Stockdales
Stockdales provides care and support for the welfare of children and adults with learning and multiple physical disabilities living in the Trafford area of Manchester. The charity traces its roots back to 1953 and its purpose remains the same. It is dedicated to making a difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities and complex health needs. The team works hard to help people become the best they can be, supporting them to develop their skills, experiences and confidence. There is a strong focus on learning, social time and being as independent as possible. Their services also are an invaluable lifeline to families, offering much needed respite. There are four main areas to their work.
1. Residential Services offering round the clock care to people with high needs.
2 . Community Services which supports over 200 people through a range of programmes such as activity sessions and great days out. These services enables people to remain in their homes and preserve their independence.
3. “Our Clubs” embraces children’s activities ,which are growing all the time, and cover playing games, dressing up and enjoying what technology can give them. The adults have a great choice of social clubs from catching up with mates, watching films, going to the pub and enjoying a nice takeaway.
4. Dream Days. Dreams which gives hope and something to look forward to. It’s the chance to have a magical experience creating lasting and treasured memories.
This charity and all its staff and volunteers are hugely dedicated to meeting the challenges. They help with the things that most people take for granted, such as getting up and ready, deciding what to eat, shopping, cooking and going to bed. People are supported to do their hobbies, interests and there is the social side of things including quality time with friends and family. Add holidays and you can safely say that people have the same experiences as everyone else and that’s what success looks like.
Inviting Stockdales to become a Partner Charity was one of the easiest decisions we have made, not just because of the nature of their work but also how they go about making a difference to the lives of disabled children and adults. Their plans for the next ten years are exciting and we will be with them every step of this very challenging way.
Alder Hey Childrens Hospital Liverpool
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital cares for over 450,000 children, young people and their families every year treating everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions. Patients range from birth to 21 years of age. The majority of the patients come from the North West but Alder Hey is a national hospital treating patients from across the UK and occasionally internationally.
In 2015 a new state-of-the-art hospital was opened. Alder Hey in the Park delivers excellent care in the best possible healing environment for children and their families. What is probably not appreciated is that the NHS does not fund the full cost of the hospital and charitable giving plays an important role. Since 2013, over £82m has been raised for a range of life-saving medical equipment and facilities that are making a real difference every day.
Major facilities continue to be built. Sunflower House and the Catkin Centre opened in 2022 providing both specialist inpatient and outpatient care for children with complex mental health needs. The state-of-the-art Surgical Neonatal unit and MediCinema were completed in 2026 with more projects to follow. They have all been partly funded by charitable giving.
Our Foundation contacted Alder Hey Childrens Hospital soon after we were founded to explore how we could help. We made our first grant in 2015. The relationship has grown and strengthened as we have together addressed some of the challenges the hospital faces. We have funded a range of projects which all focus on making patient treatment better.
Institute in the Park Liverpool
Alder Hey and the University of Liverpool officially opened the first phase of a dedicated research, education and innovation centre, Institute in the Park, in March 2016.
Working with Alder Hey Childrens Hospital on the same complex, it is researching into children’s medicines, infection, inflammation and oncology. It is becoming recognised as one of the world’s leaders in children’s healthcare and research. The ‘Institute in the Park’ is a major catalyst for making a significant step change in children’s healthcare. It brings together teams all focused on improving the care and understanding of children and their health needs.
The unique co-location of the Institute within one of Europe’s busiest children’s hospitals means that every child and all the healthcare professionals that care for them will have the opportunity to routinely participate in studies.
Institute in the Park hosts national centres of excellence in research across many disciplines including childhood infections, respiratory disorders, cancer, neurodisability, international health, musculoskeletal diseases and the UK’s only Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre for children. It also supports the outstanding NIHR Alder Hey Clinical Research Facility for studies of new treatment for children. Teams of biomedical researchers are searching for new, better and safer medicines for children and developing new formulations of medicines especially for children.
We have supported Institute in the Park since 2016 and have developed a strong, collaborative and productive relationship. We have made grants to fund specialist equipment that will improve their research into childhood illnesses.
University of Derby
One of the biggest challenges facing us individually, as society and indeed across the world is the how we tackle the devastating impact of dementia. Some figures may help us to understand the scale and momentum of the problem. In the UK it is estimated that 982,000 people are living with dementia of which 510,000 have been diagnosed. By 2040 it is forecast that 1.4m people will be suffering from dementia. We have a 1 in 10 chance of developing dementia by the age of 65 which increases to 1 in 6 by the age of 80. Dementia is the single largest cause of death in the UK at c.12% of all deaths. There is currently no cure.
Professor Myra Conway and her team have been undertaking research into Alzheimer’s disease for some time. We met her when she was at the University of West of England in Bristol. At that time the research programme focused on understanding the link between type II diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. In 2022 she took up an appointment at University of Derby as Lead for Biomedical and Clinical Science and set up a new research capability continuing her work into Alzheimer’s disease. We believe the university’s commitment to Myra’s research will be hugely beneficial.
The research programme underway at Derby is to understand the underlying pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. This includes the link between Type II diabetes and Alzheimers and how lifestyle and diet can regulate protein in the brain.
This work is an important part of the Foundation’s strategy and philosophy. We have built a strong relationship with Professor Conway and her team which gives us the confidence to support her work over the long term.