"We as a family would like to send our thanks to Rufus Friends. The money provided allows me to take him swimming 4 times a week in a heated pool. Not only are we working on developing his swimming skills which are so important to those with ASD. Drowning is the number one cause of death for children with ASD and they are 160 times more like to experience a non fatal drowning compared to their peers. But it also provides fantastic physio as my son is hypotonic with dystonia. This helps to strengthen his body while being low impact and very fun! He finds great comfort and joy from swimming and it helps to keep him busy in the school holidays which he struggles immensely with. He has an older disabled sister so it’s hard to keep them both entertained and happy. Without the money kindly given to us non of this would be possible."
"On behalf of every pupil at Evergreen School (Deansway Campus), I want to extend a heartfelt thank you for your generous financial support. Thanks to your kindness, we were able to ensure that all our students could participate on a magical Christmas trip to visit Santa at Hatton Country World.
Words can hardly capture how extraordinary this experience was for our students, so I’ve included some photos to let their joy speak for itself!
As mentioned in my previous email, organising this ambitious trip was a significant undertaking for our team—from securing the funding necessary to ensure all students could participate, to coordinating a bespoke event tailored by Hatton Country World. Your generosity played a pivotal role in turning this dream into a reality, and we are deeply grateful for your support."
"My son is a 13 year-old non-verbal autistic child. We thank Rufus' Friends' Fund for helping us to travel with our son to Bournemouth beach for a couple of days. He enjoyed it thoroughly."
“Things have been pretty tough of late, and this is the best gift we could possibly have imagined.”
“Thank you for all your help, which makes all my son’s dreams possible.”
“If the work of the charity is helping other children and families as much as it has ours, it’s value is truly beyond measure.”
“Thank you very much for your fund which has made it possible for us as a family to spend some time together. And have some magical memories we can keep forever.”
“Thank you doesn't seem enough...No doubt like with many people you so kindly support, we've been struggling so your gift of a holiday is amazing.”
"Rufus Friends Funds have been generous enough to support a number of my families over the past 12 months. The funds received have allowed families with young people diagnosed with a learning disability to access valuable family time together. The impact this has had on the families I support has been incredibly positive, giving the young people opportunities to experience new activities and environments and enjoy fun times together making lasting memories is invaluable to these families who have incredibly high caring roles and limited financial funds to spare to access this without the support of the charity.
"As a professional I have found Rufus Friends Fund to be a valuable resource, the application process is smooth and user friendly."
“A family had never been on holiday together before, so having a trip to London together, to visit Madame Tussauds, have a meal at Hard Rock cafe and stay in a hotel, made a young person's day. This is something he had always wanted to do and Rufus' Friends' were able to support making this young person's dream come true. ”
“I found the fund so helpful and generous to the families I worked with, they hugely appreciated a break and I very much enjoyed the ease of applying for help.”
“I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you all for your kind generosity over the years that I have been working for Warwickshire. You do a marvellous job in providing for the children and young people with whom I work and without your support, they would certainly not have the opportunities that other young people have.”
“You make such a considerable difference to the lives of not only the young people but also their parents and siblings.”
“Rufus Friends has supported a young person, whose life changed overnight. They were able to support with a trip away for him to Legoland, with his mum and brother. He has always wanted to go there and loves Lego, so is very excited to have this trip to look forward too. This will have a huge impact on his emotional wellbeing, to have fun and enjoy quality time away with his family.”
“I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your help to Warwickshire families enabling them to have a much needed holiday. The support of the fund has been such a help and always so easy, quick and simple to access - hugely appreciated by me.”
“The experiences pupils have on such trips often stay with them for a very long time. The improvements to their confidence as well as social skills is often remarkable and has a real impact on their maturity levels and their independence skills which is so crucial as they prepare for their adult lives.”
“I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful time we all had in Devon. He thoroughly enjoyed his week and benefitted so much from the experience. He worked really well with his peers and had the confidence to try every activity despite feeling anxious at times. He also developed the confidence to support others. He was quite exhausted by the end of the week but was incredibly proud of all he achieved. Thank you so much for funding this trip. I think that it is an experience that he will definitely remember.”
“I am only too aware of the strains which carers and families face and think that your charity is marvellous in being of direct benefit to the families involved. It is for that reason that I chose [to support Rufus' Friends' Fund] rather than a generic charity to do with learning disabilities.”
“Having been a professional in Learning Disability Services for 20 years and more latterly in Older People's services I decided to support Rufus' Friends' Fund as a vital resource for families in Warwickshire. They enable people to get a holiday that most of us take for granted. I commend them for their forethought and generosity raising money to provide the breaks away. You only have to read the testimonials to realise how important this Charity is.”