Before I start my report, I just want to take a moment to thank everyone, not just on the committee but within the membership for your love and support through what has been an extremely difficulty year for Laura and I, trust me when I say that without Little People UK we would not be pushing through as we are and Laura can not wait to be back here in person as soon as possible.
I’d also like to take a moment to appreciate the amazing job two very special people have done and continue to do for Little People UK, behind the scenes creating opportunities and networks to enable Little People UK to continue to grow. Our administrator and our vice chair continue to go above and beyond to make sure things run smoothly and new opportunities are created for our membership. They are of course Bec and Danielle. Right let’s get down to business.
What a year it’s been since we were here last. 2023-2024 has surpassed all my expectations of how Little People UK can support its membership and deliver on our aims:
- To ensure Little People are portrayed in a positive way
- To be an essential resource for little people and their families
- To offer friendship, advice and support to all little people
- To place emphasis on having fun at our events
These include holding our Celebration Event and Annual Convention where we get to catchup face-to-face. Zooming across the UK with our online mums and gardening group, as well as our youth Christmas and spring catchups. Thanks to our members’ hard work we have been able to take review of our website content and progress with our guidebooks which are massive in raising awareness of Little People UK.
Our committee have been busy meeting with:
- Tom Purseglove MP
- Police representatives regarding Hate Crime
- Victim Support representative to develop links
- MET representatives to discuss reporting pathways
- Continued Disability Partnership Board connections
And we even went the Senedd and spoke to the Welsh Parliament and distinguished guests on Dwarfism Awareness Day.
What can I say about you guys, our membership? Well maybe the fact we have had the best Dwarfism Awareness Month ever! You raised over £20,000 for Little People UK.
Little People UK was created for the membership, and we will continue to run for the membership.
So, what does the future of Little People UK look like, going into 2024-2025?
- We will continue partnerships and develop more
- Hold future events and introduce more regionals
- Attend Naidex and Motability Roadshow
- Undertake webinar and training for us and externals
- Source funding for employee and project costs
We as a committee want to push Little People UK forward and we can only do that with your support, we are only 8 members, and we have a membership of over 200 and counting. We need your help to deliver everything, so if you have a skill, let us know and if you’re unsure I’m sure Bec and Danielle can help.