Oswestry Rugby Club and The Movement Centre, are joining forces to attempt a Guinness World Record for the Largest Rugby Union Lesson. If successful, Oswestry Rugby Club would be the new holder of the record, which is currently held by Tokai University Rugby Football Club in Japan.

The Guinness World Record attempt will take place on Sunday 20^th October at Oswestry Rugby Club’s Rugby Minis Festival, being held on Oswestry Showground. Oswestry Rugby Club is hoping to have over 1200 people take part on the day, to ensure they are in with a good chance of beating the current record of 602 people. We are calling on the public to join in and get involved!

There will be a special appearance on the day from Shropshire born England rugby player, Kai Owen and the session will be taken by Ex-Wales player Alex Murphy. Warren, Chair at Oswestry Rugby Club said “This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in and we are urging local businesses and the public to get behind us and help us break the current record. It will be a great day, at our family friendly club. This exciting event will also promote health and fitness in young people and families, with all participants getting active for the lesson.”

To take part participants need to arrive at Oswestry Showground by 12noon on Sunday 20^th October. The aim is to get as many people as possible to take part but there will be an upper limit on the amount of people can be part of the record attempt.

The event will also raise funds for The Movement Centre and volunteers will be collecting donations from participants and spectators on the day.

We are delighted to be a part of this fantastic event and are really excited that there may be a new world record holder in Oswestry. This is a really special event for the town so it would be great to see as many people as possible joining us on the day!

For more information about the event contact Oswestry Rugby Club through their Facebook page.

On Friday 13th September The Movement Centre’s Corporate Partner Granite Search held a team fundraiser in aid of The Movement Centre. The team at Granite went out to their clients their The Day we DID (Drop in and Donate) event to raise vital funds. They are aiming to raise £10,000 for The Movement Centre in 2019.

The event was launched with a generous £2,000 donation from Sale Group. Our Chief Executive, Victoria Handbury-Madin visited Granite’s offices to received the donation from Peter Sale, Managing Director of Sale Group.

A big thank must go to everyone at Granite and Sale Group for their kind support. Granite  have a Just Giving page if you would like to support their fundraising, you can donate here. 

The Movement Centre were very lucky to have the opportunity to have a stall at Oswestry Show on Saturday 3rd August.

It was a fantastic day for us as we got to meet so many lovely people, raise awareness, and raise some funds along the way.

We were overwhelmed by the response when we asked for prizes for our tombola, have prizes donated by The Meat Man, Morrisons Oswestry, Sainsburys Oswestry, Stans Superstore, and many  more. We can’t thank you enough.

Also a massive thank you must go to our volunteers who manned the stall on Saturday, Jan, Corinne, Doreen, Angie, Alison and Katrina. You all did a fantastic job.

The tombola and our Name the bear competition went down really well. We also launched our brand new wristbands, and if you would like to support us, why not purchase one.

The Movement Centre needs your support and just a little could help us go a long way.

We can no longer access funds from the NHS for any of the children who come to The Movement Centre. This has put increased pressure on us to raise more funds to help support towards the cost of Targeted Training for the children who come to The Movement Centre. Our Chair of Trustees, David, who volunteers his time, has set up an appeal and has shared his story about what The Movement Centre means to him, his family and his son Stan. Stan’s life has been transformed since coming to The Movement Centre, where he took his first steps. Now there is no stopping him!

We now need to raise even more from kind supporters and donors, like you. There are many, many more children, like Stan, who we can help. As a charity, we can only continue to do this with your support. Please read David’s story and help support The Movement Centre to enable us to help children with movement disabilities to gain independence and a better quality of life. If everyone could give just a little it could go a long way to helping us achieve our goal.

David will be running the Lake Vyrnwy half marathon and there will be lots of other activities happening to help us boost our fundraising. Everyone at The Movement Centre would really appreciate your support. To help us continue our vital work and to read David’s story, please visit this Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/davidvicary

Students from Moreton Hall, near Oswestry, showed off their artistic flair when it was taken beyond the classroom and into the community with an invitation to create a mural for The Movement Centre.

The art students were tasked with painting an image to brighten up the outside of the building, making it inviting for children arriving for treatment.

Moreton Hall Art Teacher Jan Miller was delighted with the challenge.

She said: “Working to a real brief was an exciting challenge and one that I was keen to involve all pupils in, from Year 3 to Year 9.

“We were keen to incorporate the centre’s kite logo and flying high motto as well as feature figures within a bright, bold design and to be all inclusive and welcoming to all families.

“Fitting the design around the windows was the biggest challenge, apart from the weather! Year 9 students painted in the rain and in the baking sun, encouraged by the stream of lovely comments from people working at the hospital and the patients visiting.

“We are just a little bit proud too, that our little drawings can have such a big audience and have an

impact for many years.”

Student Isabella Morris added: “We thoroughly enjoyed painting on such a large scale and delighted with the abstract nature of the mural.”

The end of May saw our annual Awards Party being held at The Venue, Park Hall, and many achievements were celebrated. Families shared stories, children collected certificates and most importantly everyone had lots of fun.

It was a great day, and it started with the most important bit- one by one the children were called up to collect their certificates for the achievements that they had gained throughout their course of Targeted Training. Being able to control their head, sitting unaided and even taking their first steps. Some of them even showed us their new found skills on the day, while others were a little shy!

Our Awards Party is all about celebrating the children’s achievements but it is also a time where families can share stories, meet other families, meet the staff and trustees of The Movement Centre, and meet some of our awesome supporters.

We also give out our Lady Trevor award to the individual or organisation that has made the biggest contribution to The Movement Centre. The lady who received the award this year has given up her time, put on in aid fundraising events, and supported us in spreading the word. Kelly Clarke has been amazing- helping at bag packs, organising a fundraising event, and is always shouting about us on social media, and while she is out and about. Our Chair of Trustees, David Vicary, handed over the award to Kelly, who was speechless!

The fun filled day continued with our children able to have sole use of the soft play at The Venue, Park Hall. Lots of fun was had, crawling through tunnels, sliding down slides, and causing mayhem in the ball pit. A lot of the new found skills our children had learnt were put to good use.

With lots of fun and play in the soft play, it was time for a sit down. Food was served and everyone helped themselves to a great spread of sandwiches, sausage rolls and cake. (Don’t worry there was a little healthy food too!).

On to some more fun with Titanium Terri. The children (and adults) were amazed my the Fun Science experiments. We had fire, slime, balloons, little explosions, and “elephant toothpaste”. Everyone had a great time.

The day was captured with photos and a video. A massive thank you must go to Ann Lewis and Lauren Williams for giving up there time to support us on the day. Also, thank you must go to The Venue, Lanyon Bowdler, Becky Griffiths Pugh, Fun Science, and everyone who donated to our raffle.

The biggest thank you has got to go to all of the families who make our time at The Movement Centre full of smiles, fun, laughter, and a great sense of pride!

The Movement Centre, a charity based near Oswestry, are inviting people to sign up for a sponsored canal walk with a difference, with all proceeds going towards giving children the best chance to reach their full potential.

This year there are two walks to choose from for people signing up on EventBrite. Both walks will start near to the Lion Quays Hotel. The first walk, Monty’s Canal Walk (named after The Movement Centre’s very special mascot Monty the bear) is a 12-13 mile walk. The shorter Mini’s Canal Walk, aimed at families with young children, or for anyone who would prefer a shorter challenge, is around 4-5 miles. Both walks take in the most beautiful views, walking over two aqueducts, walking through a 420 metre long tunnel and with fantastic views of the River Dee.

The longer walk, for those aged 16 and over, will be limited to 40 people as the afternoon tea is being provided by volunteer for the charity, Doreen. The shorter walk will start and finish at Lion Quays Hotel, and there are more tickets available, so everyone who wants to take part will have the chance.

“We have decided to add a shorter walk this year, as we had a lot of our families asking to walk the route. Unfortunately 13 miles was just too far, so adding this 4-5 mile walk will be great” said Curtis, Fundraising and Marketing Officer at The Movement Centre. “Everyone completing the walks will get a little sweet treat at the end in the form of cake, which is something to look forward to after their hard work! We would love to have as many people as possible at the event, raising vital funds for the children that attend The Movement Centre.”

The charity provides a specialist therapy, called Targeted Training, to children who face problems with their movement control. By attending The Movement Centre, children can gain head control, so they can interact with their family; it can help children develop the skills to sit unaided, so that they can play with their friends. For some children it can enable them to walk, which means they can be far more independent.

If you would like to sign up you can do so on Eventbrite, just search for Monty’s Canal Walk and sign up today. Who can resist beautiful views and afternoon tea?

To buy tickets visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/montys-canal-walk-tickets-60408763237

The Movement Centre has an exciting running event that will run through the month of April, and participants could get their hands on a fantastic medal. We have teamed up with Masters of Brands and want people to join us this April for Monty’s Virtual Running. Those taking part can run, jog, or walk 5k to receive a bespoke Monty Medal.

Virtual running works exactly the same as any other type of running event but the difference is that a virtual race can be run at any location, at any pace, inside on a treadmill or outside on road or trail. To enter the challenge runners must provide evidence that they have completed 5k by sending The Movement Centre a screenshot of their activity. This can be done with a picture of their activity watch or screenshot of a phone running app. That’s it! We will then deliver a special ‘Monty Medal’.

The Movement Centre is a charity providing a specialist therapy for children, called Targeted Training. The children who come to The Movement Centre have a disability that affects their movement control, such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome or Global Developmental Delay. This means they may be unable to lift their head, to sit without support or find it challenging to stand or take their first steps.

We would love people to join us for our first virtual run. Runners will get some extra special medal bling while supporting a local charity.

To enter visit EventBrite, and search for Monty’s Virtual

Running or visit our Facebook page. Once participants have completed their 5k run, jog or walk they must send proof of completion and address to [email protected] to receive a very special medal.