Croydon Contacts started life in the 1990s, initially with a focus on supporting children as well as adults with special needs and their families. The Charity has been through many changes since, including a refocus some years ago to only supporting adults, since other charities were supporting children and young people with special needs.
A consistent aim however has been to support people with learning disabilities to lead active lives in the community. The Charity received statutory funding until the late 2000s – when this ended, we had to make major changes in our operation, for example by negotiating special rates for activities and in some cases making small increases in charges to members. Today we are a small organisation with activities run almost entirely by volunteers, keeping costs to a minimum, and with a keen eye on ensuring the best use of our financial reserves (and wherever possible attracting new funding).
This way we are committed to remaining active and viable well into the future. Many of our members, trustees and volunteers have been with Croydon Contacts for many years, and we think this continuity is an important strength and benefit to current and future members.