2024 Round-Up: A year of growth, gratitude, and community spirit
As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on a year jam packed with so many joyful new memories for our members, adults with learning difficulties and neurodiversity, and everyone that supports them. For all of us at Key to Joy, this has been a year of incredible achievements and milestones that we couldn’t have reached without the unwavering support of the members, their families, carers, loved ones and the local community. From fundraising events to new partnerships, we’ve seen our charity grow and thrive, and we’re excited to continue this journey in 2025. Here’s a look back at just some of the highlights in 2024:
1. Red Nose Day - lots of laughter and generosity
We started the year with preparations for Red Nose Day in March. All the members rallyied together for a bake sale, which was a fun and engaging way for the community to come together, support a great cause, and enjoy some lighthearted moments in the process. The generosity of all who participated raised almost £150, which made this event a resounding success.
2. Heartfelt support from The Asda Foundation
In April 2024, we were fortunate to receive £750 from The Asda Foundation. This donation allowed us to further our mission and support more adults with learning difficulties and neurodiversity in the Fareham and Gosport community.
Later in the year The ASDA Foundation visited with special guest Pudsey for Children in Need. We took part in colouring competitions, made and sold cakes, held a raffle and raised over £50. We are deeply grateful for this partnership and look forward to continuing our work together into 2025.
3. Being part of the Tesco Token Scheme in Fareham and Portchester
From July to September 2024 Key to joy were part of the token scheme at Tesco in Fareham and Portchester and received a donation of £500 as third runner up in November. This donation will help fund many of our upcoming projects and services, and we truly appreciate Tesco’s ongoing support.
4. Captain’s choice, charity of the year at CAMS Golf Course
Until early next year, Key to joy are honoured to be the Captain’s choice as Charity of the Year at CAMS Golf Course. The members of CAMS worked incredibly hard to raise over £3,000 through various events and donations with a final amount to be announced in the new year. We’re thrilled to have built such a strong relationship with this generous community. Their support has helped us reach new heights, and we look forward to continued collaboration.
5. The Summer Fair – a memorable day of joy and summer fun
Our Summer Fair was a highlight of the year, drawing in families and supporters from all over Fareham and Gosport. With games, food stalls, music, and entertainment, our annual summer fair raised more than £1,000. It was a day full of joy and community spirit, and we are thankful for everyone who helped make the event such a success. Better yet we made it into the Portsmouth News as Picture of the Day (shown below).
6. The Big Give Christmas Challenge – our first UK national campaign
The Big Give campaign in December was a huge success raising £9,500. Everyone rallied together to organise several exciting fundraising efforts, including the Fareham Town Choir, a members sponsored rowing challenge, and a neurodivergent comedy night at Fareham Social Club, Funny Minds (don’t think alike). The venue were so supportive and so were the incredible line-up of comedians; Joe Wells, Mr B. The Gentleman Rhymer, Sunjai Arif, Natalie Bryce and Emma Ashley-King. Please enjoy the gallery from our comedy night below:
In addition to raising vital funds, we are thrilled to share that more than 80,000 people in the local area were reached across social media online during our Big Give Christmas Challenge and there were more than 12k visits to our new website. This huge lift in awareness for our charity is incredibly encouraging and fills us with ambition and hope for the future. We are excited to see how this increased visibility will help us grow and help more adults with neurodiversity and learning difficulties in 2025, including continued efforts for our home from home campaign.
7. A year of small, yet mighty, fundraising Events
Throughout 2024, we hosted several smaller fundraising events, each one making a big difference. From car washes to cake sales and even a clairvoyant evening. Our Craft Fairs were also a tremendous success, raising an impressive £1,000. These fairs, organized by our Senior Activities Facilitator, Gail, sell crafts made by the members themselves, which showcase their creativity and give them an incredible sense of reward and purpose.
The Clairvoyant evening was particularly special hosted and arranged by 3 Spirit, who recently selected us as a chosen charity to support and have plans for another event in 2025. A memorable experience for all who attended with another event to be announced in 2025.
We also ended the year with our Christmas Raffle at our Christmas Party, raising £150. With prizes generously donated by local businesses and supporters, the raffle was a festive way to bring the community together. It’s always heartwarming to see people come together for a good cause during the holiday season.
These events may seem small individually, but together, they contributed greatly to the continued success of Key to Joy, raising over £1,900 collectively.
8. Membership growth – a stronger community than ever
One of the most rewarding achievements of 2024 was the significant increase in memberships to a point we’re near capacity and have more enquiries than spaces available at the moment. That’s why Key to joy will continue with our home from home campaign in 2025 so that we can secure a new venue to welcome more members in the future. Our growing community of supporters has been a huge driving force behind our success, and we are thrilled to welcome so many new faces. Whether you’ve volunteered, donated, or simply spread the word, each new member adds tremendous value to our cause.
9. Sporting wins and achievements for our members all year
We had so many wonderful moments throughout 2024 with members winning medals, awards and even qualifications for a variety of activities we run at Key to joy, including archery, boccia and curling. Well done to every single one of our members for all of their amazing progress both in skill and confidence learning and playing together.
Setting the foundations for an even brighter year in 2025
As we look back on 2024, we can’t help but feel immense pride in all that we’ve achieved raising over £15,000 through a range of fundraising events and charitable partnerships. But this is only the beginning. With the support of our dedicated community, we are more confident than ever in our ability to reach new goals in 2025. We have big plans, and we know that with your continued involvement, we can make them a reality. Charity Manager, Michaela Owens played an integral role in all of the 2024 fundraising events and partnerships and is particularly proud of everyone for their efforts through the year, she said:
“What a year 2024 has been for Key to joy. We have seen so much growth and local community engagement, which has helped us to thrive and be more known. We entered the big give campaign for the first time and raised £9,500, which is a massive milestone for the charity. I look forward to what 2025 brings.”
We’re also excited to share that in 2025, we will be receiving the cheque and Big Give champion funding from the Hampshire Cricket Foundation, which will support even more of our work. We can’t wait to update you soon.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Key to Joy in 2024 - whether you attended events, donated, volunteered, or simply shared our mission, you have played a vital role in our success. We can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together in the year ahead.
Have a wonderful New Year and we’ll see you on the other side when we open on 7th January. In the meantime, please follow us on Instagram @keytojoycharity or Facebook for updates, and have a wonderful New Year!