Join REMAP Essex Central at this year’s Volfest!

1st June 2023

Join Us on Chelmsford High Street for this year’s VOLFEST!

Be it a day, a month or a lifetime commitment, whatever time and energy you can freely give has the potential to change someone’s life. Chelmsford CVS are thrilled to announce that on Thursday 8 June, we will again be celebrating #VolunteersWeek by taking over Chelmsford High Street for VOLFEST 2023.

Over 30 local charities will be coming together to showcase their efforts and promote their services in a festival of all the good that can come of our community working together. Come and join us for a day of feel-good activities, live music, food and fun!

Community is a work of heart and you’ll be able to see first-hand some of the wonderful ways in which charities, like REMAP and volunteers support the city, and find out how you and your loved ones can access that help.

The last VOLFEST in 2022 was an incredible success, Lorraine Jarvis from the CVS said “There was the most amazing buzz in the High Street, people chatting to the stalls, to each other, and finding out how all the local organisations showcasing could benefit them. Volunteering really is life-enhancing, it was an amazing day!”

Do come down on the 8th to find out more and help us celebrate all things community.

More information the event can be found here: http://chelmsfordcvs.org.uk/volfest

Volunteers’ Week 2022

30th May 2022

We can’t let this Volunteers’ Week go by without acknowledging the dedication that our volunteers continue to give to providing our essential services.

Our volunteers have been instrumental in getting our services back up and running in full capacity. It is heart-warming to see so much volunteer activity despite the continuing challenges of the global pandemic over the last year. Each and every one of our volunteers, no matter what their role is, is so important to Remap. We thank them for their continued support and adaptability over the past two years and for all the time, effort and support they have given to the many people we have been able to help this past year.

“Thank you for your commitment and support to Remap. Without your dedication to our work, Remap wouldn’t be able to continue to make such a difference in people’s lives.” –
Sue Boyes, General Manager.

“You, our volunteers are the life-blood of Remap. The support you provide is central to our ability to deliver our services using innovation, expertise and creative skills.  Everyone who discovers Remap is amazed at what we are able to achieve and doubly so when they find out it’s all done by volunteers.” –
Peter Cattermole, Chair – Board of Trustees.

We are looking forward to continuing to work with you throughout the year ahead.

Together, we can make more things possible.

Celebrating volunteers week

2nd June 2021

As part of volunteers week, we want to recognise the contribution our volunteers have made to our charity. 

The commitment and dedication of our volunteers have been extraordinary. Despite a worldwide pandemic many of our volunteers have contributed to safely supporting over 1500 people throughout the UK.

 “It has been evident over the past year; just how important our charity’s mission is. We must all work together to ensure that every person in the UK with a disability has achieved the level of independence they wish for. Central Office is here to support you and is excited to work on building back, stronger” – Sue Boyes, General Manager.

 

“The entire board of trustees want to say thank you for your unwavering dedication. Over the past 12 months, there have been several changes to the operation of our charity, from welcoming new staff to obtaining crucial funding and integrating new systems. Every change will enable us to support more disabled people to live a better quality of life.” – Peter Cattermole, Chair – Board of Trustees.

Every single one of our 950 volunteers contributes to transforming lives and making things possible for people with disabilities, with custom-made equipment. 

Remap celebrates being awarded £98k from the National Lottery to support volunteer recruitment project over a two year period.

14th May 2021

We have recently been awarded an initial £49,000 in National Lottery funding to support our life-changing work, creating custom-made equipment to help people with disabilities. The funding will be used to develop our Reaching Out project, which will increase our volunteer workforce and allow us to support more people with disabilities across the UK. The funding will also continue for an additional year, which will take the total grant amount to £98,000.

Remap has over 900 dedicated volunteers across 70 branches throughout the UK. Every year, we support approximately 3000 disabled people with custom-made equipment, that is designed to increase their quality of life and well-being.

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest funder of community activity in the UK, will enable us to recruit and expand our volunteer workforce across the UK. At the same time, this project will allow us to provide more support to the 14.1 million disabled individuals in the UK, who may need specialist equipment.

Sue Boyes, General Manager at Remap, says: 

“We are delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to press on with plans to widen our awareness and create more life-changing pieces of equipment for those with disabilities”. 

Remap Supporters Invited to celebrate Captain Sir Tom’s Achievements in special fundraising event

23rd April 2021

• New fundraising initiative over Captain Tom’s birthday weekend of Friday 30 April to celebrate his life and amazing achievements.  
• Captain Tom 100 invites people all over the world to take on a challenge based around the number 100 to raise funds for charity.

Following the outpouring of heartfelt messages since the death of Captain Sir Tom Moore on 2 February, his family pledged to celebrate his life with an event that everyone, in the UK and around the world, could be involved in. That event is the Captain Tom 100 and Remap is proud to be inviting our supporters to take part.

Remap, like many other charities, has been hugely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and to continue to help make things possible we need your help!

The Captain Tom 100 offers Remap supporters, of all ages and abilities, the opportunity to raise crucial funds for our charity, while at the same time celebrating Captain Tom’s generosity of spirit, the hope and joy he brought to millions, and his sense of fun.

How it works

It’s so simple. All you need to do is dream up a Captain Tom 100 challenge based around the number 100 and do it at any time and anywhere from next Friday – which is Captain Tom’s birthday.

The challenge could be walking 100 steps or running 100 metres, scoring 100 goals, baking 100 cakes, climbing 100 stairs, hopping 100 laps of the garden, building 100 sandcastles, writing a 100-word poem, flipping 100 pancakes – anything at all, inside or out.

Once supporters have chosen their challenge, they can fundraise or donate to Remap and share their 100 challenge on social media, using #CaptainTom100. Don’t forget to tag us in your posts!

Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said: “We are so grateful for the incredible support we have received since my father started his record-breaking fundraising walk and that his message of hope was shared with the world. Captain Tom was very proud to be able to leave behind the growing legacy of his Foundation. We know he would love the idea of inviting everyone to get involved and share their Captain Tom 100 so that together we can ensure ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’. We look forward to celebrating with you on what would have been his 101st birthday weekend – it’s going to be fun!”

To get involved click here.

A memory that will be treasured

19th April 2021

An update on Kane’s journey…

8th April 2021

The volunteers at our Brighton Remap panel have been hard at work creating a solution for Kane that will help him become more independent.

He wanted the ability to control various parts of his wheelchair, so he didn’t have to rely on people to move parts for him.

Charity merger will provide wider national coverage to support more people with disabilities.

6th April 2021

On the 6th of April 2021, REMAP Scotland will merge with Remap 2010, its sister charity, to support the expansion of its service across the United Kingdom. Both charitable organisations share a common objective: to custom-make equipment that helps transform the quality of life for those with disabilities. They will operate under Remap 2010 and work in collaboration to improve support, impact, and reach on a national scale across the United Kingdom.

Remap is a unique national charity founded in 1964 by Pat Johnson, an Engineer with Imperial Chemical Industries. The charity brings together two sets of people; volunteers who are skilled at making things and those with a disability who may require specialist equipment.

In 1990, the Scottish contingent parted to form REMAP Scotland, leaving Remap 2010 to be responsible for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  In 2014 Remap 2010 celebrated 50 years of its inspiring charity work.  Today they have helped over 140,000 people. Together they will continue the fantastic work of REMAP Scotland, maintain close links with local groups. whilst ensuring new funding opportunities are pursued to benefit the regional and national commitments of the charity.

REMAP Scotland National Organiser David Reid explains the positive influence the merger will have.

“The merger will make a very positive impact, and with the access to greater resource, we are certain that we will be able to reach out to many more individuals across Scotland who need our support”.

Remap 2010 Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Cattermole reinforces the positive influence of the merger and the exciting plan for the future at Remap 2010.

“2021 is a great year for us to come together. Every year, thousands of people rely on the vital work of our volunteers. We plan to re-energize the charity as we emerge from the pandemic, implementing new branches as part of our “Reaching Out” programme which will help more people across all four nations of the UK”.

The organisational change comes at an exciting time for Remap 2010, which is harnessing the commitment of its current 900 volunteers, along with 60 Scottish volunteers joining the forces, to increase the quality of life for people with disabilities.

New post on Kane’s wheelchair

21st March 2021

More news on Kane’s wheelchair improvements from the Noel and the Brighton Panel.  Read all about it on DesignSpark.  The story continues with some clever problem solving and the combined skills of machining and electronics.  Get the full story so far HERE

Remap Brighton Project on DesignSpark

9th March 2021

Kane is a 20-year-old full-time wheelchair user with cerebral palsy.  Brighton and District Remap Panel were contacted for  help to create a bespoke solution for independent control of his wheelchair and tablet. Volunteer engineer Noel has been working with Kane and his parents to build arms for both.  Read the first episode of the project LINK

Remap on Reach Insights

30th January 2021

The charity Reach is creating a series of webinars to offer insights into commonly asked questions by people with upper limb differences.  In this episode they talk to Peter Cattermole, Remap Chair of Trustees plus some very special guests.  Check out the full video HERE

Find out more about Reach on their website www.reach.org.uk and see the complete series of webinars HERE

Remap on DesignSpark

19th January 2021

DesignSpark, part of RS, have posted an interview with Remap engineers.

DesignSpark is a worldwide network of designers and makers with 150,000 just in the UK.  Visit DesignSpark at www.rs-online.com/designspark/

They are helping Remap get the message out to all their members to come and join us as volunteers to help give disabled people the independence they are seeking.  Simon Merrett, Rupert Powell and Peter Cattermole talked with Greig Cameron and Pete Wood from DesignSpark.  View the full video here.

Naidex 2021 revised dates

19th January 2021

Naidex postponed – new dates announced.

Naidex is Europe’s most established event dedicated to the future of disability and independent living. The show is back for its 46th anniversary on the 15th and 16th of September 2021, at Birmingham’s NEC.

Register for free tickets at www.naidex.co.uk

Remap look forward to attending Naidex (subject to government guidance at the time)

Memories of Remap Volunteer, Evan Price

16th November 2020

Evan Price, who has died at the age of 99, was for 40 years a respected surgeon in Barnsley.  Towards the end of his career, he was also a Remap volunteer helping to design and make bespoke equipment for disabled people.

Read the full story here

Thanks to the Yorkshire Post.

remap logo

Toyota gives Remap valuable support

11th March 2020

Remap, a charity that helps disabled people to live more independent lives, has welcomed financial support from the Toyota Manufacturing UK Charitable Trust, in the form of two major donations.

Remap North Wales were pleased to receive their donation of £3,000 from the Trust on the 24^th February. The donation supports the work of Remap across the North Wales region, the location of Toyota’s Deeside Engine Plant. Similarly, Remap Derby and Burton received £2,000 in support of their work in the area surrounding Toyota’s vehicle plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire.

Volunteer members of Remap’s local groups provide disabled people with solutions to everyday problems when there is nothing commercially available. Gadgets are designed and custom made recognising that everyone’s needs are different. Remap’s skilled volunteers respond to thousands of requests for help every year and the service is provided free of charge.

Remap North Wales is chaired by Brian Lammond who said:

“We greatly appreciate the generosity of the Toyota Manufacturing UK Charitable Trust in supporting us in our work on behalf of disabled people in North Wales. Our small group of volunteers provides a vital service and are greatly encouraged by this support.”

Since the start of production in 1992, Toyota Manufacturing UK has contributed to a variety of local community causes. Through its social contributions programme, over £6.3 million has been donated to many local, worthy charities and organisations.

Remap Derby receive their cheque

Gardening for Disabled Trust

15th January 2020

Remap is pleased to support the Gardening for Disabled Trust, a charity formed, like Remap, some 50 years ago. It is an entirely voluntary organisation, which gives grants to disabled people all over the United Kingdom in order that they may continue to garden.

The trust’s secretary told Remap:

“The grants often transform the recipient as well as the garden, replacing a source of frustration by a valuable therapy and sense of satisfaction. Our most frequent requests are for raised beds and planters, and for adaptations to paving and steps to make gardens accessible and safe. Also we receive requests for special tools and greenhouses”.

Remap often helps design special tools or gadgets for use in the garden, so it is good to build links with the GDT.
The Trust can be contacted through:

The Secretary, P.O. Box 285, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 9JD or by email info@gardeningfordisabledtrust.org.uk

www.gardeningfordisabledtrust.org.uk 

Event cancelled – Great Wall of China Challenge

9th December 2019

Unfortunately this event has been cancelled due to the coronavirus.

Steve is chair of our Brighton group and in May 2020 will undertake a 5 day trek of the famous Great Wall of China, together with other sighted and visually impaired people. The trip is organised by the company “Traveleyes” which is an award winning company providing independent group travel for people who are blind or partially sighted. As a sighted traveller, Steve will walk with a different visually impaired person (VI) each day, helping them with the challenges the walk brings them, and sharing his sight by describing the world around him.

Their route will take them along both restored and rustic sections of the Great Wall as they follow the wall up and down surrounded by gorgeous mountain ranges and traditional Chinese countryside. Steve is taking this opportunity to continue his travels with blind and visually impaired people, and at the same time, help two charities that he is personally involved with. His chosen charities are Cardiomyopathy UK and of course Remap! To be able to do this charity challenge, Steve needs to raise sponsorship of £2700 for his two chosen charities. He is almost half way to his target, currently 45% and it would be amazing if you could help him by donating via his sponsorship page: www.justgiving.com/teams/SteveWhyley

For UK taxpayers, Gift Aid can be arranged with your donation.

Good luck to Steve and many thanks for raising money for Remap.

Around the Isle of Wight for Remap!

25th October 2019

Congratulations to Eric, Sarah, and Damian who have completed a 75 mile walk around Isle of Wight to raise funds and awareness for Remap. Spread over five days, the walkers circumnavigated the island on its coast path, enjoying both sunshine and rain along the way. Eric Gussain who leads Remap IOW commented:

“We managed to complete the walk actually covering 75 miles and not the 68 as advertised. I do not think we got lost but I guess all the extra bits to and from the car and the occasional (!) detour for coffee must have added up! Many thanks to all those who have donated to the worthwhile cause. Funds raised will enable us to carry on making a real difference to the quality of life for disabled people of all ages. Photo shows us at the finishing line in East Cowes. The dog did not do the whole route but was great company on the parts she did do”

Can you help them reach their fundraising target? Please contribute at Eric’s Justgiving page

Remap at RISE

13th September 2019

We’re delighted to be exhibiting for the first time at RISE 4 Disability, the most comprehensive regional disability exhibition & conference within the UK.

Come and join us at the Kent Showground, Detling, on the 25th September for a free-to-attend disability event; bringing you services, products, advice and information all under one roof. As well as a full conference programme run by professionals from each sector, providing you with the most up to date and relevant information.

Support Remap and book your free ticket here!

Remap on BBC News

14th June 2019

We are delighted to have been featured on BBC South Today on Wednesday. The report told the story of Zoe, who finds it hard to pick things up from the floor, and Remap volunteer Geoff, who custom-made her a reacher out of a toy robot and a mobile powerbank.

Geoff told us more about why he volunteers with Remap:

It’s nice to see the quality of life of someone like Zoe improve, even if it’s only in a small way.

The report has generated a host of enquiries about volunteering with us, and we hope to receive many more in the days to come. We’d like to say a big thank you to the team at BBC South for making this possible for us.

Find out more about volunteering with Remap here.

Access Your Life

29th April 2019

Lauren and Felix both live with complex disabilities, meaning together they face a multitude of challenges on a daily basis. Some of which they assumed they shared with other people living with a disability, regardless of whether they had a different condition.

Throughout his PhD, Felix had the opportunity and privilege to work with patients living with various physical disabilities, their carers and their medical professionals. It was during this experience that Lauren and Felix realised the struggles they faced on a daily basis were universal. If you need anything, whether it is a piece of equipment; an appointment with a consultant or a medical investigation you have to FIGHT for it. You have to become your own expert and spend hours collating information that surrounds your condition. This is where Lauren and Felix want to help you.

They have created a company called Access Your Life, providing you with a safe space where you can communicate with others, share knowledge and advice. They would like you to review any medical aids, adaptations and supports you have used regardless of whether it was a positive or negative experience. All of which, will help prevent others from having to make a life altering decision based on a sales pitch from a supplier or vast amounts of unrelated online sources. With the directory of reviews created, they want people living with a disability and their carers to form a realistic opinion on how well a device meets their individual needs. They have learnt first-hand how the right piece of equipment can transform someone’s life, which is why they are passionate about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to improve their quality of life, whether you are a patient, carer or a family member/friend supporting someone with their medical condition or disability.

Access Your Life is making a start with wheelchairs and scooters, as they are one of the biggest needs. Then as they grow, they hope to expand their website to incorporate all forms of equipment, meaning users will soon be able to review other medical products. They have also just launched a trusted rehoming scheme, ensuring any item up for sale meets the needs of the buyer. Lauren and Felix will also support you throughout the whole process for a small fee.

Kate says that Access Your Life is “a fantastic company ran by two very passionate people who want to make a difference. When I needed to buy a wheelchair I wish there was a site like this and I can’t wait to see what other things Access Your Life will have to offer in the future!”

Do you have superpowers?

15th April 2019

Join the UK’s one and only disability sport series for the ”Everyday Superhero”! These epic sports event is your chance to join fun, full-throttle mass-participation challenges where people with disabilities call the shots and don’t have to worry about cut-off times or equipment restrictions. Masks, capes and pants over tights are positively encouraged!

Remap is an official Superhero Series Charity Friend, and we are putting a call out to our own community of Superheroes to join our team! Grab your cape and choose your mission!

Please get in touch with Lucia, you can contact her by email – l.ruggiero@remap.org.uk or by phone – 07522 231101

Could you ride for Remap?

22nd March 2019

Join 2019 Prudential RideLondon Surrey 100, the world’s greatest festival of cycling taking place on Sunday 4th August 2019! As well as an opportunity to take on a personal challenge in completing the ride, help Remap raising money to support even more disabled people this year. Want to know how can you enter Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100?

Please get in touch with Lucia, you can contact her by email – l.ruggiero@remap.org.uk or by phone – 07522 231101

Naidex

8th March 2019

Naidex, Europe’s most established event dedicated to the future of disability and independent living, is back for its 45th anniversary on the 26th & 27th of March 2019, at Birmingham’s NEC!

With last year’s edition still sending ripples throughout the entire disability sector, this year’s Naidex will look to inspire, educate and motivate over 15,000 visitors by promoting the themes of active living, accessibility in the built environment, inclusion in the workplace, mental health and much more!

Find 250 thrilling seminars and 350 world-class exhibitors that will offer the solutions to enable you to live more independently. Discover and test the latest innovations during brand new Live Demos that will take place throughout both days of the show. Make sure to find the perfect mobility equipment by trying it out on the Mobility Test Track and comparing it to other options. And find your next passion by getting involved in the Live Sports Arena, a feature full of adrenaline that is sure to get you active.

With all this lined up, Naidex will once again become the hub of the disability sector, offering all the innovations that are improving accessibility and inclusion, as well as empowering people with a disability.

Register for your FREE TICKET at www.naidex.co.uk.