Why support us?
We build long lasting relationship with our Hansel supporters
What we do
Hansel assists people with additional support needs, and their families, to make the most of life each and every day by providing a wide range of services and activities.
Our approach is to deliver the right support for an individual to feel empowered, to find their voice, and experience equality, choice, dignity and respect. Our aim is to give each individual we support the freedom to be heard, freedom of choice and the freedom to live the life they choose.
How we are funded and what we fundraise for
The Hansel Group is made up of two charity organisations, Hansel Foundation and Hansel Alliance and both are governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
Hansel Foundation is the parent charitable company responsible for setting strategic direction for the organisation as well as managing the development of new initiatives, such as capital projects, and corporate services including fundraising and communication activities.
Hansel Alliance delivers our care and support services, employing over 400 staff, and works in partnership with local authorities, healthcare organisations, and the employability sector.
Public sector revenue funding to deliver care and support services is provided to Hansel Alliance through health and social care partnership contracts. Some customers access Hansel Alliance services utilising private funds, or personal Self-Directed Support budgets.
Hansel Foundation and Hansel Alliance work hand in hand to identify our strategic aims and set out what our fundraising activities will be to help us achieve them. In order to deliver new projects and services, Hansel Foundation engages in fundraising activity both from our valued supporters within our community and also from grant making bodies, including charitable trust funders.
We build long lasting relationships with our supporters and are indebted to everyone who chooses to support Hansel, helping us to personalise care and support opportunities to give each person we assist the freedom to live.
Hansel Freedom To Live Fund
As part of Scottish Learning Disability Week 2026, we were delighted to launch the Hansel Freedom To Live Fund which will provide funding for activities to benefit the people we support to shape, design and have control of projects and activities that achieve their goals whilst having fun and bringing to life our organisational values of Respect, Trust, Team Working, Continuous Improvement and Inclusion.
Funds will be raised from Hansel fundraising events, funding applications, individuals who wish to donate to this initiative along with local organisations who may offer their support.
Applications for funding can be made by the people we support, or their support team on their behalf, and will be considered on a regular basis. When an application is funded, the relevant Service is then awarded the funding to organise the activity and share an outcome story afterwards.
There will be many great projects and activities that the people we support may wish to apply for funding for. Examples could be attending a weekly music group or learning a new skill.
Any donation, big or small is greatly appreciated and will help us deliver more projects and activities to benefit the people we support. You can make a donation by clicking the link below.
Donate to the Freedom To Live FundFundraising Projects
The Cabin New Minibus Appeal
The Cabin is a seven-bedroom home from home where guests can enjoy week long breaks tailored to their interests and support needs. The Respite team involve guests in every aspect of their short break and we pride ourselves in offering quality hospitality with lots of fun. With over 60 years of experience we can accommodate a wide range of support needs which means we are a “go to place” for many families and social workers.
The service is used by 122 families and supports over 1000 short breaks each year. The minibus is a central part of each guest’s stay as it is used for social outings (favourite trips include to the beach, cinema, ten pin bowling and to restaurants/the pub), to take to medical appointments and to collect/drop off guests. It’s used on average three times a day but with over 144,000 miles on the clock it was beginning to show signs that it was needing replaced and was often “off the road”. This meant that the respite service has to borrow a minibus from another service, leaving that service without. The borrowed vehicle didn't have the same number of seats which meant that less people could be taken out.
We needed to raise £44.995 to be able to purchase a new wheelchair adapted minibus and in early 2026 we started our fundraising journey.
Thank to the generous support of individuals and grant giving organisations we were delighted to reach our fundraising target in August 2026.
Every donation was appreciated and helped us along the way to our target - thank you to everyone who donated and helped us to get back on the road again!
The new minibus has been ordered and should be with us very soon.
Fundraising Projects
Courtyard House 5 Bathroom Renovation Appeal
House 5 in the Courtyard forms part of the residential accommodation at Hansel. It is home to four residents who all enjoy living together in the small group living accommodation with support on hand 24/7.
House 5 has been home to the residents for many years with the most recent person moving in in 2020 with another living here for over 25 years. Hansel is most certainly home to each and every one of them. They take pride in their home and have each decorated their individual bedroom they way they want it. However, there was one part of the house that was badly letting them down. The bathroom.
The accommodation was opened in 2000 and it’s fair to say that the bathroom hadn’t been updated since then. The layout of the room had become less practical, the bathroom fittings were showing signs of age and the specialist accessible bath was rusting and breaking down. There was no shower facility so when the bathing facilities broke down, there was no other washing facility within the house. This was a big challenge for the residents and the support team who care for them as it meant a trip to the neighbouring houses to use their bathrooms.
We needed to raise a total of £32,000 to fully renovate and upgrade the bathroom. We’re didn't want to just replace like for like. We wanted to go better and provide our residents with the choice of having a bath or a shower. We wanted to replace the current 20+ year old Arjo bath with a modern replacement that would be reliable. We wanted to make the space accessible and useable for both our residents and team members.
In 2025 we embarked on the Courtyard House 5 Bathroom Renovation Appeal to raise the funds needed to fully renovate the bathroom. The work has now been completed, thanks to the generous donations made to the appeal.
The financial support received meant we were able to replace the accessible bath with a new one, purchase an accessible bath chair and also add a shower. The whole space looks fantastic and everyone is over the moon with the new bathroom.
We are truly grateful to everyone who supported the appeal - thank you for making such a great difference to the lives of the people we support.
Fundraising Projects
Wilson House Refurbishment Appeal
Wilson House is part of our Small Group Living Service at Hansel and since opening in November 1996 has been a home to many people living with additional support needs who just need that extra bit of help.
Wilson House is also a community. The people who live here get to know one another and build friendships which last for many years. We support people of all abilities and strive to give them the freedom to live their life the way that they wish. This can be a challenge, especially for those who struggle with their mobility and to make this easier for people we embarked on the Wilson House Refurbishment Appeal in 2019 to raise £60,300 to make some improvements to the bath/shower rooms and lounges within Wilson House which would make life that bit easier for our residents.
Local businessman, Tom Middleton, of Caledonia Windows got behind the appeal by upgrading the patio doors in our lounges. Donations from our generous supporters allowed us to upgrade our windows, install accessible baths, redecorate our lounges and purchase new sofas for everyone to enjoy.
A huge thank you to all our supporters who donated to the Wilson House Refurbishment Appeal.