Staff, young people and their families enjoyed a fantastic summer party funded by Rockinghorse, at the Portslade residential service.
Every year staff at Drove Road organise a fantastic party for the young people who use the service, along with their parents, siblings and the staff. It’s always a great chance for them to come together and enjoy an event that’s safe and accessible for everyone.
Drove Road is a respite and residential service located in Portslade. The centre cares for young people aged 8-18 years old with autism, learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. Through the services provided by Drove Road, young people are encouraged to explore social and leisure opportunities and develop their independent living skills.
To enable the party to go ahead we provided funds for the food, games, face painting, a bouncy castle and the highlight of the event, a real belly dancer!
It was a beautiful sunny day for this year’s party and the garden was set up with a bouncy castle, blow up slide, games, face painting and candy floss so there was something for everyone.
And with the theme of ‘Around the World’ there were lots of great outfits on display, from countries including Spain, Bulgaria, Hawaii and Mexico.
The guests also enjoyed a range of delicious food from around the globe and tried their hands at a range of games set out in the garden.
But the belly dancer was definitely the star of the show, performing her brilliant moves and encouraging everyone to join in. This really got the party going with the guests trying out their own moves and dancing to the music.
Siobhan came along with her son Ethan. Ethan has a chromosome duplication, autism and is non-verbal and has been coming to Drove Road since December 2024.
Siobhan said, “All the staff are brilliant. I always see how happy he is and he’s always happy to come. Sometimes when he comes home, he’s a completely different child!
“Rockinghorse aren’t just a charity, they support people throughout the community, They support so many people in so many different places.”
And of the party, Siobhan was really impressed, “The staff look amazing, and the party is great!”
Another parent, Lisa, came along with twin sons Jack and Harry.
Jack has been coming to Drove Road since May this year and Lisa is really impressed with the support. She said, “Drove Road is an amazing place, when we came to look around, I asked if I could stay here! Jack’s excited to come here and they’re really helping him with independent living skills which is really important.”
And there was no doubt about how much the twins enjoyed the party. Lisa added, “The boys are in heaven – candy floss and a bouncy castle, what more could you want!”
Dawn Dunk, the scheme manager at Drove Road, said: “Every year Rockinghorse turns our summer party into a bigger more exciting celebration event for all our families and children. We can add entertainment and activities that we could not fund ourselves that we are truly grateful for. Thanks to Rockinghorse for all their support.”
We’re so proud to have been able to support this event at this amazing scheme and are already planning out outfits for next year!
Dawn and Kelly from Drove Road
Sam with Ethan on the bouncy castle
