Ilkley family reveals reason for backing carnival charity AWARE

Here Sharon reveals why she chose to sponsor the event for very personal reasons:

The Ilkley Carnival was not only a chance to celebrate our daughter Sienna’s fifth birthday, but also an opportunity to support a cause close to our hearts.

My husband Dave and I, along with our two children, Harriet, 13, and Sienna have been delighted to be part of such a significant community event. Living in Ilkley ourselves, this sponsorship holds a special meaning for our family.

When I learned that the organisers of the carnival had appointed AWARE, an autism charity, as this year’s beneficiary, I saw it as the perfect occasion to combine Sienna’s birthday celebration with raising awareness for autism.

Sienna, our youngest daughter, was recently diagnosed with autism, a development disability caused by differences in the brain, something that neither I nor Dave knew much about. As a family, we have spent time researching as well as gaining help from professionals to understand more about the condition. We also had not heard of AWARE and were comforted by knowing there were lots of other families in the area that are going through the same with their children.

Sharon and Sienna having fun at the carnival (Image: Sharon Olivero-Chapman)

After I arranged a meeting with AWARE’s Project Manager, Rachel Miller, I was blown away by all the work they do to not only help families with autistic children, but also helping and guiding parents equally.

AWARE, Airedale and Wharfedale Autism Resource is widely respected as an important stakeholder by both the local authority and the NHS to promote awareness and acceptance of autism. With 1,300 family members, AWARE offers parent support groups as well as a wide range of activities for children and young people.

By sponsoring the carnival, I feels we are doing a small but meaningful and worthy donation which can make a positive impact on both fronts.

We were thrilled to be a part of Ilkley’s most exciting event of the year. Not only was it a fantastic birthday celebration for our Sienna at the carnival itself, but it will also serve as a platform to raise awareness for autism, all while promoting our business locally, every aspect being very close to our hearts as a family and a business.

Sienna teaches us every day how she sees the world. We have learned to adapt to her needs and although I admit it has been a struggle at times, since Sienna is also non-verbal, she is the most gorgeous and cheeky little girl, with her unique ways, bouncy curly hair and big blue eyes, she is the absolute light of our lives. Watching her grow in her own little way is just incredible.

Sienna teaches us every day how she sees the world (Image: Sharon OIivero-Chapman)

She is so intelligent, even though she can’t get her words out, she knows exactly what is going on and knows exactly what she wants. After all, Einstein was autistic - Sienna truly is our little Einstein!

Her big sister Harriet, is absolutely amazing with her and has been such a great help in so many ways helping her little sister.

For me as a parent, I’d like people to understand that when they see a child having a meltdown in the supermarket or they don’t say hello back to you with eye contact, it doesn’t mean they are naughty or ignorant. Just stop and think for one second - this is just their way of dealing with our crazy outside world.

Autism has such a wide spectrum; every child is different. For example, our Sienna is okay with noise, whereas some autistic children need to wear ear defenders in loud environments. Some autistic children can speak perfectly well, and others are completely non-verbal.

There is so much to learn; as a family we are learning every day, but I also believe even people without autism in their family should have a basic understanding of this disability, I only wish I did.

Managing a portfolio of fully furnished, short-term let properties in the Ilkley area, I believe it’s important to have a small offering of serviced accommodation properties in each town. They serve the community offering a little more than a hotel can. We have a wide variety of guests staying in our properties, from holiday makers to families that may have sold their home but not yet bought another and need temporary accommodation. We also assist insurance companies in temporarily relocating clients that may have had a house fire or flood and need a place to live whilst works are carried out. Some families even benefit from a few nights stay if they have friends or family coming to stay and don’t have the room to host them. We serve all cases and scenarios.

The carnival, which was attended by around 15,000 people, was a fantastic day. We had such a wonderful time and really felt part of a beautiful community. It takes a lot of work to put together an event like this. I take my hats off to Colin Watson and the committee for taking time out of their own businesses to make this happen.

Crowds turned out for this year's Ilkley Carnival, which had a Mardi-Gras theme (Image: Suzanne Watson)

I’m sure most people won’t realise Ilkley Carnival is a not-for-profit event and the entire committee are volunteers. They’re passionate about the town; they work tirelessly to successfully execute one of the most well organised events in the UK.

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