Josh makes splash at birthday bash
JOLLY Josh, a charity for children with disabilities and special needs, has celebrated its fifth anniversary with the launch of a new hydrotherapy pool.
The charity opened the doors of its centre at Ensor Mill on Queensway in Castleton to the public which saw the Jolly Josh team joined by members of Rochdale’s youth council, Henry Leahy, Deputy MYP Joyce Kapiamba and Deputy Children’s Champion for the borough, Erin Pollitt.
As part of the celebrations the charity cut the ribbon on its new child-orientatedhydrotherapypool-the borough’s only hydrotherapy pool dedicated to children with profound and multiple learning disabilities, complex needs or physical disability.
With hydrotherapy pool demonstrations throughout the day, the Centre was visited by existing families as well as those who had heard about the facilities and were keen to find out exactly how Jolly Josh can help them.
Jolly Josh centre manager, Sarah Ford, said afterwards: “What a fantastic day for everyone involved!
“We were able to meet those who are frequent visitors to the Centre as well as a lot of new visitors, who were keen to find out what Jolly Josh is all about and find out about our new hydrotherapy pool facilities.
“It was wonderful to meet Joyce, Henry, and Erin, what fantastic representative they are of children and young people in the borough.
“They gave a wonderful speech about Jolly Josh and by cutting the ribbon, officially opened our brandnew hydrotherapy pool.
“So many others helped to make this day special including trustees, staff, volunteers and our Open Day sponsors, H Bell &
Sons, for which we are so incredibly grateful.”
Jolly Josh is a Registered Charity based in Castleton which was founded by devoted mum Carole Kelly following the passing of her son Josh, at just 15 months old.
A healthy child at birth, Josh’s health deteriorated at four months of age and Carole’s journey and experiences before his passing inspired her to establish the specialist Centre, Jolly Josh.
Sarah added that the centre’s multi-function room was busy too during the day too, with new families seeing first hand the facilities available.
She said “Getting the centre up and running has been a labour of love for so many people, so the fact that we are now fully open, including the hydrotherapy pool, and able to offer a full programme of sessions to children, young adults and families is amazing.
“From sensory toys and equipment especially for children with complex medical needs and disabilities, Jolly Josh is set up and ready to provide themed ‘stay and play’ and social sessions for children and young adults aged 0-19.”