Tiny Tim’s Children Centre recently got in touch with Little Lives UK, referring to some of the difficulties they have been facing due to Covid-19. As a charity, we know how much the pandemic has affected many tremendous organisations with the work they do helping young children. After chatting with them for a while, we were in no doubt that it would be worthwhile for us to offer some support to their centre, with a donation of £2,000.
Tiny Tim’s Children Centre offer free complementary therapy treatments to children with disabilities. They are based in Coventry, but despite the fact that we are a London based organisation, after hearing about how much they had been struggling, we knew how worthwhile a donation would be towards such a great cause. They predominantly focus on providing treatments that are not available to the children from the NHS or affordable to low-income families. The types of therapy they focus on includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy and remedial and neuromuscular massage, whilst they work with children ranging from birth to 18 years old.
The main beneficiaries of Tiny Tim’s are children who suffer from muscular disabilities, respiratory problems, behavioural issues, sensory/physical impairment, and incurable conditions. The services they offer are so vital that they have individuals who travel far and wide to use their free service. At the moment, they provide roughly 2,600 treatments per year and 1,100 free therapeutic play sessions. Tiny Tim’s understands that they cannot cure the children that are being treated, but they can certainly improve their quality of life by reducing pain whilst increasing mobility and self-esteem. They additionally encourage integrated play within their soft play area helping increase awareness and confidence of both the individual and the community when dealing with each other. The main concern Tiny Tim’s are facing is that their Purple Planet indoor soft area, which is their main revenue stream, is currently not able to open. As a result, they are more dependant than ever on the kindness of others and are relying on charities such as ourselves to support them.
After being in closure at the start of the year due to lockdown, they thankfully are now able to be offering remote therapy sessions throughout June and July before returning to face-to-face sessions from the 1st August onwards. Sarah Hemmings, the Centre Manager for Tiny Tim’s, told Little Lives UK ‘we are delighted that you are able to support the work of the charity and in particular the children who need our help. This kind donation to the Tiny Tim’s Children’s Centre is very much appreciated and will be used to provide treatments for children with disabilities and special needs.’ She further added how challenging 2020 had been for all involved with their centre. The new safety measures they needed to put in place, along with restrictions meant it was an extremely difficult year. As a result of Covid-19 restrictions, they were unable to provide as many therapy sessions as they ideally would have, but still managed to provide 1,400 therapy sessions and 330 free therapeutic play sessions. However, the costs for providing each session has almost doubled during the last year, highlighting how important it has become that they receive support.
Little Lives UK would like to wish them all the success for the future and hope they can continue the fantastic work they do in the Coventry community for many years to come. To help us continue supporting organisations such as Tiny Tim’s, we rely on the help of our amazing supporters. Please consider donating today, as your donation can help make a huge difference to many worthwhile causes.
