Registered Charity No. 800222
"WE WILL NOT LET THIS BEAT US" END OF YEAR REFLECTIONS FROM A PROUD CEO "“2019 was an incredibly tough year for us all but what I don’t think anyone anticipated was that 2020 would be even harder. 2019 was a year where we felt isolated and scared, 2020 has had the addition of burnout, despair and a wave of mental health issues. This was especially the case for families who have children with disabilities. We have been determined, with a ‘we will not let this beat us’ attitude to ensure our lifeline of support prevented families from giving up. The year has been fraught with what seemed like endless challenges, but we have ended the year achieving so much too. We have enhanced our mental health and well-being support for all, improved our facilities, gave our supporters a sense of ‘normality’ by putting on COVID–safe events when many other charities
a 'Can Do' attitude "We met the second year of the pandemic head on. The ‘can do’ attitude of staff carried on and rose to new level. Constant changes in self-isolation guidance meant that shifts often had to be changed or extended last minute. It is only thanks to staff, families and volunteers working together that we were able to remain open, and even welcome a few new families. Our volunteer drivers, who we already knew were heroes, became fully-fledged cape wearing super heroes when they took on extra shifts to ensure children could continue to access respite. This year we have also focused greatly on supporting mental health. We gave children the tools to discuss their feelings. Staff and volunteers enjoyed wellbeing days, celebrating their amazing work. Newly established family days enabled support groups to be created amongst parents and siblings. A strong foundation we will continue to build on and support."
PAULA RANKIN Head of Care
cancelled them, and achieved ‘Outstanding’ in 2/3 areas in our Ofsted inspection. Most importantly, I am very proud to say that not one family reached crisis during this exhausting year. We are within 2% of disability services nationally that have remained opened throughout this awful pandemic, but we haven’t ‘just’ remained open. We have enhanced our support, services and facilities to ensure each child and family felt safe, secure and children continued to grow and develop. This has only been possible as a result of the heroic effort from our truly wonderful staff, volunteers and supporters, who I just can’t thank enough."
CLAIRE BRYANT Chief Executive Officer
thank you, we couldn't have done it without you! "The second year of Covid-19 hit us harder than expected. At this difficult time, we were truly grateful for the ongoing support of our wonderful community. People donated at Christmas, swam, knitted and baked for us. Trusts gave generously to fund children’s visits and help bring our Sensory Play Garden to fruition. Our corporate partners delivered valuable funding and volunteering for us. Thoughtful people left us gifts in their Wills. We were humbled by how our community came together, supporting us when so many public events - the backbone of our fundraising - were again cancelled. With no emergency grants to apply for, our urgent appeal in March was well-received and raised over £14,000, making a big difference. Thank you to each and every one of our supporters and volunteers, we appreciate all you have done for us."
JANE HUNNABLE Head of Fundraising and Marketing
happiness
What does cherry trees mean to your family?
"We love Cherry Trees – my child loves coming and we never worry about leaving him in their care."
home from home
"Lifeline. Cherry Trees helps us recharge and spend quality time with our older son." "My child's communication noticeably improves after each visit, since he has to engage with new people and try a little harder to make himself understood. He feels loved, wanted and supported when he arrives at Cherry Trees."
independence
CHERRY ACHIEVERS! those little steps towards independence
At Cherry Trees, we respect and celebrate each child for who they are. We see child first and disability second, and believe that each young person is capable of achieving great things. Together with their parents and carers, we encourage children to set personalised goals for themselves. We recognise that it may take a long time to achieve these goals, with lots of small steps taken in between. In a nurturing, caring environment, we celebrate all these steps, no matter how large or small, knowing they all work to enhance our young people's chances in life. It is through our Cherry Achievers' Tree that young people can share achievements with their family and friends at Cherry Trees. Each new experience and brave step taken towards a goal is awarded with a Cherry, hanging proudly at the entrance for all to see.
A well-earned Cherry was awarded to this young lady for making mac and cheese for all her friends and carers at Cherry Trees. With the help of Chef Steve and using our specially adapted children's kitchen, she made the whole dish from scratch, gaining important independence skills for the future.
When facing tough challenges, it's easy to get discouraged and give up. Our carers were very proud of this boy for putting on his socks before leaving for school in the morning, persevering through this often frustrating task.
We were really pleased to see this young man use picturecommunication tools to share his discomfort with his carer. Being non-verbal, he can struggle to ask for help, getting attention by jumping up and down instead. Using his PECS symbols helps those around him to better meet his needs, keeping him safe and happy.
CHERRYTASTIC OUTCOMES
FOR CHILDREN, FOR FAMILIES
Despite the hardships felt by many this year, including us at Cherry Trees, we are proud to have remained open every single day during the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the dedication and hard-work of our care staff, volunteers, fundraisers, donors, trustees and patrons, we have ensured that families were given a helping hand when they needed it the most. Cherry Trees takes mental health as a priority for all. We have put in place measures to nurture not just our children's, but our staff and families' mental wellbeing as well. This year saw the introduction of a dedicated Mental Wellbeing Fund, wellbeing events for staff and parents, as well as continued health benefits for staff including paid counselling. Thanks to these important preventative measures:
100%
Professionals felt that we support the mental health of our children and families fully. Staff felt that Cherry Trees supported their mental health.
F A N T A S T IC F IG U R E S 75 We are an Ofsted Good Provider. Our most recent inspection recognised our hard-work in looking after young people with disabilities, awarding "Outstanding" in 2/3 of areas.
wow!
Families supported
330
1,512
Sleepo
Bursa r at a to y hours, tal va lue of £5, 552
vers
6 New children welcomed
5 Wellbeing events for parents & staff
11,128
re Hours of ca a provided on e n one to o basis.
603
Tea a n day v d isits
4 visits by our robot friends When we needed an extra pair of hands doing some advance cleaning, we could always rely on the help of friendly UV robots from NESA Robotics. Thanks to Cherry Trees Trustee Heath Williams, we've been able to ensure every corner of our home (including cuddly toys and technology) is left safe, ready for our young people to enjoy.
"a real haven" This is Hilary, mum to Luke 18 and Zoe 20. Luke was born with a complex learning disability, which means that he is non-verbal, has a very high risk of choking and can produce some challenging behaviours. He can also struggle with sound sensitivity at night, meaning that he’s easily woken and frequently does not sleep through the night. Luke has been joining us for respite breaks for 6 years, a time that’s been absolutely essential for the whole family.
life with luke “We knew quite early on that Luke was going to be slightly different from other children, but things became even more apparent when he started primary school. Doctors were always telling us what he couldn’t do, but I thought ‘even if he can’t do some things, I want to open up the world for him as much as possible’.” While Luke doesn’t have a voice, Hilary feels passionately about making sure he gets to be part of his local community, and that he is heard and valued just like everyone else. “Although he might not be able to talk or communicate like other young adults, it’s really important that he is listened to and respected.” This is why Hilary was so pleased to find Cherry Trees, where our values of child first, disability second ensured Luke was always respected and celebrated exactly as he deserved to be.
The family were then given direct payments, and were able to look for respite that better fitted Luke’s needs. “Cherry Trees was an absolute lifesaver for our family. Although we were told we could have direct payments, it took quite a few months before we received these. The staff at Cherry Trees were really lovely and never pressed us for the money until we got it and gave us subsidised stays, which was a real breakthrough. It’s really difficult when you’re always battling the system, and Cherry Trees just opened their arms to us. It was amazing.”
“Cherry Trees embraces difference. There is no barrier. They don’t treat Luke differently from any other young person that goes to Cherry Trees.”
all-important independence
asking for help “We went to another respite centre first. We had some serious concerns which we raised, but we were so desperate for respite that we decided to go with it anyway. We soon realised Luke was being locked in a room at night, and immediately stopped going.”
"The carers at Cherry Trees know his needs so well that I feel completely at ease when he’s there. It’s pretty much the only time I feel free. Quite often I go to bed quite early when he’s at respite because I just need to recharge my batteries. Caring for him is absolutely exhausting."
at cherry trees “Luke loves going to Cherry Trees. He loves walking around the village and the sensory experience of being outside: seeing the plants, listening to the birds, seeing other people.
“Because he lives at home with us, going to Cherry Trees has given Luke a sense of independence. It’s good for him to get used to not always relying on Mum and Dad to do things for him. Independent eating has been really good.” Luke has made big strides in using his spoon to eat his meals and now automatically goes to sit in his spot at the table during mealtimes. “His attention span has improved too; sitting down reading books, he’ll definitely sit longer. We are talking about very small steps but I think any improvement is very important.”
“Over the holidays, Zoe had some friends around and Luke went over to her friends and really tried to engage with them. I suspect that’s because he’s used to being around other young people at Cherry Trees. When you’re disabled, you’re always surrounded by adults and I think it’s nice that young people at Cherry Trees can be around other people their age.”
going the extra mile Luke’s favourite story is Giraffe’s Can’t Dance. At Cherry Trees, each child gets a personalised birthday present to celebrate his special day. One year, his carers got him a t-shirt with an image of the book on it. “I was so touched when someone came up with the idea. Every time I get it out the cupboard his face lights up. He’ll always choose to wear that if he can."
how we've cared for Luke since his first day at cherry trees 424 visits (including 393 sleepovers) 11,973 hours of care £5,663 bursary given
“I think it’s very difficult to come to terms with having a child with a disability, but Cherry Trees are always there to hold your hand on that journey. The carers have the experience and you can ask questions. They’ll always try to help you if they can. The emotional support I got from Cherry Trees was incredible when my dad died at the same time as Luke’s school class being off because of Covid. I rang up crying and I was thinking ‘How am I going to support my mother with Luke’, because obviously you can’t do anything else while looking after Luke. And Paula (our Head of Care) just said ‘We’ll take him. Don’t worry, leave it to us. Bring him tomorrow, and we’ll have him for the week.’ That was amazing, because it meant I could support my mother who had lost her husband of 60 years, and arrange and attend the funeral for my dad. I got to spend time with my daughter too. He was the first grandparent she remembers losing and had quite a big impact on her.”
what about Zoe? When you have a child with complex disabilities like Luke, who requires constant supervision, they naturally take priority. “I feel for my daughter. We’ve never been away on holiday. Zoe is really passionate about inclusion and doesn’t see why things aren’t easier for Luke. Why there are all these barriers and people saying ‘No, no, no’. Only Cherry Trees says ‘Yes, yes, yes’. They will do anything for him.” When Luke is at Cherry Trees, Zoe can have a bit of time with her parents, have friends around or play video games late at night without worrying about waking up Luke.
what does cherry trees mean to your family? “It means everything. Cherry Trees has become our family, an absolute lifeline, and an amazing opportunity for Luke to do things he would not have done otherwise. I feel slightly guilty having a break, but we need to have it to recharge our batteries. The emotional and physical stress and strain of bringing up a child with disabilities should not be underestimated. It’s just such a unique and amazing service, a real haven.”
the future “Although Luke might be nearly 19, he is much younger in his outlook. My husband and I are not getting any younger, and the lack of provision for young adults is really frightening. I’m quite resourceful and have looked at lots of possible alternatives and I found that Cherry Trees is completely unique. I would love in my dream for a provision like Cherry Trees for young adults. I think it’s just the fact of being alone again. Cherry Trees is like family. You have it for a short period of time and then it’s gone. We’re about to be back on our own again which is frightening… Cherry Trees really is home from home.”
the year's highlights stories from our colourful home from home
on the river wey During the summer break, our young people got to marvel at local sights and beautiful nature while gliding along the River Wey in one of these fab wheelchair-accessible Swingbridge boats. A perfect mix of history and nature; just one of many outings organised by our care team.
hilarious captain cutlass Have you ever limboed under a giant fish finger? Our children certainly have, thanks to the many visits by Captain Cutlass we enjoyed this year. His funny puppets, balloon art and magic balancing sticks were a huge favourite and put many smiles on our young people's faces.
"What a lovely surprise to hear the door bell go and receive a pile of unexpected presents for the family, especially ones I didn’t have to think about and source. I even got a few amazing presents “just for me” which I didn’t know about (or wrap myself!). I haven’t received an unknown present for a long time. It was so incredible and touching to get something - that moment felt like My Christmas! And I’m sure there are a lot of mums out there who are always “organising and doing” and have forgotten the surprise and joy of receiving something unexpected. Thank you for reminding me of that feeling - you brought so much more than a bag of presents." Cherry Trees Parent
musical performance by upcoming artist A unique opportunity to watch Madi Mai, an amazing young artist with Autism, perform live at Cherry Trees, filling our garden with beautiful melodies. The children loved the performance, dancing and clapping to the beat. One boy even got to play Madi's ukulele.
FESTIVE SURPRISE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY Having made the difficult decision to cancel our annual Family Christmas Party in order to keep our children, families and staff safe from Covid, we knew we had to do something to keep families' festive spirits high. Filling the Fundraising Barn from floor to ceiling with bright red Santa's Sacks, staff came together to pack and deliver personalised gifts to all our children and families. Parents and siblings weren't forgotten either, with gifts chosen specifically for them too.
today's sign of the week is... Did you know that many of our children use Makaton Sign language to communicate with their friends and carers at Cherry Trees? This year our care and fundraising teams joined forces to make the world slightly more accessible for these young people by launching our Sign of the Week video series on social media. Viewers from all around the world engaged and tried out signs for Not seen our "Sign of themselves, with videos being seen by thousands of the Week" videos yet? people from as far as India and Brazil. Carer Eloise, the Check it out on social creative genius leading the project, has made videos all media @cherrytreesuk. about the colours of the rainbow, feelings, and the names of different rooms at Cherry Trees.
Our brand new sensory play garden from plan to reality, we saw our old back garden grow and transform into a colourful, accessible space
After many months of planning, digging, skip filling, fence building, and path laying, the first phase of our garden refurbishment project is now complete. "We are very excited to present our Sensory Play Garden. The garden now has a quiet zone, a level, all weather surface and a large sail shade, making it fully accessible to all of our children whatever the weather. We have also installed an illuminated cascading water feature wall thanks to Silent Pool Distillers' kind donation of their Chelsea Flower Show display, and a wonderful living willow den. The new wheelchair accessible veg trugs are ready for planting and we look forward to eating the fruits (and vegetables) of the children’s labours over the coming months. Our thanks to Scott Brownrigg for their invaluable support and help in designing the garden
and to Timotay Playscapes and DH Fencing for bringing it all to life. We are also very grateful to have our wonderful gardening volunteers to help keep it looking as good as new, and filling the raised planters with such a beautiful array of sensory planting. The swings, football nets, basketball hoops, scooters and bikes/trikes have now all been put to good use, with our young people starting the spring months with test rides up and down the rubber paths.
Children loved exploring this new space, now nearly doubled in size, and discovering all its fantastic new features. We've already had some fierce football tournaments, and the fundraising team are constantly delighted by the sound of the rainbow xylophone." CLARE COLBORNE-BABER Chief Operating Officer
what's next? Our front garden now needs a revamp. We will be looking for kind people to volunteer their time and resources to make this happen.
fundraising: keeping afloat in uncertain times Fundraising provides 40% of Cherry Trees' income, and is absolutely essential in the delivery of our vital services. Funds raised allow each young person's visit to be subsidised, creating happy memories for children and important moments of rest for parents and siblings. Donations also bring to life capital projects like our Sensory Play Garden. In 2021-2022, our fundraising efforts also enabled the creation of a brand new bedroom - increasing capacity and allowing more children and families to benefit from respite at Cherry Trees - and the complete refurbishment of our Chill Room and Soft Play as well.
In a year like no other, our fundraising team faced new and unexpected challenges. With in-person events continuing to be cancelled for a second year in a row, as well as emergency grants becoming limited, we became more reliant on the generous support of our loyal community. When we reached out for help with our Urgent Appeal, donors rallied around and made sure we were able to fill funding gaps. We are grateful to each community group, Cherry Champion, volunteer, brave challenge participant and donor for ensuring we could meet our net target and raise a total of £488,000 overall, covering even the extra costs associated with the pandemic.
Ongoing collaborative partnerships, raising more and more each year...
Patron's Golf Day at St George's Hill Golf Club An incredible £62,000 was raised at this year's annual Cherry Trees golf championships, held on the exclusive grounds of St George's Hill Golf Club. The highest amount ever raised at this event, made possible thanks to the fantastic support of Patron Jeremy Lowe, generous donations from 21 teams of expert players, and the help of those supporting the organisation and delivery of the event. Players got to tee off surrounded by gorgeous views, bid on luxury items in a silent and live auction, and feast on a Mexican inspired meal.
fantastic neighbours!
High Clandon estate vineyard With the annual Art and Sculptures in the Vineyard exhibition being a calendar staple, we have benefitted from the generous support of Patron Sibylla and husband Bruce Tindale for many years. This time, we were lucky to spend four summer weekends at this award-winning vineyard, raising a whopping £23,2367. Starting with an exclusive concert by the Allaluce Quartet, formed from members of the BBC Concert Orchestra, followed by cream teas on the lawn during National Garden Scheme Sunday, where visitors got to browse locally made art and sculptures displayed around the stunning property. The atmospheric Glass Barn and wildflower meadows were also the perfect backdrop for an eye-opening Sparkling Melodies photography exhibition showcasing the beauty of care, and the celebration of abstract art at the In My Mind's Eye event.
FESTIVITIES AT NATIONAL TRUST's HATCHLANDS PARK Our wholehearted thanks to Dan and the incredible staff at the National Trust's Hatchlands Park for allowing Cherry Trees to put on not one, but four highly successful fundraising events this year, raising a total of £7,455. Joining the donkeys in the courtyard, we sang Christmas carols and ate mince pies, sold pumpkins at Halloween, and came together with our music loving community for an evening of musical performances by local artists. Despite the pouring rain, and the Euro finals taking place on that very same day, loyal supporters joined Cherry Trees and the Guildford Lions for a fabulous evening's entertainment during the annual Music In the Park show.
Corporate
COMMUNITY
Our thanks to the fabulous team from Allianz UK who spent a cold winter's day turning a local supporters' 16th century Tythe barn into a festive fairy-tale market. Moving tables, endless number of boxes, fighting the forces of nature while setting up a large marquee; all invaluable in the delivery of our Christmas Market. A big thank you also to Western Digital, who took part in our diversity and inclusion training day, raising £10,640 for Cherry Trees.
Community run events returned with a bang this summer. A muchanticipated celebration of the local area, Horsley Big Day Out, organised in partnership with East Horsley Parish Council, raised a whopping £5,566. A celebrity-filled football match hosted at Woking FC's Laithwaite Community Stadium raised £13,656 split between four local charities, including Cherry Trees. Shere Hill Climb returned again this year, with volunteers marvelling at a range of classic cars on display. A donation of £4,500 was gratefully received from the organisers of the event.
Community supporters shone. In a year when we were all forced to adapt and innovate, kind members of our community showed up with new and effective ways to raise vital funds for our charity. Mary Evans and her craft group made endless crochet cuddly toys, beautiful strings of bunting and more, raising over £1,000. Cherry Trees Patron Shane Richie who has been busy showing off his many talents at TV game shows, brought in a revenue of £5,273 with an additional £400 raised through the auction of theatre tickets donated generously by Shane.
Challenges
TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS
The Big Give
Running, cycling, swimming and climbing mountains, our brave challengers pushed themselves to the extremes, inspiring their friends and family to support them on their journey. We were especially impressed with the team headed by Vishal and Madhan, who took on not one, but two gruelling challenges raising £3,000.
We are extremely grateful to all of the Trusts and Foundations that supported Cherry Trees over the last year. It costs £1.3m per annum to run Cherry Trees and our dedicated fundraising team need to raise nearly half of that sum. In 2021-22, Trusts and Foundations gave an incredible £173,000 for a number of projects including our Sensory Play Garden and running costs of our home. Cherry Trees is a lifeline for the families of more than 100 young people, with every single child's stay at Cherry Trees funded in some way through donations from Trusts and Foundations. Without these vital funds, we could not do our important work.
Cherry Trees was once again selected to participate in The Big Give Christmas Challenge, doubling supporters' festive donations. Thanks to a special £10,000 gift from Martin Grant Homes, as well as pledges from two catalyst donors, we raised £28,479.
our volunteer heroes Volunteers are at the very heart of what we do at Cherry Trees. Whether it's driving our big green bus, helping out with gardening, painting and decorating, baking delicious cakes, helping out at events or delivering leaflets to neighbours, Cherry Trees would not be the same without our dedicated group of 200 volunteers. A personal thank you to each and every volunteer for making this year one to remember. Grateful thanks to our fantastic team of Patrons and Trustees who, year on year, ensure our charity continues to be well-run and sustainable. We were lucky to welcome two new Trustees this year, David Marshall as Treasurer and Ailsa Dooley as Medical Trustee.
thank you for your invaluable support! From all of us at Cherry Trees, a big thank you to The National Lottery Community Fund for continuing to support and enable our important work.
UNSUNG HEROES Meet our incredible care team Our care team: the heart and soul of Cherry Trees, working tirelessly every day to create happy, fulfilling experience for young people with complex disabilities. Alongside providing exceptional care, they're always ready to help out with the other thousand tasks needed to keep our cherry cogs turning. Whether its dealing with mountains of laundry, planning enriching outings, helping our fundraising team with events and heavy lifting, keeping a watch over the house during our closure periods and much more, these are just some of the ways our unsung heroes go above and beyond each and ever day. We are so proud of our amazing frontline workers for continuing to adapt for a second year in a row, overcoming new challenges with incredible resilience.
COULD YOU HELP MAKE SURE CHILDREN WITH COMPLEX DISABILITIES HAVE ACCESS TO THE VITAL RESPITE CARE THEY NEED AND DESERVE? It is only with the help of our wonderful community of supporters that Cherry Trees is able to continue being a lifeline for our children and families. Having read about the important difference we make in the life of young people, you may want to donate, find out more about our work, or get in touch about paid and volunteer opportunities. All the details you need are below! Cherry Trees, School Lane, East Clandon, Surrey GU4 7RS | 01483 222507 www.cherrytrees.org.uk @cherrytreesuk
Registered Charity No. 800222 Registered Company No. 02241223