WHAT’S AT STAKE THIS YEAR

From September, three vital sessions are at risk. We’re raising money to save all three, one at a time, in the order below.

As soon as we hit the first target, that session is safe and we move on to the next. We’ll update this page each time we reach a milestone, so you can watch the gates stay open one by one. Every donation moves us to the next goal.

The order isn’t random. We’re starting with the sessions that reach the most children and protecting our youngest first, then working through to our older young people. Whatever we raise, the children at the top of this list are safe.

First: Tuesdays and Wednesdays after-school will close.

From September, both Stockwell Adventure Playground and Bolton Crescent Adventure Playground will have to open Thursday–Saturday only.

The children who come on Tuesdays and Wednesdays will have nowhere else to go.

£17,584 keeps the gates open at both sites five days a week.

Second: Friday Night Youth Club will close.

No parent wants their teenager on the streets on a Friday night. These free sessions led by young people aged 13+ at Stockwell Adventure Playground help keep them safe. They can take part in fun social activities, make friends and learn new skills.

From September they will close.

£14,258 keeps Friday nights alive.

Finally: Tuesday Pit Stop will close.

Every Tuesday, young people decide what support they need and have access to one-to-one mentoring whilst developing new skills at Stockwell Adventure Playground. Building trusted relationships with adults, confidence, gaining skills, accessing advice, information and guidance whilst getting support with issues at home or at school. This combination of support can help keep them safe and open up new doors for them.

From September they will close.

£14,558 keeps Tuesday Pit Stop running.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Every donation goes directly to keeping the gates open, to direct costs only: youth and playworkers, utilities, food and materials for sessions. Here is what your gift makes possible:

£5 A hot meal for five children who may not eat anything else today.

£9 One child’s place at after-school, for a week. One safe place to be.

£31 The training and tools that make Tuesday Pit Stop possible for 10 young people.

£62 Nationally recognised AQA awards and workshop materials for 20 young people who deserve qualifications to show for their skills.

£183 One after-school session for 20 children. The gate open, the playground alive.

£238 One child, twice a week, for three months. Consistency. Belonging. Someone who knows their name.

£594 20 young people safe on a Friday night. Off the streets, inside, with people who care.

£1,465 Tuesdays and Wednesdays after-school at Stockwell for a full month. The gate stays open.

£4,753 Tuesday Pit Stop and Friday Night Youth Club running for one month. September kept alive.

THE CHILDREN WE WORK WITH

The children and young people who come here are Lambeth children. They know these streets, these estates, these schools. Many are dealing with things that would floor most adults, but you wouldn’t always know it when you watch them on the karting track or flying across the adventure playground.

65% are at risk of school exclusion. 50% are at risk of gang involvement. 65% have poor mental health and many miss out on healthy meals regularly. But here they’re just kids. Here their families can get the help and support they need, whatever is happening at home. A home away from home.

Ella came to us aged seven. Quiet, watchful, taking everything in. She’d never tried cricket, never been skating. Staff found skates from their own homes so she could have a go. She’s raring to start secondary school. You should see how confident and self-assured she is now.

THANK YOU

In 2024, 733 of you did something extraordinary. You gave £119,000 to save a place you believed in. You shared the link on WhatsApp, at school gates, in community groups. Some of you gave even though times were tough.

You didn’t have to do any of that. But you did. Every child who walked through these gates since then walked through because of you. After-school, on weekends, in summer. Every moment a young person felt safe here, you created that. We are still here because you refused to let us go.

733 people gave last time and saved Oasisplay. Be one of them again. Help keep the gates open.

WHAT YOUR SUPPORT MADE POSSIBLE

We worked hard with every penny you gave. We submitted over 45 grant applications, kept holiday services running and even reopened the Nature Garden, all on a shoestring. BBC Radio 4 came to tell our story.

But we are facing cuts again this September. This is one of the hardest times the charity sector has faced in decades. Funding is scarce. Many funders are still recovering from giving heavily during Covid. Costs keep rising. Government support keeps shrinking. Good charities are cutting vital services all the time. We refuse to be one of them.

We have plans to build a more sustainable future, one that keeps Oasis open for the 1,000+ children and young people who come through our doors every year. But right now we have a gap that needs filling before September and we are asking you to help us close it.

BECOME A FRIEND OF OASISPLAY

Want to support Oasis every month, not just today? Give what you can every month to help keep the gates open for the next 50 years.

In return you’ll get regular updates on our work, a personal letter from our Director three times a year, and a standing invitation to come and see the place for yourself.

Monthly giving means we can plan ahead. Not just survive.

You can support us here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/friendsofoasisplay

WHO WE ARE

Oasisplay has been part of Lambeth for over 50 years. Four free, open-access sites: Stockwell Adventure Playground, Bolton Crescent Adventure Playground, the Right Track youth-led karting track, and our Nature Garden.

No referral. No waiting list. No means test. Just open.

We welcome 1,000–1,500 children and young people every year. In summer, some queue a couple of hours before opening, just to make sure they get in.