East Riding learning disability day centre raises over £750 for Children in Need

Millers Day Services was bursting with joy and activities galore during their annual Children in Need event this week.

Based in Beverley, Millers Day Services specialise in learning disabilities and complex care support, providing a variety of facilities and scheduled activities within a safe space to assist its wonderful service users. Millers also provide support to older people and people living with dementia.

Service users attended from many other learning disability day services as well as from their supported living accommodation, travelling from all over the East Riding to enjoy the event and raise money for the cause.

Joanne Hides, Day Services Officer who was involved with planning and coordinating the event, said: ‘’It’s a pleasure and a joy to support Children in Need, it’s our 8th consecutive year of fundraising for this fantastic cause which is fully supported by our team and service users.’’

In the weeks running up to the event, service users were involved with decorating the centre in a Pudsey theme, crafting items and sharing their ideas for the event. Staff decorated every inch of the communal space, providing endless entertainment and face painting for the visitors, creating an exhilarating environment for the service users and families who came along.

Daniel, a service user, said that Millers Day Services are ‘’open and welcoming and the service helps me with life skills,’’ providing him with support to navigate daily tasks such as shopping. Daniel added: ‘’There are always lots of events and activities to celebrate and Children in Need is one of my favourites.’’

Throughout the event service users and visitors were entertained with staff leg waxing, indoor games such as beanbag throwing and giant Connect 4™, as well as a lucky dip and a raffle to take part in. The ‘Human Fruit Machine’ was extremely popular amongst service users as well as the karaoke. Service user Emma took to the stage to sing Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer’ whilst another smashed a guitar solo to Aztec Camera’s ‘Somewhere In my Heart.’ Tim, one of the service users taking part, said: ‘’He was loving the karaoke’’ and ‘’looks forward to the event’’ every year.

Staff stormed the stage to go head-to-head in competitive games such as the ‘Malteser Challenge’ and a race to gift wrap as many presents as possible whilst wearing oven gloves, something which the service users found hilarious. A generous variety of hot and cold food and drink was provided throughout the event with the chef preparing a wonderful Pudsey cake to take the catering to another level.

Paul Robinson, Day Services Officer, took part in many of these challenges and said: ‘’We have raised thousands for children in need over 8 years and I am just so proud everyone is totally involved in the fundraising day and it’s just so much fun.

‘’It was lovely to see Haltemprice, Hornsea and Driffield day centres as well as Town view and New House involved this year. It was also lovely to see parents and carers at the event. Many thanks to everyone who came along and donated to Children in Need.’’

Tom Denham, Service Manager within Adult Specialist Services at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: ‘’I would like to thank all the staff at Millers and Haltemprice day services who put so much thought and effort into arranging the event. It was lovely to see people from across the area attend and enjoy the games and activities on offer.

‘’It was also particularly nice to see friends and family of our service users coming to support. Hearing directly from them how much they value Millers for their loved ones was a welcome reminder of the importance the day services have to play in supporting people in their local community.’’

Councillor Johnathan Owen, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s cabinet member for adults, health and care, said: ‘’It is heartwarming to see service users and staff come together in this wonderful event which raised a lot of money for a great cause.

‘’Millers Day Services have done a magnificent job in putting together this event, making it as enjoyable for everyone involved as possible. Although the event is nice and wholesome it takes a lot of hard work to organise so well done to the staff, it gets bigger and better every year!’’

Overall, the Children in Need event provided an incredible day of entertainment for the many services users and staff that took part, raising an impressive sum of over £750.59 for the charity.