Who We Are
Stepping Stones is a small charity for adults with learning disabilities in Norwich. Our vision is for a fairer, more equitable society where adults with learning disabilities receive the education, training and support they require to fulfill their potential.
Stepping Stones provides a safe environment where adults with learning disabilities can access education and training. Our day centre provides support in a relaxed and friendly environment. Most students attend for two or three days per week, depending on our needs .Our students can chose from any of our core subjects of Art, Cooking, Graphic Design, Film, Photography, Music, Gardening and Domestic Life Skills. Students are supported and challenged to try new things, learn new skills and work as part of a team.
What we're doing
We are starting a new social enterprise project to make sure that we are financially resilient and sustainable. Our students have been designing products to sell at events, online and through local shops. All the products feature their original artworks. We had a pilot event in December which was a great success. They sold hand printed wrapping paper, t-shirts, cards, tote-bags and art prints.
Here are a few examples of our recent work:
Covid-19
The coronavirus pandemic has affected our organisation in many ways and the need for our project is greater than ever. We have had to adapt our way of working to include strict infection control measures. Many of our students have endured considerable hardship and we are having to offer more pastoral care and support at our centre. Funding has become more precarious and we now have less access to funds as a result of increased demand on grant making organisations. All this has increased our outgoings and reduced our income. For this reason we are keen to diversify our income streams through the social enterprise project and safeguard our future.
How we will spend the funds raised
We are raising money to invest in the project so that we can buy printing equipment and the raw materials needed to launch our business. Below is a list of costs that your donation could cover:
£10 is the cost price of a kids t-shirt printed with our students artwork.
£50 will pay for a visit to a local artist's studio for a 'meet the maker' session.
£70 will pay for a light box so that we can photograph our products professionally for use in our online shop.
£250 will pay for our arts supplies for a year so our students can create new designs for their products.
£1,200 will pay for our graphic design and website build including a new online shop.
£3000 will buy us a professional scanner and printer that will allow us to produce more products in house.
All proceeds raised from sales will be invested back into the project and will help us deliver more creative workshops for Adults with Learning Disabilities. Running a charity can be expensive and funding isn't easy to come by. Your donation will help diversify our income streams so that we aren't so reliant on grant funding. We want to continue the good work we do with our students and want to be able to weather future storms that might affect our funding.
Thank you for your support!