The last 40 years have seen many changes in the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families. We’ve seen the closure of the long stay hospitals – including Lea Castle, where BILD was founded – the introduction of person centred approaches and local support for people in their own community.
From the start, BILD recognised the importance of listening to the experiences of people with learning disabilities, and their families.
Their voices, heard through advocacy, have given people with learning disabilities much more choice and control in their lives, and ensured greater involvement.
Build for the Future is a group of over 30 people from seven advocacy organisations. They work with BILD to make sure that BILD’s work is rooted in the real life experiences of people with learning disabilities.
The organisations are:
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Somerset Advocacy
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Taking Part, Shropshire
- Taking Part Telford and Wrekin
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Our Way, Worcestershire
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Options for Life, Walsall
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Culture Speak Out, Coventry
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Speaking Up for Action, Sheffield
They meet with BILD four times a year to share their experiences and discuss important issues or respond to Government consultations. You can read more about their work on the BILD and Advocacy pages.
BILD receives no funding from Government and relies on income from our services and donations to cover our costs and ensure our work continues.
We are asking people to show their support for our work by making a donation toward the costs of running Build for the Future and to grow it so more people can participate. You can do this by:
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Making a donation
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Setting up a regular monthly donation, from £4 a month to £40 a month. Whatever you can afford will make a real difference
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If you have thought about making a will or leaving a legacy please talk to us about this – we can arrange for your gift to make a specific project or initiative happen
To make a donation you can call 01562 723013 to make a donation by phone or to set up a regular monthly payment.
If you would like to talk to someone about making a will or leaving a legacy or to talk about what specifically your donation could fund, please call me on 01562 723010 or email a.chivers@bild.org.uk
We thank you so much for your support and we look forward to meeting you on the journey to come.
Ann Chivers
BILD Chief Executive
If you'd like to support us in our work, why don't you join BILD? You can join online on this website. You will also get to be constantly updated with all that's going on in learning disabilities.
Have a look at our pages about our events and training, publications and journals and our qualifications service that makes sure those working to support people have the training and qualifications to do it in the right way.
We also develop policy, particularly in turning policies on paper into practical support and we offer consultancy services on a wide range of issues.
Do you know that if you buy a BILD book from a bookshop 35% of the price of the book goes to the bookshop, not to BILD? But if you buy the book from our website or by telephoning our distributors direct, then that money goes to BILD instead.
