AN ANDOVER charity which provides support to people with autism and other neurodivergent conditions, and their families, is launching a fundraising campaign to help it continue to expands its support in the town and beyond.
More Education, which runs the Kola Community Hub and Andover Small School, is excited to officially launch the Koala Kickstarter next month.
The Koala Kickstarter will raise funds to ensure that the Andover-based, autistic-led Koala Community Hub is able to expand and remain operational for its first four years.
It is planned that, from year five, Andover Small School can then financially sustain the hub.
These ambitious plans are driven by the need for in-person, autistic-led support and educational opportunities for the autistic and neurodivergent communities across the UK. It is hoped that Koala and Andover Small School will be the first of many projects to open in the next 10 years, across the country.
As part of the Koala Kickstarter, a fundraising project will commence on December 1, with the aim of combating winter blues and getting people involved from all across the UK..
Kilometers for Koala will see individuals and teams coming together to achieve their own distance goals for December, while fundraising for the Hub.
There will be a supportive facebook group set up for the challenge and local businesses Stannah and Simplyhealth have already agreed to fund match those employees who participate.
Charity founder Tori Rist said: “Koala Community Hub has already made such a difference to autistic and neurodivergent members of our community and now we want to get bigger, better and provide even more support.
“It doesn’t matter if participants are local – if they are passionate about what we are trying to achieve, and would eventually like to see Koala Hubs and Small Schools across the country, this is the first step!
“We already have a network of martial arts gyms getting involved across the country, so we hope that this will be a real community event. Most importantly it will allow people to get active during December and beat the January blues.
For more information, or to create your own fundraising page, visit: www.koalacommunityhub.co.uk/kickstarter
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