Cottsway staff raise thousands for local families’ mental health charity

A small group of staff raised funds over the past year through events such as raffles, quiz nights and cake sales, supported by colleagues across the organisaton who have dug deep to donate.

APCAM started as a drop-in parent clinic at Carterton Town Hall in 2017 and has now expanded to offer bookable sessions with an on-site psychotherapist, in-school training, Mental Health First Aid Training and therapies for children.

Lauren Ridley, Chair of Trustees and volunteer parent support worker at APCAM, which is now based in The Allandale Centre in Carterton, said: “APCAM was founded out of necessity; the community needed support, advice and a safe space. We know this because we are that community.

“As parents of children who have mental health struggles ourselves, we fully understand the complexities it can bring, the emotions experienced, and the confusion often felt. We recognised the need for a safe space, so we built one ourselves.

“Without the support of local organisations, individuals and grants, we wouldn’t be able to continue running. The £8,000 raised by Cottsway staff will enable us to run 200 one-to-one sessions, equivalent to supporting eight more young people for a whole year  - this is fantastic, and we are extremely grateful to everyone at Cottsway.”

Cottsway is West Oxfordshire’s largest social housing provider and, as well as providing almost 5,800 homes for affordable rent and shared ownership to over 12,000 customers, we also work to bring social value to the communities we serve. 

Our staff run a ‘Charity Committee’ and volunteer to fundraise for a different charity each year. Colleagues across the organisation are given the chance to suggest charities and vote for who they would like to support.

Sobell House, which provides palliative and end-of-life care to support people in Oxfordshire, has recently been chosen as the charity for 2025-26.

Rupert Welply, Chair of the our staff charity committee during 2024-25, said: “As we work with local residents who live in Cottsway homes, as well as the communities they live in, staff really appreciate the support that charities and organisations like APCAM provide. Our colleagues have been generous with their support and it’s things like this that make Cottsway more than a housing association providing bricks and mortar. It gives us satisfaction knowing that we’re supporting people and communities.”

Mum-of-five Cassandra, who started attending APCAM in 2021 for support with her son, who has additional needs, says ‘they are life-savers’, while mum-of-three Chloe said: “I was referred to the service by my daughter’s primary school and APCAM have helped me navigate through everything to do with my daughter and also my older son.

"Knowing we are not on our own, and to have the support from the local community like Cottsway, means a lot. It is a lifeline."

APCAM was also among 14 community projects in 2024-25 to receive a share of our £30,000 Community Fund, which is offered to support the work people, charities and voluntary groups do in local communities.

For more information, see: Community Fund