It was fantastic to see so many familiar and new faces at the Family Fun Day! 

We were so fortunate to have our sensory garden installed last year by such generous and modest people. Our family fun day was to share our wonderful garden with the community, families, siblings and children from Rocklands as well as celebrating a year on from the completion of the garden. 

Simon's Heroes and Band of Builders are two groups of amazing people that give up their time for free to help others.

The story behind our sensory garden:

Last summer our ASPF chair, Claire Jennings, had money stolen from an honesty box outside her house where she sells duck food to raise money for Rocklands. She had CCTV footage of the money being taken and this went viral.

A charity in Tamworth, Simon's Heroes - founded by Mark Bennett, saw the footage and wanted to help. Mark is a tiler by trade and enlisted the help of Band of Builders. Band of Builders - founded by Addam Smith, is a group currently seeking charity status that aim to help other members of the construction industry when times get tough, whether that’s through hands-on projects, advice and support, or just the sense of community that has grown through the simple act of wearing a BoB t-shirt or hoodie.

Simon's Heroes and Band of Builders joined forces to help us achieve our vision of a sensory garden for Rocklands...and it was more than we ever imagined. 

From the money raised by the ASPF we donated as much as we possibly could financially - £10,000. The rest was raised by Simon's Heroes, volunteers, donations of materials and the time and effort of the tradesmen and women involved.

Over a total period of 3 weeks, our garden was transformed. Trades came from all over the country to spend a day or two on the project and some ended up staying 2 weeks! The atmosphere on site was just out of this world.

Rocklands met some true heroes that summer and made friendships that will continue for a lifetime. 

Rocklands' children, staff and parents raised money for both Simon's Heroes and Band of Builders by doing a sponsored walk after the completion of the garden. We were able to donate over £600 to each group. We pledged that each year we would do one fundraising event for both groups to give something back and pass on the generosity that we were shown. WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

If you'd like to know more about Simon's Heroes -  https://simonsheroes.org.uk/

If you'd like to know more about Band of Builders - https://www.bandofbuilders.org/

We welcomed some of the BoBs (Band of Builders) and Simon's Heroes back during the day and evening of the fun day.

Band of Builders are doing the 3-peak challenge next weekend. If you'd like to support them, please donate via: https://www.gofundme.com/band-of-builders-3-peaks-challenge?member=443228