I am mum to Kitty who is 23 and has cerebral palsy at the severe end of the spectrum. She is non-verbal, a full-time wheelchair-user, tube-fed and reliant on others for all aspects of her care. She is bright, engaging and happy. Building for the Future was set up in 2007 by a group of us mums of disabled children with the aim of raising enough money to open a community centre for our children and others like them. Happily this dream was realised in 2014 when Our House was opened by the then Earl and Countess of Wessex, in Wokingham. Today, well over 500 local families access our numerous services for disabled children and others visit our centre from far and wide. We are now working hard to open a new, bigger and better centre to not only continue to serve our growing number of visitors but also from which to run our expanding service for young, disabled adults who have left full-time education. 

Jane Holmes

CEO of Building for the Future

Melissa Paulden is a Mum to two beautiful daughters and a proud Meme to her spirited 4-year-old grandson. As a parent of a young woman with Cerebral Palsy, Melissa knows firsthand the joys and deep challenges of caring for someone with complex needs. When her eldest was just starting school and she was pregnant with her second child, her husband lost his eyesight. Suddenly, even more weight came crashing down on her shoulders. 

For decades, Melissa went into 'fight or flight'  mode - putting her family first — and herself last — running on stress, little sleep, and survival-mode habits like smoking, drinking, and emotional eating. Now in her 50s, Melissa is rewriting that story. After a breast cancer diagnosis in late 2023 — caught early and successfully treated, thankfully — Melissa wants to help carers like her to prioritise their own health and wellbeing - and Take Care of themselves whilst they are caring for others.