The Icon Foundation makes £5,000 donation to Freefalling

The Icon Foundation, a non-profit entity entirely funded by Icon Solutions and used for donations to good causes, is pleased to announce that it has made a £5,000 donation to Freefalling, Polka Theatre’s free drama programme for children experiencing challenging circumstances at school or at home.

Running since 2006, Freefalling is open to children between the ages of 9 and 11 who live in the borough of Merton. Children are referred to the project by schools and other agencies working with children and families. It offers children the opportunity to develop new skills, confidence and teamwork with an experienced team of theatre professionals.

The project is attended by 15 children who will, across two terms of weekly provision and a week-long summer project, develop the skills and ideas that will ultimately lead to the production of a new play on the main stage at Polka for an invited audience of family and friends.

Upon completing the project, participants are encouraged to continue their involvement with the theatre and Polka finds new projects for young people to attend.

Freefalling has become a well-respected and popular project for schools who have recognised that consistent engagement with Freefalling can lead to improvements in a child’s social confidence, creative thinking and academic achievement. A head teacher who has regularly referred pupils to the project said: “I cannot speak too highly of the ‘Freefalling’ project that has been run by the Polka Theatre.

“So far I have referred several children to the project. Without exception, all have benefitted hugely from being able to take part in the project.  They have all engaged more with their school work, leading to distinct improvements in their reading and writing skills. They all have also grown in self confidence and have been better able to cope with, for example, friendship issues at school or with the difficulties they are experiencing in their home situations.”

Ben Hallifax, Icon’s Operations Director, said: “At Icon we believe the we’re not only measured by the success of our projects but also by the contribution we make to society.  We feel strongly in supporting smaller charities where we have a personal connection and where we feel we can make a real difference.

“As Icon is based in Wimbledon, we’re particularly interested in initiatives which benefit our local community and we’re delighted to support a worthy cause like Freefalling.”

To find out more about Polka Theatre’s Freefalling programme, or to make a donation, please visit www.polkatheatre.com/editorial/freefalling.