The Give me a break Appeal | Revitalise Respite Holidays

Help us provide a lifeline to more disabled people and their carers

It’s a lifeline.

Our guests tell us that holidays at our centres help to relieve the stress of everyday life. And give them the chance to recharge, relax and rediscover themselves. But too many disabled people and carers never get a break. Ever.

That’s why we’re launching our Give me a break Appeal.

Please support us, so we can expand and refurbish our centres and provide a valuable lifeline for more disabled people.

It’s not just a holiday.

A message from our Chair, George Blunden

Revitalise’s vision is a society in which every disabled person and every carer is able to take the break or holiday they want.

We exist to enable disabled people and those who care for them, to access and enjoy amazing holidays, breaks and experiences tailored to them, to escape, unwind and have fun.

Every year, our holiday centres make it possible for thousands of disabled people to take a holiday. Our unique expertise in delivering fun-filled holiday experiences backed-up by personalised care, means that we can cater for guests with a wide range of conditions including cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease and spina bifida, as well as the effects of stroke and brain injury.

We all need a break. But disabled people and carers face huge barriers to accessing them. For many people, Revitalise offers the only chance of taking a break. Yet we have capacity for just a fraction of those who could benefit.

We want to do more.

Our approach to our 60th year has been a renewed determination to build on our heritage, respond to today’s challenges and meet the needs of disabled people in the future. We want to ensure that our facilities match and augment the quality of the personalised care we provide.

We set out an ambitious plan to refurbish our Jubilee Lodge holiday centre in Epping Forest, refurbish and expand our Sandpipers holiday centre in Southport and create a new, purpose-built centre to serve as an exemplar in accessible holiday provision that will transform the respite holiday landscape. I am delighted that the refurbishment of Jubilee Lodge will be completed by mid-2023.

We are now turning our attention to the second phase of our programme, the expansion and refurbishment of our much-loved holiday centre in the heart of Southport, Sandpipers.

We hope you will join us in achieving our ambition to create great holidays for more disabled people and their carers. By supporting our expansion plans at Sandpipers, over 600 more guests per year could get the lifeline of a holiday.

George

Please support the Give me a break Appeal.

Why our work is so vital

The need: Why Revitalise’s unique offer is so important:

• Around one third of the UK’s fourteen million disabled people have complex disabilities, putting mainstream holidays outside their reach

• 57% of disabled people indicate problems with access prevent them from taking a break

• More than two million people live with conditions for which Revitalise can cater and provide a break

Our hotels are frequently oversubscribed

When disabled people are able to access a break they often face pity, fear or even disgust from other holiday makers1

The challenge we are responding to:

• The ONS Standard Life Satisfaction score for people who had taken the holiday they wanted this year was 6.0 compared to 3.9 for those who had not taken a holiday in the past three years2

• 72% of carers had no break at all during the pandemic and almost three quarters reported feeling exhausted3

• 68% of carers can’t go on holiday because of caring responsibilities4

• Levels of wellbeing amongst disabled people are significantly lower than the wider population. This includes lower levels of life satisfaction and much higher levels of anxiety5

• The majority of disabled people (54.6%) meet with someone who lives outside their home less than twice a week

Revitalise’s impact:

• More than 100,000 disabled people have taken a holiday with Revitalise since 1963

• 97% of our guests report improved wellbeing after a stay at one of our hotels

• 96% of our guests indicate they would recommend Revitalise to a friend

• Revitalise offer full hospitality with 24-hour care. For many disabled people with complex needs, we are the only provider of a proper holiday available to them

Guest story: Anne and Louise

1 Mencap commissioned research from Ipsos Mori on public attitudes to disability. Respondents with disabilities and their families reported that they commonly face ‘pity, fear and disgust.’

2 A YouGov Audience National survey in 2022

3 Carers UK survey 2021

4 Carers UK survey 2022

5 ONS: Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2020

My daughter Louise suffered brain damage at birth that resulted in cerebral palsy. Today, I’m Louise’s sole support and that means I need to be there to support Louise with her everyday routine.

In 2021 I contracted Covid and was unwell for around four months. It was a hugely challenging time, trying to care for Louise and there were times when I felt I’d reached breaking point.

One of the things that helped us both get through this period was looking forward to Louise’s next visit to Sandpipers.

Louise enjoys the evening entertainment, meeting likeminded people and sessions in the hydrotherapy pool. For me, knowing Louise will have all her personal care needs met as well as having a good time means I can also get an invaluable break.

Phase 1: Transformation at Jubilee Lodge

The first phase of our transformation project began in 2022 at our Jubilee Lodge holiday centre in Epping Forest.

This popular holiday centre on the edge of London was used by the NHS during the pandemic to care for non-acute patients. The constant high volume clinical usage meant refurbishing the guest rooms and en-suite facilities at Jubilee Lodge, needed to be prioritised when Revitalise returned to using Jubilee Lodge to deliver joy-filled respite holiday experiences.

All the newly renovated rooms at Jubilee Lodge feature designs that have been informed by, and tested with, our guests and incorporate subtle colours, improved lighting and smart design that enhance both guest comfort and accessibility.

These changes have transformed our facilities from functional but clinical spaces into a truly welcoming hotel experience that enhance guests’ comfort and wellbeing as well as meeting our guests’ specific needs.

We now want to offer this same experience to disabled people and their carers through our Sandpipers holiday centre in Southport.

Below: The Orchard Garden at Jubilee Lodge

Top: Before the refurbishment

Bottom: All bedrooms and bathrooms at Jubilee Lodge are being refurbished

Phase 2: Revitalise in Southport

Revitalise’s Sandpipers holiday centre in the North-West of England is located in the heart of Southport, a town famous for its beautiful coastal views, natural sand dunes and Grade II listed pier – making it the perfect choice for a seaside escape.

Boasting views as far as Blackpool, Sandpipers overlooks Southport’s unique Marine Lake which is at the heart of a £400m planned investment in the town, including a new Event Centre and the UK’s first lakeside sound and light show.

Each year, Sandpipers serves thousands of the UK’s disabled population and their carers, and is the only holiday centre in the region that can provide personalised respite holiday experiences for guests with such a broad range of needs.

Sandpipers also plays a critical role in the local community in which it is based. The hotel’s hydrotherapy pool provides local children with opportunities to learn to swim, while Sefton and Ormskirk NHS Trust’s spinal unit patients also have access to this invaluable rehabilitation facility. What’s more, by bringing thousands of visitors to the town each year, Sandpipers is an integral part of the tourism industry that is vital to the local economy.

The current capacity at Sandpipers means there are times when we have to turn down disabled people, who desperately need a break, highlighting the demand for respite holidays outstrips UK provision.

To respond to this need, we plan to build an additional wing onto the existing centre. This will create twelve new, fully accessible bedrooms, with ensuite wet rooms. The new wing will also be designed to accommodate families who wish to holiday together with their disabled family member.

Above: The proposed new look bar area for Sandpipers

Left:

A new Marine Lake Event Centre with lakeside sound and light show is planned

AFL Architects

The projected cost of this project is £4m to £4.5m subject to tender

Our plans for Sandpipers

More than 600 extra guests per year

• We will increase the capacity of our Southportbased centre from 38 to 50 guests.

• We will also refurbish all existing guest bedrooms, improve the exterior face of the building, remodel the reception and entrance to the centre and re-landscape the gardens overlooking the beautiful Marine Lake.

• All our new rooms will be generously sized for easy wheelchair use and will incorporate ‘invisible care’ features like hidden hoists and cleverly designed cupboards where personal care equipment can be discreetly stored and cleared away. These will be reachable both from the corridor and the room.

• Our expansion plans will further increase the number of people visiting Southport each year, as well as delivering additional employment and volunteering opportunities.

• Planning permission for this development was granted in August 2022 and these exciting and impactful development plans are currently scheduled to begin in late Spring 2023.

• The projected cost of this project is £4m to £4.5m subject to tender.

Top: How Sandpipers looks today

Bottom: Expansion plans include remodelling the reception, re-landscaping the garden and building a new wing

Clayton Architecture

Phase 3: A new, purpose-built holiday centre

We plan to build a new, purpose-built holiday centre

MH Architects

Large parts of the UK are without any equivalent respite holiday facility. If you lived in the confines of one room you would understand the need for respite care

This new centre will further increase Revitalise’s capacity to serve disabled people and carers and its location will complement that of our other centres, in order to maximise the number of people who can access one of our facilities.

Co-produced with disabled people, our new holiday centre will take advantage of innovative technological developments to optimise our guests’ enjoyment and independence while also ensuring their personal needs can be met.

Designed without the limitations of an existing building’s footprint, a new purpose-built centre will have the potential to set new standards in accessibility and a platform for Revitalise to share our expertise with other holiday providers and transform the UK’s accessible holiday landscape beyond the provision Revitalise can offer directly.

Our guests tell us that they cannot travel farther than two hours to take a holiday. Affordability, discomfort and inaccessible public transport puts our existing centres out of the reach of many.

Guest story: Lin and

Steve

Lin says:

When we first visited Revitalise, I had not had a day off for four years and was exhausted. On holiday, Steve grew in confidence and regained some independence as he felt safe. He went to the pool and restaurant on his own – it was wonderful. He even talked to another guest who had had a stroke; he would never have done that before Revitalise.

Steve can’t follow conversation and would not have felt confident on a big table in the dining room, so the staff organised for us to eat at our own table. We felt like a couple again.

Revitalise is outstanding; you get treated as an individual. Without Revitalise, there would be nowhere for disabled people and carers to go.

Phase 2: Sandpipers, Southport

Phase 3: New holiday centre

Phase 1: Jubilee Lodge, Epping Forest

Beyond the Appeal: Removing all barriers

By funding the expansion of our respite holiday provision at Sandpipers and beyond, the Give me a break Appeal will directly address one of the barriers that currently prevents disabled people from accessing a holiday: Revitalise’s current guest capacity and the lack of suitable mainstream alternatives for disabled people with complex conditions.

However, there is another barrier that can prevent disabled people accessing a respite holiday; affordability.

The cost-of-living crisis will only exacerbate this challenge and we will use the public phase of the Give me a break Appeal as an opportunity to raise the profile of Revitalise’s work and use the appeal as a catalyst for securing new support, new relationships and new partnerships that can offer long-term support and enable Revitalise to subsidise as many guest breaks as possible.

Local authorities have a statutory obligation to provide respite to carers. Some will fund respite breaks such as those provided by Revitalise. Many will not. In a survey published earlier

this year, only 1% of all disabled people had received local authority funding for a Respite Break and 2% of disabled people had had applications for such funding turned down.*

The appeal will also be an opportunity to highlight the importance and positive impact of Respite holidays for both disabled people, those who care for them and the indirect benefit of improved wellbeing on increasingly stretched health and social care budgets.

The Give me a break Appeal is therefore central to Revitalise’s theory of change as we strive to create a society in which every disabled person and every carer is able to take the break or holiday they want.

*Source: YouGov Survey May 2022

Projected costs and how you can help us meet them

Thanks to an extraordinarily generous legacy gift from a family who regularly holidayed with Revitalise, the support we have received from the local community and some significant grants given by Trusts and Foundations, the first phase of the project is now fully funded.

As we move to the second phase of the project, we will continue to build on existing relationships with grant making trusts and foundations, as well as maximising the potential of all networks available to us. Our experienced fundraising team has developed a realistic plan to raise the required capital over the next 3 years. This will include taking the Give me a break Appeal to local communities close to each centre and a public facing appeal which will be launched in spring 2023.

We have prepared a range of packages which give donors an opportunity to fund a specific item, room or area within our centres. All donations will be sensitively acknowledged within the buildings unless donors wish to remain anonymous.

Any remaining funding shortfall will be funded through a combination of modest borrowing, increased revenue generated through greater capacity at Sandpipers, an uplift in bookings across our newly refurbished holiday centres and the value generated through the sale of Waterside House in Netley.

The total cost of our three-year transformation project is estimated at £13m.

Meet our team

Jan Tregelles, CBE CEO

Jan joined Revitalise from Mencap, bringing decades of experience with her from her time as Director of Personal Support, and then as CEO. Jan is also Chair of Access Social Care, a charity that uses the force of law to drive up social care outcomes. jtregelles@revitalise.org.uk

Alex McDowell Director of Fundraising

Alex has been a professional fundraiser for more than 20 years. Prior to joining Revitalise in 2021, Alex served as Fundraising Director and Head of Public Fundraising at RNIB, Head of Legacy and Tribute fundraising at NSPCC and Head of Fundraising at the Shakespeare Hospice. amcdowell@revitalise.org.uk

Sarah Boud Head of

Capital Appeal

Sarah offers a wealth of experience having been successful in raising capital funds through trusts, statutory grants and major donors at Mencap and St Martins-in-the-Fields. sboud@revitalise.org.uk

Please contact us if you would like to learn more about our organisation or the Give me a break Appeal.

We would be delighted to take your call or meet you in person to present our plans more fully.

You’d also be very welcome to visit Jubilee Lodge or Sandpipers so that you can see at first hand the transformative experience that our respite breaks bring.