A long-standing partnership built on community spirit and striving for the best for autistic young people with complex needs was celebrated earlier this month.

Newbury Building Society colleagues visited our site to mark another successful year of fundraising in support of Prior’s Court. The building society’s Hungerford and Thatcham branches continued their long-standing support in 2025, presenting a donation of £2,898.37 towards our Play Equipment Appeal during a visit on Friday, 19 December.

Representatives from the Newbury Building Society (NBS) team – Matt Wilding, Branch Manager, Kellie Martinez, NBS Charity Champion, and Sammie Boon from the group's marketing team – joined young people, their families and Prior's Court staff members for our annual Christmas Carol Concert and visited our bakery's stall outside the Piper Arts Centre to pick up some tasty bakes. The trio then spent time exploring one of our soon-to-open new sensory rooms built in two of our younger residential homes.

The space was partially funded by Newbury Building Society as part of its 2024 fundraising efforts, giving them the opportunity to see first-hand the impact of their ongoing support on young people’s learning and wellbeing.

The donation of £2,898.37 was raised throughout 2025 through Newbury Building Society’s Members Charity Account, alongside a range of staff-led fundraising events across the Hungerford and Thatcham branches. These included a stall at the Hungerford Extravaganza, the Thatcham Family Fun Day, and additional staff-organised activities held throughout the year.

Aimée Kavanagh, Community and Corporate Fundraising Lead at Prior’s Court, said:

We are incredibly grateful to Newbury Building Society and their customers for their continued generosity and commitment to Prior’s Court. The funds raised through their branches and Members Charity Account will make a real difference, helping us create play spaces where our young people can feel safe, supported and free to enjoy being themselves. This latest donation marks eight years of partnership and dedicated support from Newbury Building Society, whose teams have consistently championed Prior’s Court through fundraising, volunteering and advocacy.

Looking ahead, Newbury Building Society has confirmed its intention to continue supporting Prior’s Court into 2026. Plans are already in place to welcome colleagues back onto site for volunteering activities, and to celebrate Newbury Building Society’s 40th anniversary together next year, further strengthening our partnership rooted in community engagement and long-term positive impact.

Matt said: 

Thank you to Aimee and all at Prior’s Court for allowing us to visit once more and see first hand some of the fun Christmas activities you put on this time of year. It really brings it home when we can see firsthand where our donations are going and how incredibly important the Sensory Room in particular is. These types of things are clearly so vital and it is amazing that we have been able to help in some small way to fund these. With our new larger team at Hungerford we are aiming to run even more events in 2026, and what with our 40th birthday celebrations hope to be returning next year with an even larger cheque! Maybe we’ll even be able to join in with a Christmas Carol at next year's concert!

What the Play Equipment Appeal is about

Accessing and enjoying play is an important part of life for all children, young people and adults. For autistic young people with complex needs, play is not only important for enjoyment, but also for regulation, managing sensory needs and developing fine motor skills.

Through the Play Equipment Appeal, we are fundraising to improve and expand our play equipment, ensuring more young people can access and benefit from a range of fun, engaging and inclusive apparatus designed around their individual needs.

Donate to our Play Equipment Appeal