Challengers

Is your company looking for a team challenge for 2019? Why not join the Kelly's Storage Charity Events Cycle Challenge? With routes to suit all abilities and incentives for team sign ups, it's the perfect team building opportunity. Enter your team here: https://charity.kellystorage.co.uk/…/Cy cle-Challen…/Register

Please vote for Challengers in the My Favourite Voucher Codes charity poll! We were lucky enough to be successful a few years back, which you can read all about here: https://disability-challengers.org/my-fav ourite-voucher-co…/ and we would love to win again! All you need to do is vote for Challengers in the right-hand panel on their webpage. You can also grab yourself some great discounts while you're there!

Sign up today!

Just missed the ballot for Prudential RideLondon and looking for a new year Challenge? Then you could be our next cycling hero! In our 40th Birthday year we need you to join #TeamOrange in Prudential Ride London to help break down the barriers to play. For further information or to apply please contact KatieLedger@disability-challengers.o rg or visit the website https://disability-challengers.org/pruden tial-ridelondon-2…/

To celebrate 40 years of fun this year, we want you to meet Tom and his mum Deborah, who like all the children and young people that come to Challengers are why we have worked hard to challenge the barriers to play over the last 40 years!
This film was created by social enterprise video production company @freebirdfilm - for more of their work and contact details visit https://www.freebirdfilm.tv

Mencap will be running some workshops in February that we thought might be of interest to some of our followers!

Looking for a new year Challenge? Then now is the time to sign up to Kelly's Storage Charity Events Cycle Challenge. Returning for its 6th year on 19th May you can sign up to be part of #TeamOrange today: https://charity.kellystorage.co.uk/Eve… /2019/Cycle-Challenge

To celebrate 40 years of fun here is a snippet from our brand new film! Keep an eye out on Monday to learn more about Tom and his mum Deborah! . . #40YearsOfFun #playisimportant #newfilm #charity #breakingbarriers
... This film was created by social enterprise video production company Free Bird Film - for more of their work and contact details visit www.freebirdfilm.tv
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New year, new job! Looking for a new career in 2019!? We have new office and scheme roles open, apply today and join #TeamOrange on our mission to break the barriers to play! https://disability-challengers.org/team-c ha…/paid-vacancies/ #charity #jobvacancies #fundraising #playisimportant #joinus #bestjobever

We have had 40 years of play and want you to join us on our mission to get everyone playing this year! Every month we will launch new ways to play and would like you to send us videos of you playing to put on our social or pop it on your social use #40WaysToPlay and tag us!
Music:bensound.com

Happy New Year everybody! We are 40 this year and have an entire year full of celebrations planned! Stay tuned for exciting things to come! #40YearsOfFun
Music: bensound.com

We hope everyone is looking forward to the New Year as much as we are. Exciting things will be happening for us in 2019! Happy New Year everyone!

SYMES, who are supporting us with their upcoming Cook it! competition have opened up entries for any budding chefs! Have a read about their competition and how you can enter here.https://disability-challengers.org/c ook-it-2019-cooking-co…/

Looking for a Pre-school in the new year?! Check out our webseries! Pre-school Diaries | Ep.8 | Meet Isaac. Take a look at what our Pre-schoolers are up to in our Pre-school Diaries Series! #preschool #webseries #teamorange
... Interested in our Pre-schools? check out our website: https://disability-challengers.org/what-w e-do/pre-school/
Music: bensound.com
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In the lead up to Christmas we have seen many adverts! And while representation is important Sam Renke gives example of how shops can do more to make shopping more accessible! Let us know your thoughts https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/…/campai gner-sam-ren…/1498037

We are looking for a new Recruitment Manager to join our HQ staff in the new year! If you are keen to make a difference and want to be part of find people that want to do the same, join #TeamOrange -> check out our website:https://disability-challengers.or g/team-cha…/paid-vacancies/

With full bellies we are reminiscing back to the #TeamOrange took on the Superhero Series Winter Wonderwheels! We are so proud of everyone that took part. Take a look at some highlights! #boxingday #soproud https://disability-challengers.org/superh ero-series-winter…/

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! We hope you have a time filled with love and laughter!

Wonderful local charity that provides fantastic support for our special young people and highly needed respite for loving families. Thank you so much Challengers.

We are regular users of the holiday playschemes and some of the other activities organised. Lovely people and great value for money make all the difference for everyone in our family.

Tom finished preschool in July last year. Bobby started in January this year and Frank was put on the list the day i announced my pregnancy with him. He will start in September 2016. I wouldn’t send him anywhere else! When Tom started preschool he would not socialise with children at all. I took him on many a play date and toddler groups but he didn’t want to speak to other children. The first day i left him at Challengers Preschool I was very emotional because he took himself and a toy off to a corner by himself and i was quite worried he would never involve himself with the other children. Within a couple of weeks he was coming home telling me about all his new friends!! Tom also hated being messy (although this does not seem to extend to his toys in his bedroom!!). He would stand as far away from any messy play activities as he could whenever i attempted anything with him. I told the playworkers at Farnham about this and with gentle encouragement he would try little things. I went to pick him up one day and 3 members of staff came over giddy with excitement. They’d been making cookies that day and Tom had not only touched the dough, but rolled it out and cut it!! It may seem like something very small to many people but to me it was huge and the playworkers understood that. At the end of his last school year we all went on a trip to Alice Holt. He was running around with all his friends, actively seeking them out and calling them by name – and he went bug hunting with his favourite playworker and picked bugs out of the mud!! What a transformation!!



Tom is now in school and has made many friends in his new class. It takes us ages to get out of school for so many children talking to him! I feel Tom has had an amazing foundation from Challengers which has enabled him to believe in himself. Challengers Preschool encourages the children to be independent and Tom has left with good morals and ethics, not to mention surprisingly high emotional intelligence. I can honestly say that I put it down to the amazing staff and facilities at Challengers, Farnham.







I already knew how amazing Challengers was before i sent Bobby there but his progress has astounded me! Bobby had been in Speech and Language Therapy for five months before starting preschool with absolutely no progress whatsoever. He has severe speech and language problems. He would only use one word at a time ever and you would hope to be lucky enough to understand what that word was. I would understand around 25% of the words he would say and an outsider wouldn’t understand anything. I was concerned that he would not be able to make himself understood at preschool and had he been going anywhere other than Challengers where I trust the staff, i would not have sent him. He started preschool on the Tuesday and on the Thursday morning when we left the house to go to school Bobby pointed to the sky and said “Birds flying”. That is two words – both clear and understandable!! I, of course, cried tears of joy. Just two days at preschool and he managed to put two words together when his speech therapist had not been able to achieve this in 5 months! 5 weeks in now and Bobby’s speech is far clearer. I now understand around 75% of the words he says and others have been able to understand much of what he says. Today he was able to have a conversation with his Nanny for the first time and she understood what he was saying. He now uses 2 words most of the time (“my turn”, “throw ball”, “baby sleeping”) rather than his usual single word. He is also making three word sentences regularly throughout the day (“you making dinner”, “Bobby school bag”, “go school now”) and has even over the last couple of days used 4 word sentences!! He is even asking lots of questions which is enabling him to learn through questioning. It is hard to put into words what it feels like to be able to have a conversation with my son (I am crying as i type this) and I know I have Challengers to thank for that!







I chose Challengers initially for Tom because I wanted him to get something ‘more’ than just a standard preschool. I wanted him to learn a valuable life lesson, either through Montessori education or something else. I feel Challengers preschool has definitely covered that for him. He has been empowered to be independent in many ways as well as learning never to judge a book by it’s cover. Tom would come home and tell me about children. Tom once told me about a little girl called Martha he went to preschool with. He said she had long brown hair, lovely big eyes and is always smiling and laughing. The next day when we were waiting to go into school I asked another parent if they knew who Martha was and she described her as a little girl in a wheelchair. Tom hadn’t mentioned that Martha was in a wheelchair because he didn’t notice it!



At Tom’s 4th birthday party he wanted his preschool friends to put money in the pot for his school instead of buying presents. He has collected money for Challengers at the open air theatre in Farnham, he cycled at The Surrey Super Cycle to raise money and he has done the 5k walk at the KellyStore funRaisers for the last two years all because he loves Challengers so much. He tells me he is going to work for Challengers when he is big. Our whole family is passionate about Challengers!!

Several of my 'children' have worked here in their holidays. It has had a huge influence on their future careers. I am very proud of them and thankful to the whole unit, both from how they were accepted by the regular staff and the enormous gift of acceptance from the children. So not only are the staff great but the children are too

My son has recently joined the Eastleigh scheme. Excellent staff that use their initiative! I feel relaxed knowing my son is being well looked after. I will continue to use this service for as long as it is open to us

My son has been going to Eastleigh challengers for a couple of years now. We are always met with smiley, happy staff. My son loves going and I have zero anxiety when leaving him in your care. Thank you.

My son has been attending pre school in Guildford and since joining he has enjoyed it so much every time we say school he grabs his bag and walks to the door.

He loves it there and the team are great very friendly all I can say a huge thank you for giving our son the fun and laughter and enjoyment he has every time he goes

Thank you

My son gets so excited when he goes to Challengers. He has so much fun! The staff are fantastic and I know he will be looked after very well. So grateful for this amazing service.

My son Thomas loves challengers, he always seems so happy to go and can't wait to go back.

Incredible facilities and the most amazing play leaders and play workers. Such a happy and positive environment :)

I love it its amazing and I love working part of such an amazing team and amazing kids

Hannah's started a few sessions during the summer in Eastleigh and had a great time.the staff are so lovely,caring and enthusiastic !

Had a brill first day as a voulnteer staff member at Epsom play scheme am very happy epsom team where brill the parents where very lovely the kids where brill they need more schemes like this wish I had this as a kid

Guildford play is the best by far! The whole team are amazing and my daughter absolutely loves it.

We could not function as a family without challengers play scheme . A much need resource in the south of England . Well done challengers - we love you!

Fantastic place to work! Such good fun, great staff, fabulous kids!!!

Challengers is Awesome with friendly staff i used to love going there

Both my children love Farnham playscheme and youth!

Best place ever���� u can just be yourself and noone judges u xx

Amazing place. Caring staff, great facilities, Challengers means the world to my little boy.