Page 20 - Real Rochdale Issue 14 Summer 2022

Jolly Josh charity opens fully-inclusive
centre for disabled children
The Jolly Josh charity has opened the doors to its
inclusive centre in Castleton, having been officially
opened by the Mayor of Rochdale, Aasim Rashid in
April.
The children’s charity hosts stay-and-play sessions
for children with disabilities and special needs.
The premises at Ensor Mill are fully accessible for
a range of needs and disabilities with specialist
interactive sensory equipment for the children
and their families to enjoy together - with many of
the children’s faces lighting up at having their own
space, specifically for them.
The venue has a multi-functional room for various
sessions, including the stay-and-play baby and
toddler sessions, complete with a range of activities:
there’s an interactive ‘magic carpet’ (purchased with
a donation from the East Lancashire Freemasons),
a ceiling hoist to aid moving which spans the entire
length and breadth of the room, plus various toys
and even equipment donated by bereaved parents.
A specially built hydrotherapy pool is already
proving popular, with one parent describing how
being in the water is freeing for her wheelchair-
bound daughter, and how it’s the only time they can
share a hug, something so many take for granted.
There are two disabled toilets on site, plus the
second ‘Changing Places’ toilet in the borough,
which was proudly opened by Zack Kerr, 26, a
Changing Places campaigner and winner of the
National Diversity Awards 2021.
Jolly Josh was given 10 years’ worth of free rent
at Ensor Mill by local businessman, the late Peter
Cordwell in 2019.
A ball held in April to commemorate Peter’s 50th
birthday helped raise a staggering £164,000 whilst
Alison McGuigan, Peter’s sister and a trustee of
Jolly Josh, helped raise over £60,000 last year.
A special blue plaque, modelled after heritage
plaques, has been installed outside the venue in
Peter’s memory.
REAL ROCHDALE - summer 2022 20
Alison, and Peter’s wife, Sharon, said: “Pete would
have been really proud to see Jolly Josh completed.
“He would have been very grateful for the support
from everyone.”
Named after their son, Jolly Josh was started
in September 2017 by Carole and James Kelly,
after discovering there were no groups for young
disabled children in Rochdale.
Josh was diagnosed with the genetic condition
Mitochondrial Disease at the age of six months.
After his condition deteriorated, Josh was taken to
Derian House children’s hospice, where he died on
27 August 2017, just one month before Jolly Josh
was due to begin.
The stay-and-play sessions were set up with the
hope to bring families together, provide peer-to- Zack Kerr (centre) opened the Changing Places toilet at Jolly Josh with James & Carole Kelly
peer support, share experiences, and eliminate
isolation, especially for children with disabilities
and special needs throughout the borough.
The group continues in his legacy, with the opening
of such a needed place proving emotional for many.
Mother of two Jaime Foster, 32, who has cerebral
palsy, said that she didn’t realise she would
be emotional. She said: “My school did build a
hydrotherapy pool and it helped so much. It helped
ease pain I didn’t even know I had, and seeing this
one, it hit me that I never had facilities like this, not
here in Castleton.
“When you’re a child, you don’t know any different,
but mum felt like there was nothing there, nothing
available or that I didn’t fit the criteria. I was very
lucky to be treated like everyone else and accepted,
but I had to realise my limits and overcome them.
“There’s so many things here that will make things
easier for people that able-bodied people take for
granted. Sometimes people are surprised I have
work and have children, but it shows that children
can become something, and I like the idea that
someone like me [with their own needs] could be
that role model for them.” Carole and James Kelly with their children Sophie and Oliver at the opening of Jolly Josh
21 REAL ROCHDALE - summer 2022