News & Blog
Here you’ll find the latest news from Challengers and blog posts from our community.
Wood Street Jazz Festival – Q&A with Marianne
With our legendary Wood Street Jazz Festival coming up soon on Sunday 19 July, we caught up with Marianne Windham, Chair of Guildford Jazz – which Challengers hosts the event in partnership with – for a Q&A on all things Jazz Fest.
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Meet the Maker: The Story Behind Challengers’ Much-Loved Gnomes
You may remember our lovely gnomes Colin and Helen, which we have announced earlier in the year. From their distinctive orange design to the careful craftsmanship that goes into each one, these gnomes are more than just decorations – they are helping to make a difference for disabled children and young people. We caught up with Julie, the artist behind the gnomes, to talk about where the idea came from, what inspires her work, and why supporting Challengers is so important to her.
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Celebrating the Power of Community at Our Guildford Open Day
There was a wonderful sense of community in the air on Saturday morning as volunteers, supporters, families and friends gathered at our Guildford centre for our Community Open Day.
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Meet our 2026 London Marathon Team!
This year, we are excited to introduce our 9 outstanding runners supporting Challengers at the London Marathon! Team Orange will be raising essential funds, transforming the lives of disabled young people and their families through the power of play. Our amazing runners have already raised over £16,000 and we hope you can help them reach their goals before the big day!
Now, get inspired and meet our amazing London Marathon team of 2026…
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Challengers CEO, Gen Dearman comments on House of Commons SEND debate
The SEND debate in the House of Commons, led by Greg Stafford, MP for Farnham, was a welcome and important […]
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Challengers CEO, Gen Dearman speaks with BBC Radio Surrey on the Government’s Schools White Paper
The UK government’s white paper “Every child achieving and thriving”, published by the Department for Education this week, sets out a comprehensive vision and reform plan for England’s schools system, with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at its heart.
Gen Dearman, Challengers’ CEO, was invited to speak on BBC Radio Surrey earlier this week to discuss what the white paper means for children with SEND and their parents.
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A Season of Giving: Oscar Raises Funds for Challengers
Just recently, 11-year-old Oscar turned a simple, Christmas craft activity into something special. Inspired after walking past our Guildford centre, and remembering what we do, Oscar created handmade, light-up twine stars to raise money for Challengers!
We absolutely had to find out more so caught up with Oscar to talk about how the idea came to life, what he learned along the way, and why he’s already planning his next fundraiser.
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Smiles All Round: Welcoming Ed Davey and Zoe Franklin to Challengers
On Friday 23 January the 555 Guildford team were thrilled to welcome two very important visitors for a morning of baking and play.
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Challengers announces the appointment of four new Trustees
We are delighted to announce four new Trustees to the Challengers Board of Trustees – Ashley Carter, Holly Goodwin, Dr Ruth Milton and David Stam.
Each brings a wealth of experience that will play a vital role in guiding our strategic direction and ensuring we continue to deliver on our mission to transform the lives of disabled children, young people and their families through the power of play.
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