2024 | mASCot

A review of mASCot 2024

As the year comes to a close, mASCot is thrilled to reflect on what has been an incredible and impactful 2024. Together, we’ve accomplished so much, grown stronger as a community, and set the stage for an even brighter 2025.

Membership Growth

This year, our membership has soared! With 300+ new members joining our community, we’re now stronger than ever. This growth is a testament to the vibrant, supportive network we’ve built together, a space where our autistic individuals and families thrive.

Fundraising Highlights

2024 has been a year of incredible generosity and teamwork. Our members and supporters have gone above and beyond to raise funds for mASCot.

Firstly a big thank you to all of our members who regularly donate to mASCot creating a very valued, steady contribution to the running of mASCot.
A heartfelt thank-you to Halo, who held a lovely summer singing session to raise funds for mASCot. Your talent and generosity made a huge impact!
Tina Gray, Ben Whitington, Anna Jones and others who completed marathons, donated to us for no other reason apart from wanting to say thank you or nominated mASCot for people to donate to instead of receiving flowers at their funeral, all these wonderful, selfless ways to support our cause, showing amazing dedication from amazing people.
The Co-op selected us as one of their fundraising charities of the year, bringing in well needed funds.
We secured smaller fundings from Tesco & Pebbles to help run our youth groups.
We also finished the year by received a substantial grant from the National Lottery, enabling us to sustain our projects.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped mASCot in 2024, whether through donations, time, or creative fundraising ideas!

Projects and Groups

Our projects have continued to flourish in 2024, providing spaces for connection, creativity, and support.

The Café has a new venue and is a wonderful community place for our over 16s to volunteer, learn skills and connect. Thank you Mimi & Monica 💚
Lego Club is a great place for all our creative youngsters to meet and play. Thank you Fauve 🧡
The Girls Group is going strong and providing a unique environment for out amazing autistic girls. Thank you Harriet 💚
The mASCot Coffee Club and meet-ups have been a hub for members to connect and share experiences. Thank you Sam, Barbs, Liz & Paula 💙
Our youth groups, including the Tuesday Club, Inbetweeners, and Teens+, have offered much-needed spaces for our young members to socialise and grow. A huge thanks to Jo & Mimi 💚 who have tirelessly worked to secure funding to keep these programs running strong.

Meanwhile, Mimi has been working hard training and offering her wonderful Soundbath Therapy sessions & therapies at reduced prices for our members. She continues to pursue collaborations like the silent disco, bringing innovative experiences to our community. Pride was also a big event again on the mASCot calendar with Mimi & Jo creating a safe space for out Teens and the BNC to hang out.

Jo has created an amazing community for our young ones to meet and be creative with the help of David Allison from Exploring Senses who works brilliantly with our kids. Jo also took a group of our families on a camping trip, fun times 😁

Behind the scenes, Sam and Paula have been tirelessly working to improve services for autistic individuals and families. They’ve been pushing local authorities and schools to better meet the needs of our community, ensuring that everyone is aware of what we need.

Sam has also continued her 1-1 Support Sessions and Coffee Clubs, which have been a lifeline for so many members. These vital services will continue in the new year. Sam is also constantly behind the scenes running the forum, website and the bulk of all the admin. She also took a group from the BNC camping and what a wonderful experience that was.

Adult Autistic Community

This year, the Brighton Neurodivergent Community has gone from strength to strength. With their membership reaching 200+, the group has provided incredible opportunities for connection and fun through activities like pub meets, sober nights, bowling, and game nights. Their dedication to building a strong, supportive adult autistic community in Brighton has been truly inspiring and is being recognised around Brighton as an important autism support network. Thank you Bill & Leigh 💚

The Heart of mASCot: Our Members

None of this would be possible without our amazing members. Whether answering questions, offering advice & guidance, or simply lending a listening ear, you’ve kept the forum alive with kindness, empathy, and understanding.

You’ve made mASCot the supportive community it is today.

Thank you mASCoteers 🧡

What’s ahead for 2025

mASCot’s Directors have been working this year to build a strong team of individuals to work alongside us Directors as Non-Executive Directors to make sure mASCot is running the best it can.

The aim is that this team will then become trustees when mASCot move towards charity status.

Thank you Stacey Musimbe-Rix, Liz Rowlands, Rachel Baker, Claire Rayner & Sarah Rogers for becoming part of the team 💚

This exciting step could open up new opportunities to expand our work and secure even more support for our members. Thank you Laura for coordinating this 💙

In 2025 we are going to be running more workshops including Legal help, themed topic discussions, Life experience talks.

Our groups and clubs will continue to run and hopefully more will be added.

As we look forward to 2025, we’re excited to continue growing, supporting one another, and advocating for better services and opportunities for our members. Thank you for being part of this journey—we couldn’t do it without you!

Here’s to another year of making a difference together.

Happy New Year from