Vote Thomley for GamesAid!
A while back, Ian and I were given the opportunity to visit Thomley, a charity close to Oxford where Mode 7 is based.
Here’s a clip from BBC Oxford which shows a little bit of what they’re about:
Like many valuable things, Thomley’s work is a little bit hard to define. They describe themselves as“a place for people of all abilities and disabilities. We bring disabled people, their families, carers and friends together with experienced and nurturing staff that understand their needs.”
Thomley was founded in 1997 by parents of children with autism and complex needs. Many of these families felt excluded from mainstream play facilities and wanted to create a safe, fun and inclusive place to spend time together — somewhere the staff and other visitors would be understanding and supportive, and everyone would be welcome. Over the years they’ve grown to host more than 7,200 visits from disabled people each year, with visitors ranging in age from babies to pensioners. Additionally, around another 10,000 visits are made by carers, family and friends who benefit from Thomley’s support.
They offer a massive range of services from sensory play for children with autism, right through to cooking classes and life skills for young adults. It would be pretty challenging to go into detail about everything they do, so take a look here if you want to follow up. I liked this quote from a parent:
“Thomley is a place where we can come and relax without having to apologise or explain”
One thing that Thomley would really like to provide its visitors is greater access to technology and gaming, with a better infrastructure to support its whole operation — they’ve pitched GamesAid for some help with those areas. Some non-exciting but also completely vital elements, like a new booking system could also help make everyone’s life easier and give more people the ability to access their services.
I’ve seen their work for myself and I was really impressed. They’re very highly motivated, practical and committed to delivering everything they set out to do. Their site is awesome — there a big outdoor space for kids to run around safely while their parents’ relax; there’s a whole array of different activities and provisions.
Please Vote!
If you’re voting for a GamesAid charity this year, Thomley would hugely appreciate it if you picked them.
About GamesAid
I mentioned ways in which the games industry can contribute to society a while back. GamesAid is a great way of doing that, and anyone on the industry can become a member. It’s democratic, so members vote for the charities which receive funding — take a look.
