A sensory room at Wirral’s state-of-the-art The Hive Youth Zone has been transformed thanks to the generosity of B&M Waste Services, which has donated thousands of pounds worth of specialist equipment to the Birkenhead-based facility.
Wirral-headquartered B&M Waste Services is a founder patron of The Hive and, along with other patrons, makes a valuable contribution towards the Youth Zone’s annual running costs. The donation of equipment for the facility’s sensory room is the latest show of support from B&M, which has previously raised awareness of The Hive via branding on its vehicles and provided work experience opportunities for the Youth Zone’s young Members.
Sensory room equipment donated by B&M includes bubble tubes, fibre optic lights, projectors, a mirror ball and an interactive sensory floor. The room will help young people with a wide range of disabilities and additional needs.
It will be used to support individuals with autism and sensory processing disorders and will enable The Hive to enhance the sessions it delivers for young people on the autistic spectrum. Offering a relaxing break-out space for Hive Members, the sensory space will also provide young people with a place to go when they first arrive at The Youth Zone, if they require some time to become accustomed to the environment.
Dougy Oliver, Inclusion Manager at The Hive said, “Having recently achieved our Autism Champions status, this newly-equipped room is a fantastic addition to the facilities at The Hive and will massively enhance our offer to young people with disabilities and additional needs – including those on the autistic spectrum. It will also function as a break-out space for young people who suffer from anxiety, offering a calm, relaxing environment where we can help individuals to develop a greater sense of self-awareness. We are enormously grateful to B&M Waste Services for helping us to make positive difference to the lives of our young Members.”
Ken Curtis, Chairman of B&M Waste Services, commented; “We’re so pleased to support such a fantastic project for a truly outstanding organisation. We believe in giving back to our local community and the sensory room at The Hive will have a hugely positive impact.”
Director at B&M Waste, David Curtis, added; “As soon as we heard about the sensory room plans for The Hive, we knew we wanted to offer our support. Seeing it come to life has been wonderful and has completely exceeded our expectations.”
The Hive recently celebrated its first anniversary after opening in April 2017 with the aim of providing young people on Wirral with somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to. Part of the OnSide Youth Zone network, The Hive now caters to thousands of Members, aged between 8 – 19, and up to 25 for those with disabilities.