The Big Give #ChristmasChallenge

Your Donation Will Be DOUBLED This December !

We’re very excited to let you know that we have been selected to participate in this year’s Big Give #ChristmasChallenge.

That means that every donation made to our campaign via BigGive.org during the week of 2 – 9 December, will be doubled.

All donations to Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity will be matched £1 for £1 through the #ChristmasChallenge, helped by our group of incredible pledgers and our champion match funder, AKO Foundation.

Your donation of £10 turns into £20, your £50 into £100 – and so on!

So whatever you can give, no matter the size, every donation will make double the difference helping us to deliver specialist support for people with dyslexia.

What can you do now?

✅ Starting today at midday and running until 9 December, make a donation to the Big Give’s #ChristmasChallenge here. The donate button will appear on the Big Give Helen Arkell page when the campaign starts at 12pm (midday) today.

Share the campaign with friends, family, or on social media – anyone who may want their donation doubled!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at fundraising@helenarkell.org.uk

Thank you so much for your support – together, we can make twice the impact in 2026!

Watch the Big Give Video here! Backhand index pointing down

Q & A’s

1) Online donations to participating Charities received during the live campaign will be matched initially by pledge funds. Once a Charity has used all of its pledge funds, donations will be matched by Champion funds until Champion funds are exhausted or until the campaign ends, whichever is sooner.

2) Once our Charity pledge funds and Champion funds have been exhausted, our donation page on the Big Give website will clearly state that any subsequent donations will not be matched. Donors will still be encouraged to make an unmatched donation.

3) All donations made during the campaign must be made online via Big Give’s website without exception. Donations must be made via a Charity’s donation page on Big Give’s website, for the project which has been accepted into the campaign.

4) The minimum single donation that can be made during the campaign is £1. The maximum donation made during the campaign using a credit or debit card is £25,000. The largest donation made using our donation funds feature is £500,000.

5) A donation is eligible to be matched if it is made through the Charities campaign when the campaign is live and if there is sufficient funding available in the match fund for the selected Charity.

6) Once matching funds are reserved, donors will have 25 minutes to complete their donation. If the donation is not completed within 25 minutes, the Donor will be notified, and the match funding will be released back into the match fund for said Charity.

A message from Mia

Mia tells us why this campaign will help more children like her.

By |2025-12-03T17:01:09+00:00November 28th, 2025|Fundraising news, Homepage featured, Latest news, Uncategorized|Comments Off on The Big Give #ChristmasChallenge

Making Spirits Bright: Santa’s Grotto Launch Brings Joy and Support for Helen Arkell Students

Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity and children from surrounding local schools welcomed Santa and his team of elves to Squires Garden Centre, Badshot Lea, to help cut the ribbon and launch the opening of Santa’s Grotto for 2025!

Children who have benefited from the services of Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity joined from Potters Gate School in Farnham and William Cobbett School Farnham and were the first to meet Father Christmas and his helpers! Each child visited Santa and everyone came away with a special gift.

Squires Garden Centre, Badshot Lea, have chosen Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity as their Charity of the Year this year, and we are thrilled to have their support. As part of this, £1 from every ticket sold for Santa’s Grotto will be donated to Helen Arkell in the New Year. These funds will help us provide life-changing support to more people with dyslexia.

Santa’s Grotto is open until 4pm on Christmas Eve, so there’s lots of time to book your place and visit before Christmas!

To make a booking, please visit their website here. 

 

By |2025-11-25T15:20:34+00:00November 25th, 2025|Fundraising news, Homepage featured, Latest news, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Making Spirits Bright: Santa’s Grotto Launch Brings Joy and Support for Helen Arkell Students

Congratulations Caroline!

Congratulations to our amazing supporter Caroline who successfully completed the New York Marathon earlier this month, raising funds for dyslexia awareness.
This is the second time Caroline has run the marathon, both for ourselves and The Children’s Dyslexia Center of New Jersey.
Caroline completed the course in 4 hours and 47 minutes, inspired by her son George, who is thriving thanks to the support of specialist charities.
And as if one marathon wasn’t enough, Caroline is doing it all again (this side of the pond!) running the London Marathon in April 2026, for Helen Arkell.
She’s truly inspiring!
Read her full story and support her fundraising here 👇
Inspired by Caroline’s story? Take on a challenge for dyslexia!
Visit our events page to find a challenge!
By |2025-11-14T15:07:36+00:00November 14th, 2025|Fundraising news, Homepage featured, Latest news, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Congratulations Caroline!

Fancy taking on one of the top marathons in 2026?

We are excited to invite you to take part in three fantastic events, helping to raise funds for Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity while enjoying the spectacular views these cities have to offer. Whether you want to take on the UK’s second largest marathon or explore a scenic city route abroad , the choice is yours!

 

    Manchester Marathon 

The adidas Manchester Marathon, is an iconic event drawing participants from all over the world to the vibrant streets of Greater Manchester

When:  19th April 2026

Register Now! Button

 

 

Paris Marathon

Now one of the biggest marathons in the world, The Schnieder Electric Paris Marathon showcases some of the most beautiful landmarks of the city, passing Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.

When: 12th April 2026

Register Now! Button

 

Brighton Marathon

One of the UK’s favourite marathons through the vibrant streets of Brighton, finishing on the seafront. Brighton marathon weekend has a great atmosphere and includes an exhibition as well as other race distances over the weekend.

When: 12th April

Register Now! Button

Help make a difference to the lives of people with dyslexia and sign up today!

 

By |2025-07-10T16:25:44+01:00June 26th, 2025|Fundraising news, Homepage featured, Latest news|Comments Off on Fancy taking on one of the top marathons in 2026?

Seen the Unseen: Celebrating Dyslexia Through Ceramics

A powerful new ceramic installation celebrating the achievements and lived experiences of people with dyslexia is now on display at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity in Farnham. The artwork, titled Seen the Unseen, is the culmination of a collaborative October Half Term project led by UCA Surrey Galleries, in association with Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity and ceramic specialists 318 Ceramics.

Funded by Farnham Town Council’s holiday grants scheme, the project brought together local families, students, and friends for a week of creative workshops from 28 October to 1 November 2024. Over the course of five sessions held at UCA, Helen Arkell, and 318 Ceramics, participants crafted a series of colourful clay discs, each textured with personal marks and imprinted with the names and occupations of people with dyslexia. These people ranged from famous individuals to people who attended the workshop and even their friends and family.

Some discs were intentionally left blank, representing the many individuals whose dyslexia remains undiagnosed or hidden. The final wall-hung artwork is both vibrant and thought-provoking, sparking conversations about the visibility of invisible differences.

Hazel Radnor, Head of Fundraising at Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity, said:
“This beautiful piece is not only a celebration of creativity but also a meaningful statement about recognition, inclusion, and pride in difference. We’re thrilled to host it and deeply grateful to our partners and the Farnham community.”

The installation was unveiled with a visit from the Mayor of Farnham, who joined representatives from UCA, 318 Ceramics, and the Helen Arkell team to mark the occasion.

Workshop facilitators Kathy Mason and Sian Van Driel from 318 Ceramics brought expert guidance and encouragement throughout the sessions, ensuring each piece was both meaningful and beautifully crafted.

By |2025-09-08T15:54:45+01:00June 24th, 2025|Homepage featured|Comments Off on Seen the Unseen: Celebrating Dyslexia Through Ceramics

Congratulations to our London Marathon team!

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing London Marathon 2025 runners!

Our incredible team of six conquered 26.2 miles, showing true grit, passion and determination every step of the way.

It was an uncomfortably hot, sunny day and we are totally in awe of their incredible achievement. It takes months of training though the winter months and is a huge commitment – we can’t thank Becky, Susie, Arthur, Matt, Katie and Emily enough!

As a team they have already raised over £16,000 and their efforts will make a real difference, helping children and adults with dyslexia get the vital support they need through Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity.

Click on their stories below to find out what led them to go the extra mile for Helen Arkell and how you can support them.

Rebecca is running the London Marathon 2025
Susie is running the London Marathon
Matthew is running the London Marathon
Katie is running the London Marathon
Arthur is running the London Marathon
Emily is running the London Marathon
By |2025-04-28T15:47:08+01:00April 28th, 2025|Fundraising news, Homepage featured|Comments Off on Congratulations to our London Marathon team!

New! Personalised learning 1-2-1 tuition in the summer holidays

We have summer dates for our personalised learning one-to-one tuition sessions!

Book as many or as few as you like and give your child a boost in study skills, literacy, writing, spelling and memory and learning techniques. Maths sessions are also available.

Find out more.

By |2024-07-23T16:31:05+01:00May 28th, 2024|Course news, Homepage featured|Comments Off on New! Personalised learning 1-2-1 tuition in the summer holidays

Lower price for our Study Skills download

With exams fast approaching, we are determined that you should be studying smarter, not harder! So we have reduced the price of our Study Skills and Strategies for GCSEs and A Levels download by 30% to just £45.

The two-hour video is packed full of tips, strategies and ideas to help learning and revising more effective.

Find out more here.

By |2024-07-23T16:31:27+01:00May 14th, 2024|Course news, Homepage featured|Comments Off on Lower price for our Study Skills download

Come and see us at the Dyslexia Show 2024!

NEC, Birmingham

Friday 15 March to Saturday 16 March

Once again, we are delighted that the Helen Arkell team will be there at this national exhibition dedicated entirely to dyslexia.

The Dyslexia Show is open to all and focuses on awareness and understanding of dyslexia in education, parenting and the workplace.

The line-up

CEO Andy Cook will be a panellist in the Keynote Theatre at 10:15 on Friday alongside friends and colleagues from Patoss, British Dyslexia Association and Nasen. Book here.

Claire Harvey, Head of Education here at Helen Arkell, will be speaking at 11 on Friday, giving a talk entitled: Gaining reading accuracy and fluency: Why is it so tricky and what can we do to help? Book here.

Rachael McMullen, our Head of Dyslexia Support, and Thea Andrews, our Shop Assistant and Administrator, will be on our stand – Stand C302 – and looking forward to meeting people.

Do pop and see us if you are coming along!

For more details and to book your place, see the Dyslexia Show website.

By |2024-07-23T16:35:13+01:00March 4th, 2024|Homepage featured|Comments Off on Come and see us at the Dyslexia Show 2024!

Research into role of emojis in reading comprehension

Lorena is an MSc student at Regent’s University, London. She is undertaking a study exploring the role of emojis and emoticons in reading comprehension of participants with and without dyslexia. If you are over 18 years old and have 15 minutes free, please consider participating in her research by following this link: https://regents.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eEUeoVgXPzVexnw

Thank you!

By |2024-07-23T16:45:41+01:00May 26th, 2023|Homepage featured|Comments Off on Research into role of emojis in reading comprehension
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