Finding Hidden Treasure
'Finding Hidden Treasure' is a new resource developed by the Churches for All network of disability ministries for Disability Sunday to help congregations engage more fully with disabled people.
Through the Roof and partners of CFA believe that disabled people have an enormous amount to offer the life and ministry of the Church. However disabled people often find barriers that stand in the way of the contribution they can bring: the gifts and faith of disabled people are Hidden Treasure waiting to be discovered.
David Coffey, President of the Baptist World Alliance, said:
"The life of a local church is enriched when it takes positive steps to encourage the gifted contributions of disabled people. I encourage you to release the hidden treasures in your congregation."
To download your free copy of the Finding Hidden Treasure pack, please Follow this link to download your free copy of Finding Hidden Treasure.
TTR in Third Sector Magazine
Through the Roof is featured on the front of the 24th May issue of 'Third Sector' magazine and website. We've experienced problems with being charged multiple times by Royal Mail for some Freepost letters and wanted to alert other charities about the issue. We haven't lost money -- we've been making sure to claim back on those extra charges to make the best use of your donations, but felt it was important to let others know.
Third Sector is a weekly magazine covering charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprise.
A Zone For All
Through the Roof partnered with other disability ministries at the Christian Resources Exhibition at Esher recently in a brand new Churches for All zone.
Visitors to this area were able to attend mini-workshops, including ‘Disability and the Bible’, and join in interactive activities, such as an introduction to British Sign Language, as well as find relevant resources and publications for their churches.
There was a spirit of co-operation amongst the different organisations and many had positive conversations with visitors. If you visited TTR in the zone do let us know what you thought of it – we’d value your feedback.
Holiday for families with an autistic child: 12-15 April 2011
“An Extraordinary Blessing from God”
Through the Roof is a small charity with a big vision to see every disabled person able to fulfil their God-given potential. Our mission is to make the Christian message accessible to all those affected by disability. One of the charity’s projects is to provide a short holiday for families struggling with the demands of caring for an autistic child. It takes place at Dalesdown, a purpose-built Christian centre based in large spacious grounds in the Sussex countryside, just south of Horsham. We take 9 families and each is provided with a one-to-one support helper for their autistic child. The helper team is trained in autism and will cope with any challenging behaviour. Dalesdown offers both ‘time together’ as a family (including siblings of the autistic child) and ‘time out’ for the parents to relax, knowing that their children are in good hands. A key feature is the carefully structured programme of activities which includes outings, eg to the seaside and swimming pool, praise parties, adventure trail and puppet show. Families who often find it impossible to take a normal holiday appreciate our understanding and accepting attitude towards their children’s needs and behaviour. They also value the chance for fellowship with other parents in the same situation. Their comments include:
“This holiday has provided me with the most stress-free time I can remember. Our one-to-one helper was absolutely superb. Without this help I would not have considered coming without my husband; with it the whole holiday felt like an extraordinary blessing from God to us.”
“Just to say how overwhelmed I have been this week by people’s kindness and generosity. The helpers’ good attitude made a big difference to how we felt and contributed to us coming home completely rested. We have really felt loved and cared for.”
So what can you do?
- Do you have an autistic child, or do you know someone who does? If so, we are taking bookings for 2011 now and would be pleased to hear from any family with children aged between 4 and 16 who would benefit from this break.
We need more one-to-one helpers. Their role is to get alongside the disabled young person, learn what makes them tick and facilitate their participation so that parents and siblings may also have a break. The main requirements of helpers (who must be over 18 and CRB checked) are to have a caring heart and willingness to serve, plus (preferably) a Christian faith and an abundance of energy! Experience of autism is an advantage but is not essential – we hold a Helpers’ Training Day beforehand which they would need to attend. Helpers are invited to contribute £55 towards the cost of their food, accommodation and activities. This is a real opportunity to serve God in a practical way and every helper is blessed by the experience.
For more information and tariff details please contact: Margaret Bale, Administration Manager, Through the Roof on: 01372 737045 or email Margaret@throughtheroof.org .Websites you can visit: www.dalesdown.org.uk and www.throughtheroof.org/ .
Project Inclusion
Project Inclusion is a new national competition to enable young people to release their creativity through writing song lyrics promoting inclusion, and giving them the opportunity for winners to record their song for a CD. We’re partnering with Act 4 follow this link to visit the Act 4 website with the support of Christian hip hop artist, Baliva – to launch ‘Project Inclusion’.