We are so thrilled to announce that Over The Wall has been voted a GamesAid Charity of 2017! At GamesAid’s cheque giving ceremony on 14th September, eight charities supporting disabled and disadvantaged young people each received an amazing £70,000. We are incredibly grateful to be one of them! We would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us, to our lovely Trustees, volunteers and staff who helped us spread the word about the voting process and last, but not least, to GamesAid Members for making all of this possible. Thanks to all of you, we are able to make a difference in the lives of children living with serious illnesses!

This donation is really significant for our charity. It means that we can provide more children with a place at camp, where they can have fun and enjoy a wide range of recreational and educational activities, FREE of charge. At camp, children are taught to reach beyond the perceived limitations of their illness and rediscover a whole new world of possibilities, helping to build their confidence, self esteem and social skills. We also focus on the families and siblings of children living with serious conditions, as we acknowledge the impact that their illnesses can have on family life. This is why we organise family and siblings camps that aim at bringing back the joy of having fun together, as a family. We train around 700 volunteers a year, including nurses and doctors who give up their annual leave to make camp happen.

Finally, to reinforce the impact that OTW has on children and their families, we would like to share with you some feedback from our latest camps:

“Camp had made a huge difference to our family and made the kids so happy amongst so many things we cannot change and we are so grateful for that. Over the wall will be part of our family forever and the kids love all the amazing memories they have. They both talk about Over The Wall every day!”- parent

“We just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the Over The Wall Team, we have had such an amazing weekend. Our journey home was full of songs and happy memories of our time at camp. As a family we hope to continue with a weekly board game evening and more time without electrical’s. Life is always so busy that it has been a welcome break from the routine of work, hospital, school and general daily life. The camp took us all away from this and we all came away with different things to focus on. Thank you again, we hope we will see you all again.”-parent

“I’d like to thank every single one of you that makes Over the Wall happen. Who knew that within a week, you would help me immensely with issues I’ve dealt with for 12 years. My roommate, was also epileptic; therefore, it reassured me to have someone in the same boat. Also, I have had trouble connecting and making friends, I can truly say that I have established a great, funny, witty group of friends, whose illness never defines them. Overall, thank you so much and I am definitely applying next year!”-camper