Rowan is a charity which is close to my heart. Those who know me will be aware that my brother, Francis, has been a student at Rowan for a number of years. While at Rowan, Francis has been able to express his artistic skills in a range of ways. He enjoys all of the classes which he attends, especially woodwork and ceramics where he constantly blows me away with his incredible talent!

Whilst growing up with Cerebral Palsy, Francis received a lot of support from his school and different agencies, however when he became an adult this support was much more limited. Rowan has helped to fill this gap for him, and helps provide a safe and stimulating environment for adults of all ages. Students at Rowan are encouraged to be as creative as they can and are able to learn lots of new skills. The workshops are not only lots of fun but also a great way to build confidence and have social interaction!

During lockdown, Francis always spoke to me about how amazing the team at Rowan were at keeping everybody connected and morale as high as possible. The team constantly went above and beyond to keep the Rowan family smiling. I asked my brother to sum up Rowan in one word and he said 'community'.

I would appreciate any donations to support this brilliant charity!

Dom 

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Rowan provides a range of creative workshops in woodwork, ceramics, textiles, print, mixed media, drama and music to develop the skills and potential of our students whilst improving their happiness, health and wellbeing. We also deliver much needed respite to families and carers. We arrange regular trips out to theatres, museums and exhibitions to explore art and culture further, and in 2020 we launched Rowan Rangers, our new forest school which enables our students to be creative and connect with nature.