Richard had experience of communication difficulties from an early age due to his father being deaf.
He is a member of Redhill Redstone Rotary Club, one of Include’s supporters. A change-maker in the local community.
Professionally he has managed some really big construction projects, and for him to see the value in championing The Include Project speaks volumes. He is technical and analytical, looking for solutions – while always prioritising the people within projects, noticing important personal details and what makes a difference.
I love what Include does
It’s wonderful to see people who have got a disability in terms of communication actually communicate, and get so much joy and so much satisfaction out of being able to communicate with other people in their collective environment.
And the fact that being together gives strengths and a fortitude that perhaps they wouldn’t have to the same degree solo. The way that Alix and all the helpers get them all to respond is just wonderful.
Powers of persuasion
I first heard of Include when Alix came and gave a talk to our Rotary Club. I had an immediate interest because I had, and I still do have, an interest in an organisation called Freewheelers. I’d been supporting Freewheelers for while and hadn’t realised that on our own doorstep in the Redhill/Reigate area there was a similar group called Include. I thought it would be nice if our Rotary Club could support Include. So I managed to persuade them that this was a very suitable cause to get behind and donate.
As a club we’ve donated, particularly providing match-funds to help Include with their Big Give Christmas Challenge appeal, and as individuals we’ve donated, and we organised the concert in St Mary’s Church and other bits and pieces.
Well spent with Include
If you’re an organisation and you’re raising money to support charities it’s quite easy to give away money but you stop and think where is that money actually going? What is it actually doing?
At one of the concerts I was amazed at the song writing ability one of the girls has. Brilliant, but she needs help to bring that out. That’s where I and a number of my colleagues feel that any money we raise is well spent with Include. I suppose it’s what you might call the personal touch where it can benefit a person-to-person relationship and help those people grow and develop and improve the skills they have.
Take the recent concert at Redhill Memorial Park, what does the public see? They see a bunch of people, they hear the music, they see some of the fun and the joy, but they don’t necessarily see what it’s taken to get to that moment in time.
And who’s behind getting them to that moment in time?
Who’s behind actually getting them to be able to stand up in front of an audience and sing their hearts out?
Pleasure for all
The compelling part for me is that I am absolutely blown away by seeing the amount of enjoyment people get out of performing, the pleasure that they get from giving pleasure to us, I think it’s mind-blowing. What a wonderful platform to bring people together.
Include is the umbrella under which they can all gather together, they can shield from some of the outside pressures of life and they make the most of themselves, which is great to see.
Include is genuinely something that we all feel is a very worthwhile cause and we enjoy supporting it.
A bit more about the club
Our Rotary Club, Redhill Redstone Rotary Club, has been in existence for 35 years now and we’re basically a bunch of chums who, under that banner, try to raise money for worthwhile charitable organisations, primarily trying to focus on local organisations.
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead