The new-look Norwood Annual Appeal was launched to key supporters at a dedicated dinner and lunch event, as part of the first of a series of fundraising and awareness-raising events planned over the course of the year. The two streamlined events, which were generously sponsored by The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation and designed to engage supporters in a more bespoke way, raised £2 million with support from Norwood’s generous donors. The occasions brought supporters together in a more focused and engaging format, setting a strong foundation for the year ahead.
At the first event – a dinner for 400 of Norwood’s most loyal supporters at the Chancery Rosewood Hotel in November, Norwood Chair Miles Webber referenced “a Norwood that is prepared to do things differently, a different venue, with a smaller, carefully selected guest list”. Webber went on to call on “each and every one of you to stand with us, like never before”, and increase their contribution to help fund the wealth of Norwood provision that receives no government funding and is not readily available elsewhere.
Among that unfunded provision lies much of Norwood’s children and family services, which includes coaching, advocacy, therapy, peer support groups and short breaks provision to support the needs of the whole family, enabling them to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. Introducing the evening’s charity appeal film in which she featured alongside her husband Neil and three young children Zack, Ari and Max, was mum Abbi Taylor, a beneficiary of many of those services.
Invoking the appeal’s theme of See Beyond, an invitation to look past labels and discover new ways of understanding learning disabilities, autism, and neurodivergence, Abbi acknowledged that “to some people who might witness one of our kids’ meltdowns, they might just see our children’s challenges as ‘bad behaviour’”. Despite the prevailing stigma to seeking help, thanks to the 1:1 parenting, autism and sibling support groups they had received from Norwood, she added, “we’re in a much better place than we were – or would have been without Norwood. Although parenting three neurodivergent children is hard and unpredictable, we’re calmer and better equipped with tools to cope, which has improved things for the whole family.”
Fresh from the Strictly dancefloor, surprise guest and Norwood alumni Ellie Goldstein took the stage alongside current Unity attendees and devoted fans Hannah and Rafi to introduce a film showcasing how integrated music and movement sessions help improve communication skills and confidence for children and young people with often profound learning disabilities and audience.
The second event, an intimate lunch held at Tony Page Marylebone in December, provided an opportunity to explore the appeal theme in more depth. “We all know the five basic senses – sound, smell, taste, touch, and sight – but for many autistic and neurodiverse people, those senses don’t feel “basic” at all,” said Norwood’s Chief Executive Naomi Dickson. “Imagine walking into a room where every sound feels like a shout, every flicker of light a spotlight, and every texture feels abrasive,” she added, alluding to the common neurodivergent experience of sensory overload.
Elsewhere, speaking of her lifelong connection to Norwood, which had seen her volunteer to support afterschool clubs at the Kennedy Leigh Family Centre as a teenager, and co-founder of a Young Norwood professional committee at the start of her career, Luciana, Baroness Berger, paid tribute to Norwood’s whole family support, which recognises the vital role that grandparents play in childcare for so many families. Norwood’s new model of needs-based early intervention support, she stressed, was essential for ensuring families got the support they needed to help improve their lives and dynamics, independent of diagnosis.
