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A donation of three free skips from Ward to Umbrella, a Derby and Derbyshire charity, has supported the organisation in realising ambitious plans to create an allotment where young people can enjoy spending time outdoors.

Umbrella is a local charity supporting disabled children and young adults in Derby City and Southern Derbyshire. Working with children and young adults from five to the age of 30, their work supports the whole family, including parents, carers and siblings.

In 2020, Umbrella took over the lease of the Rykneld Community Centre, refurbishing it to a very high standard. The centre was renamed in memory of much-loved Trustee, Annie Hall, who sadly lost her life in the floods in 2019.

Part of the renovation plans included the creation of a fully-accessible allotment and activity garden, where visitors could spend more time outdoors, growing their own fruit and vegetables, creating veg boxes to sell and enjoying outside arts and crafts sessions.

Ward’s donation of three skips for waste removal helped the charity complete the project while enabling donations to go directly to support 600 children and young adults living with physical, mental, sensory disabilities and life-limiting conditions.

Ann Rowlands, Chief Executive of Umbrella, said:

“We split our work into three phases and phase two is where we received Ward’s amazing support. As a charity, Ward’s generous provision of three skips free of charge helped us so much. It enabled us to complete the project on time and to a high spec, while any other donations we received could be used to directly benefit the children and young adults that are so dependent on our support.”

Donald Ward, Operations Director at Ward, added:

“We were so happy to help Umbrella to realise their ambitious plans for an outdoor space that children and young adults can enjoy. We fully appreciate the logistical challenges associated with the various phases of construction and are pleased that our skip provision played a small part in supporting them with keeping plans on track.”

Umbrella supports families living in Derby City and Derbyshire, providing exciting activities. Most services in Derbyshire are provided in Amber Valley, Erewash, Derby City, South Derbyshire and South Derbyshire Dales. Anyone can refer a child or young person to Umbrella including families, social workers, teachers and youth workers. The charity can support a child or young person no matter what their disability as their services are person centred to meet individual needs.

For more information about Umbrella, visit: www.umbrella.uk.net.

Download PDF about the project.