Improving the wellbeing of our members through a range of activities and events

What we do

We give adults with mild to moderate learning difficulties and neurodiversity the chance to thrive with a variety of enjoyable and educational activities, offered three days a week for members at our venue in Fareham, Hampshire.

In addition to our regular schedule, we organise external activities and maintain ongoing engagement with members throughout the week. These activities include bowling, swimming, museum and gallery visits, art sessions, picnics, plus many more. We all enjoy the occasional delightful lunch outing too. Further opportunities for members, include:

  • Engaging in the local community by hosting stalls and fundraising

  • First Aid training from St John Ambulance

  • Organised exercise onsite and offsite

  • Getting involved in games competitions such as Archery, Curling and Boccia

  • Tuition in cooking, budgeting, communicating, work skills and much more

Our role extends beyond engaging members in activities or entertainment; they trust us, and we equip them with the necessary tools to enhance their lives outside of our premises. The impact is not solely attributed to the volunteers, staff, parents, and carers; it's also the members who genuinely look out for one another, fostering a mutual enhancement of self-esteem.

Membership benefits

Attendance at the
hut with friends

Monday to Wednesday, Members can attend for a full day or a half day, depending on their needs.

Affordable
Nutritious meals

For just £5, nutritious meals are served three days a week at noon, hot drinks included.

Low cost
attendance fees

Half day attendance is just £5, full day £10, which with lunch would equate to £15 for a day.

Additional training opportunities

In addition to the standard activities, members can pay £5 for archery training + more.

Membership Activities

Archery

We’re lucky to have GB archery coaches to run these groups, which makes this one of our most unique activities offered here at Key to joy. This runs every Tuesday all day in the secure outside area and members pay £5 to cover the GB coaches time. Some of the members have also gained archery qualifications while they have been with us.

Give it a try!

Life Skills

Morning life skills sessions cover a wide range of practical topics to support members with their independence, which can include:

  • Shopping

  • Preparing food

  • Money matters

  • Women's health group

  • Men's health group

  • First aid

  • Personal safety

  • Budgeting and

  • Internet use

There is a 6 week core programme and members can choose which sessions they wish to join.

Arts and Crafts

The members can take part in art and craft sessions which often have seasonal themes. We also have regular workshops and sessions facilitated by staff, volunteers and visiting local artists.

What’s even better is the artwork created by our members often makes it on to the stalls for external fundraising.

Environment and Gardening

We run environment and gardening sessions twice a week every Monday and Wednesday morning .

Key to joy has a large outside space to use for gardening, where members grow and cultivate flowers, fruit and vegetables. They also learn how to be eco-friendly and sustainable and we even have our own pond with some very joyful fish. Tasks associated with our gardening sessions include:

  • Gardening - weeding and planting

  • Recycling and reusing materials for the garden

  • Growing our own vegetables

  • Making food for the birds and feeding the fish

  • Woodwork and structures, including bird houses

  • General garden maintenance and upkeep

Offsite activities

Our committed team plan a variety of offsite activities. These range from theatre visits and cinema outings to art and dance classes, as well as swimming, skittles, bowling, and others. Together, we enjoy spending days at the beach during the summer, which can include sailing trips.

Our members are always keen to try new things, so please do get in touch if you have an experience they might enjoy.

Fundraising together

Our members have mild to moderate challenges, so they are very much capable of getting involved with every aspect of the charity. This includes pulling up their sleeves and helping us raise vital funds for Key to joy, so they can continue to help it grow too.

We run regular fundraising events with contributions from our members, whether that’s arts and crafts made by them to sell at stalls or showcasing their talents along the way. These events also support our members' personal development by providing them with new skills, including financial literacy, communication, and self-confidence.

Our annual summer fair (pictured) is particularly popular with the members, their loved ones, carers and the general public and we hope to run more events like these in the coming years.

Ask us anything

Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about what we do, whether you’re interested in you or someone you care for becoming a member, volunteering, being a Trustee or raising funds with donations or sponsorship. Whatever your question, we’d love to here from you.

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