no matter what extra support they might need.”
A huge thank you to Mark and Ann from all of us at SNAPS! You are an inspiration and your fundraising efforts are hugely appreciated. Every penny raised makes such a huge difference and helps us to keep doing what we do.
Inspired by Mark? Find out more about fundraising for SNAPS here.
We were incredibly sad to hear that our good friend Howard Pickles passed away last month.
Howard had been Treasurer on SNAPS’ Board of Trustees since 2017 helping us to ensure that SNAPS’ finances were in the best possible health. His expert knowledge and advice were incredibly valuable to the management of SNAPS and helped ensure that the charity remained in a solid financial position. As well as his financial acumen, Howard was a skilled photographer who gave his time willingly to beautifully capture the key moments at SNAPS’ events. He was fantastic with SNAPS’ staff, volunteers and families, and his cheeky grin always managed to generate a true smile from his subjects. I am sure everyone who came to SNAPS Superhero Challenge will remember him fondly.
Howard was generous with his time, expertise, and the care he showed to everyone who met him. We send our love to Anne, James, Kate and all his family at this difficult time. We will miss his knowledge, sense of humour and kindness greatly but his incredible support of SNAPS, in so many ways, will leave a lasting legacy that no one will forget.
-Lucy Owen, Chief Executive, SNAPS
You might remember the brilliant Phoenix and his mum, Lora, featuring on BBC Radio 2 last year, where they talked all about SNAPS as part of BBC Children in Need.
Following the interview, Phoenix was invited to Bolton Wanderers stadium to speak to Zoe Ball live on air, and meet Vernon Kay at the end of his Ultra Ultra marathon challenge for Children in Need. Vernon had completed an epic 115 mile journey, raising over £5 million.
Well, Phoenix was such a hit with the BBC team that he and Lora were recently invited to meet with Vernon Kay once again, this time as part of a special surprise event to celebrate Vernon’s incredible achievement. Phoenix and Lora went along to the BBC at MediaCityUK in Salford, where Phoenix was brought out as a special surprise guest for Vernon, who was so delighted that he offered to take Phoenix to a Bolton Wanderers game!
Phoenix and Lora were then given the opportunity to go behind the scenes, visiting a number of sets including Match of the Day and CBeebies, where they bumped into presenter George Webster!
Well done Phoenix, you’re a natural media star and we’re sure this isn’t the last time you’ll be visiting the BBC studios!
You can read more about Phoenix and his family here.
