Sammy’s Foundation Charity

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Sammy’s Foundation Charity

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Sammy’s Foundation is proud to train young people with complex neurodivergency in exclusive heritage crafts leading to meaningful opportunity within the interiors sector.

29/10/2026

We were delighted to welcome back master canework tutor Rachael South for a dedicated one-day masterclass with two of our trainees.

One student, already showing considerable talent in canework, moved on to more advanced techniques, learning how to bead an edge and repair damaged cane. A second student began with learning the basic weaving techniques at the level that suited them.

Small, tailored classes like this matter. They allow an experienced craftsperson to watch closely, correct gently, and pass on the subtleties that cannot be learnt from a book or hurried demonstration.

That attentive exchange between skilled hands and new ones is how heritage crafts survive.

We were so honoured to welcome Rachael back and see what our young makers could achieve.

26/10/2026

Caspar, one of our
bursary trainees in French polishing, is seen here working on site alongside master polisher Stewart Kemp

The piece in front of him is a magnificently carved pew, with Caspar carrying out some careful pre- and post-finish touching-up as part of his practical training. The placement takes place with Stewart in Rochester, where he is learning not only the techniques of French polishing, but the discipline of working on real pieces, for real clients, to professional standards.

It is wonderful to see the pride he takes in the work, and to see him becoming a genuinely useful pair of hands alongside an experienced craftsman.

23/10/2026

Another fantastic weekend event this year!

So much gratitude to all the organisers, aswell as to
for generously donating the proceeds of their fundraiser and of course to everyone who paid to take part in 'Hunt the Hammer' to raise essential funds for our charity.

An incredible £571.78 was raised from these fundraisers alone so we are so grateful to everyone who contributed.

Congratulations also to our Hunt the Hammer winner!

Last but not least, a big round of applause for who turned the festival from a concept to a reality. It was so special to be part of this incredible event and to connect with so many brilliant professionals. Thank you ❤️

19/10/2026

As the year turns towards autumn, we wanted to pause for a moment and say thank you.

The summer’s courses have been full of sawdust, promise and students finding out what their hands can do, and more are still to come.

None of it happens without the people who back us.

Thank you to all our funders. Your support is what lets us open the doors and keep them open.
Thank you also to the local businesses and companies who have chosen to champion us.
To Max Rollitt and Taddy's Barn Tearoom & Eatery , who have donated proceeds from their own fundraising, and to everyone who has given vouchers and prizes. It all adds up, and it all gets used.

And thank you to everyone who has come along, volunteered, shared a post, bought a raffle ticket or simply told a friend about us. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.

14/10/2026

Children with learning disabilities are 11 times more likely to die in childhood than their peers. And Sammy was one of them.

Ramsgate boy Sammy was just 13 when he died. Like 34% of young people with learning disabilities, his death was totally preventable. It followed 6 years in which the professional help he needed due to a genetic disability was repeatedly refused by the state.

To its great credit, the Ramsgate community stepped in: strangers intervened in moments of danger, neighbours answered calls in the middle of the night, and members of the community offered companionship through years of isolation.

This support made a huge difference to his life.

Now, that same community has supported Sammy’s Foundation in its mission to support similar young disabled people to find meaningful lives instead of meaningless deaths. Ramsgate’s support secured a £1,500 Waitrose & Partners donation for Sammy’s Foundation.

Thank you to everyone who supported us, to Waitrose, and to the two excellent local charities with whom we shared the platform.

Even a Human Rights Inquest and Prevention Notice can’t bring Sammy back. It’s too late for him. But it’s not too late for the children his Foundation supports. Thank you, once more, for giving them life.

05/10/2026

Last month I was delighted to share the work of Sammy’s Foundation at a Speakeasy interactive session hosted by interiors journalist and speaker

Following a short film & introductory talk, we dived into an interactive French polishing session led by Stew Kemp
, one of our regular trainers, very capably assisted by Caspar, one of our trainees who is on our French Polishing bursary program.

Participants enjoyed working on their own mouse door jamb, which they stained and oil waxed under Stewart’s expert guidance, which was a keepsake of the event to take home.

Thank you to Roddy for inviting us and to everyone who attended to learn more about our work. We are also so grateful to everyone who kindly donated. It was a truly uplifting and enjoyable afternoon.

30/09/2026

Here, master upholsterer Gareth Rees demonstrates a top stitch in traditional French upholstery, discussing stitch length, tension, and the number of wraps needed to lock each stitch securely.

Traditional upholstery relies on natural loose fillings such as hair and coir. To control and contain those materials, rows of carefully formed stitches are built one above another around the edge of a platform seat, creating what is known as a stuffed and stitched edge: a dense, rigid structure that prevents the filling from shifting under use while shaping the refined contours of the finished piece.

It is exacting work, and the smallest details matter.

We are enormously grateful for tutors like Gareth, whose depth of experience allows these techniques to be passed on properly.

As we prepare for our forthcoming National Lottery-funded beginners' upholstery course, we hope to uncover some budding upholsterers who, in time, will progress to work of this precision themselves.

16/09/2026

The virtuous circle at the heart of Sammy's Foundation.

It reflects the way we want the Foundation to work: skills, people and pieces connected in a continuous cycle.

One young person trainee might French polish a frame. Another might cane the seat, carve a component, weave a braid or complete the upholstery. Each contributes a specialist skill to the finished piece, and each piece becomes a demonstration of what collaborative heritage craft can achieve.

When that work is commissioned or sold, the income can help fund further training, create new opportunities and support the next young person in developing their own craft pathway.

Over time, we hope that circle widens further: more locally made artisanal work, greater demand for endangered skills, and a stronger heritage craft industry able to sustain the people entering it. This is a virtuous circle, and one we hope will keep turning for generations.

06/09/2026

Bespoke card lampshade maker Peter Gan, one of very few craftspeople still practising this specialist skill, recently welcomed two of our students into his West London studio for a day of one-to-one learning.

They loved every minute of it, and both left wanting to return and develop their skills further.

For endangered crafts to survive, knowledge has to be passed from experienced hands to new ones. Opportunities like this are invaluable: young people are introduced to serious, commercially relevant craft, while techniques at risk of disappearing are given another generation in which to flourish.

We’re enormously grateful to Peter for giving his time, sharing his expertise, and opening his workshop so generously. And we’re proud to play our part in keeping skills like these alive.

22/08/2026

We put the ‘fun’ in fundraising this summer! 😎.

We’re enormously grateful to Taddy's Barn Tea Rooms and Eatery for hosting this inclusive barbecue fundraiser in support of Sammy’s Foundation, with live music from Southern Country Rocks and an appearance from Margate Fire Station.

The event was free and open to everyone, including students from the Foundation, and gave us a wonderful opportunity to share more about our work and encourage new people to get involved.

Through raffle tickets, donations and the generosity of everyone who gave their time, including the band, the day raised £702.

But what stayed with us most was the spirit of it: people coming together simply because they wanted to help. There was warmth, laughter and real joy in the giving.

Our work depends greatly on local businesses, groups and individuals who choose to stand behind it. Taddy’s Barn has supported both Sammy’s Foundation and its wider community before, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who made this day possible.

Address

2 Queens Road
Ramsgate
CTAA8DZ

Telephone

+447816290804

Website

http://sammysfoundation.org/

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