Highlights from 2025 at Reach!

Highlights from 2025 at Reach!

Flower Pod, Fundraising, News, Reach Mansfield, Reach Newark, Reach Southwell, Voice & Participation December 18th, 2025

As we gear up to step into the new year, here are some highlights from 2025 at Reach.

  • Christmas Challenge fundraising for Let’s Move! expanded weekly sports, fitness and exercise sessions across our five centres, including opportunities to become sports mentors, improving confidence, teamwork and overall wellbeing while addressing the high risk of avoidable poor health faced by adults with learning disabilities.

 

  • Flower Pod Newark was recognised with RHS Level 4 – Thriving in It’s Your Neighbourhood. A brilliant first‑time entry that reflects clients’, volunteers’ and staff efforts to make Flower Pod the fantastic, welcoming environment it is!
  • Community support and grant funding enabled us to purchase of our Reach Southwell building, home to Day Service and Head Office. As the first centre we established and now the first we own, this protects a vital hub for the long-term.
  • We were awarded the Carer Friendly Organisation Quality Mark by Nottinghamshire Carers Association, strengthening our support for unpaid carers.

 

 

 

 

  • We went on our first activity holiday at Calvert Lakes in the Lake District, with a jam-packed, fully accessible programme tailored to clients’ preferences, including canoeing, bushcraft, ropes courses and climbing, feedback was overwhelmingly positive and we have provisionally booked for next year.A group of people posing together outside a stone building with a red arched wooden door. The group includes individuals standing and seated, one person in a wheelchair wearing a bright pink jacket and blue trousers. Others are dressed in casual outdoor clothing such as jackets, scarves and trainers.

A woman on a ropes course.

  • Flower Pod Southwell’s new sign was unveiled in a special ceremony! It was beautifully crafted by our Thursday morning woodwork group using repurposed materials like rope, hose pipe and old tools. It stands as a brilliant example of imagination, teamwork and sustainable creativity.

 

  • People from all our centres enjoyed inclusive exploration and learning out in the community, gaining new experiences and building community connections!

 

  • We recognised the incredibly valuable support from our volunteers during Volunteers Week across our centres and with celebration events at our Flower Pods, recognising the skills, time and care volunteers contribute to our charity.

 

  • Reach was named the chosen charity for Newark Advertiser Ladies Day at Southwell Racecourse for the second year running, raising profile and vital funds. If you know of a business or community group that would be interested in supporting Reach, please do get in touch by emailing sarah.cobb@reachuk.org.
  • Reach Care (our CIC) continues to hold a CQC Outstanding rating, reflecting high‑quality one‑to‑one support in the community.
  • We were awarded a five‑year grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to support our All Part of Change: volunteering and voice and participation programme. This funding is helping us grow inclusive volunteering across all centres and strengthen the voices of adults with learning disabilities in our communities.

 

 

 

  • Evening Socials in Newark and Southwell kept people connected, building communication skills and reducing loneliness.
  • Our Warners ‘Turkey & Tinsel’ holiday brought connection, confidence and shared memories at the end of the year.
  • Let’s Create achieved its target through the Big Give Christmas Challenge, raising over £50,000 in one week to expand creative opportunities for adults with learning disabilities.
  • Delivered 60+ weekly courses across all our centres, from cookery and art to IT and gardening, empowering people to lead healthier, more independent and connected lives.

So here’s a massive thank you from all here at Reach to anyone who has supported us to create safe, encouraging places where adults with learning disabilities can learn, aspire and share in community life. If you’d like to donate, volunteer or get involved in 2026, please don’t hesitate to email sarosha.byrne@reachuk.org or phone us on 01636 819066.