Dear Hero Golfers and Glamorous Lunchers!

Before anything else, thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your incredible support over the last 24 months.

I am delighted to report that, nearly 20 months after lockdown 1.0 took over our lives, and many livelihoods, Down’s South finds itself in robust and resilient health.  We have been blessed with incredible donors to match the ceaselessly wonderful fundraising efforts of the families and children we support.  The collective efforts of both means that, for the first time in many years, the Down’s South Annual Golf Day was upstaged in 2020 as the charity’s largest individual fundraiser!

Many of you, I know, were deeply concerned that the 15^th edition of the Golf Day Of The Year (2021) had happened without your knowledge, or had been cancelled.  Well, it was simply postponed – the small matter of a clash of the date with the start of term and, despite everything, it being impossible for Louise and me both to be in two places at once.

After discussions with the ever-wonderful team at RWGC (and with what I appreciate is very little notice), I am delighted
to inform you that Down’s South London will be able to help you continue re-engaging with social activities on Thursday 25^th November.

Those of you who were able to join us at the last full version of the day in September 2019 will doubtless remember my son Ru, himself a DSL alum, speaking to us about how important your support is.  Any support, whether financial or as auction prize donation, that you can show will be hugely appreciated.

Despite everything that has happened in these most extraordinary recent months, I am pleased to set out, amazingly for the 15^th time, the day’s joining instructions. Before launching forth on those, however, some “thank yous”:

To all of you

for such tireless and generous support year in and out, meaning that we have now raised nearly £500,000 for this special little charity that provides so much help and support.  Few things amaze and humble me like your generosity.

To the RWGC team

As well as for all their efforts to ensure we have an outstanding day, this year also for completing recent (significant drainage) works to the course by the time we meet.  The course will in fantastic fettle and will, as ever, enjoy the wonderful RWGC hospitality. None of this would be possible without the tireless efforts of Robert, Marie, Mehmet, Simon, Jenny and the team.

To DataSite

Yet again repeating their hugely generous support of our small charity and the amazing work it does.  They really are such a great partner and this year sees the 10^th anniversary of their first time supporting
DSL just as brilliantly as they “deliver the goods” for their clients.

Of course, it is not too late for others to follow them and stick their hands up to co-sponsor all or part of the day 😉

Update on DSL’s activities

We really do value your commitment to our cause and consider it just as important to keep you closely informed about how carefully we manage the Charity’s resources to deliver the best services possible. 

Your donations really do go a very long way to enabling us to fund the £3,500 per year it takes to provide a free total therapy care package for a local child.  Please remember that the therapy
package is:

• unavailable anywhere else in the country
• provided for free to children from the age of three months; starting this young has a real impact on future speech development as does, amazingly, the impact of OT and PT
• in great demand, as witnessed by DSL's ever-renewing waiting list and approaches from people outside our catchment area
• accessed in particular by those in society who are less fortunate than all of us and who need such support, perhaps, more than anyone else.

I am so proud of the way DSL has reacted to the pandemic

Our therapists have consistently delivered a full schedule of sessions to all children and their carers.  Using Zoom, we have been able to keep all the children’s development continuing to progress and, at least as importantly, have been able to keep the families and carers well networked and supported.  Not only is this important generally for their progress, it is even more critical in times like these when many of the children are immunocompromised.  We have continued to run “Singing Hands” Makaton sessions for all families and are now gearing up to resume our “Stay and Play” weekend events for the children and their wider families.  Below are some feedback messages we have received to give you a flavour of the impact your donations have had, and dare I say hopefully will have too…?

“We would like to say that [your] sessions are a big surprise for us and definitely strongest educational asset in lockdown that we can provide to our son...”

“DSL have been brilliant during lockdown making sure we all are safe and supported, as well as continuing [child’s name] therapy online and developing programs for home learning, and being really supportive when we are struggling.”

“The speech and language therapy at DSL is truly world class - it's been a blessing and far more specialised than anything we have been able to access through the NHS.”

“We are so lucky to have access to such highly specialist therapists at Down's South London. They go above and beyond the therapy sessions too by sharing their expertise and experience of every aspect of life with a child with Down's Syndrome. I don't know what we would do without them.”

This small selection of the testimonials, which I would add are unprompted, really do evidence the importance of your generous donations – everything is focused on helping the children to accelerate their development so that they can be integrated as
easily as possible into their school communities and society as a whole, as proven by those of us whose children are older and are proving just what a difference the therapy makes.

We have started this new school year with a solid current reserves position of about £75,000.  But we are inevitably desperate to protect our financial position that will weaken very quickly if we are not successful in raising new funds.  Please remember that any donations you are able to make will be spent solely on providing therapy to the children and secure our future in these highly uncertain times.  DSL is determined to continue to maintain its high ambitions, of setting children with Down's Syndrome up for a successful primary school career and, with that, their wider education and integration into society, ultimately leading to independent and fulfilling lives.

Thank you all for your support. Your generosity never ceases to humble Louise and me.  It also promises to make the day another hugely successful fundraiser for the charity.