At The Jolly Josh Centre they welcome children and young adults aged 0-19 who live with complex medical needs and physical disabilities. They are not just a Centre; they are a haven of safety, support, and inclusivity.
Their mission is simple: to provide a nurturing environment where children, their parents, caregivers, and siblings can thrive together. Through a range of play, social, and hydrotherapy-based sessions, Jolly Josh aims to enrich lives, foster connections, and empower everyone to reach their full potential.
The Jolly Josh Centre creates a community that embraces diversity, celebrates every achievement, and cherishes the journey of growth. Inclusion knows no bounds, and together they CONNECT, SUPPORT and THRIVE.
https://jollyjosh.co.uk/
It was in May 2024 that Liz Dodd, the Lead Fundraiser at Jolly Josh initially contacted me. She had been to Derian House Children’s Hospice several times with her poorly daughter and had enjoyed some special times together in their cinema room that we had installed in 2019. Sadly her daughter has now passed on but whilst at Derian House Liz met Carole Kelly, the founder of Jolly Josh. Carole and James set up Jolly Josh, ‘A place to call home’ one month after the passing of their son Joshua, in his memory.
On September 4th, on my way back from the cinema room opening at Robin House Children’s Hospice near Glasgow, I dropped into Rochdale and met with Liz, and some of the team at Jolly Josh. For me, it was an inspiring meeting, seeing how a small group of driven individuals make such a difference to so many families in the Rochdale area. Their level of care, cradling and inclusion was plain to see and I was emotionally drawn in, and wanted to help.
With so many installers within striking distance of Rochdale and the Greater Manchester area I was optimistic that we would find a suitable installer to take this installation on. However, I didn’t expect to confirm this until I actually started looking!
As all of us in our industry know EI Live! is a great trade show, and the networking opportunities are excellent. It was here, two weeks after our meeting that I found an installer who wanted to take this installation on. Very simply Majik House had already completed two installations for us and Jit Mistry, their Sales Director, spoke to me at the show and asked if we had any other installations that we needed an installer for. As Jolly Josh was so fresh in my mind I mentioned it to Jit and the rest, as they say, is history…, we had our installer!
There was only one area that could feasibly accommodate a cinema room style offering and this was a large multifunctional space that needed to remain multifunctional. With some limitations in design and the kind of equipment we could use it was clear that it was not possible to create a totally immersive cinema and gaming room experience. However, and with the expertise of Jit Mistry from Majik House and Darren Power from Powercom UK assisting, we could deliver an experience that was beyond the expectation of Liz and her colleagues at Jolly Josh.
To give the cinema room transformation feel, we wanted to provide one button control with excellent audio and a big screen. There were some challenges with this but with the backing of the industry we were able to secure all that we needed and deliver the one button transformation that we were looking to deliver to the families and their children.
The products specified had to be right for the job, and with high use expected, they needed to be ‘hardy’ and give a high quality result. Many of our regular donors stepped up to help and Majik House kindly donated the balance of the ‘installation consumables’.
All brands mentioned listed below were ‘ready, willing and able’ to donate the items that we needed to make this room happen. With a comprehensive and quality kit list there’s always the concern that we may struggle to make it happen, however, everyone we approached was keen to donate and as mentioned above, all that we had approached had donated several times in the past…
We are of course hugely grateful to all companies that donate to a Together For Cinema project but for Jolly Josh this is a real bonus that they a could never have afforded or imagined having. Thank you to all that donated and the kit list reads as follows…
Wednesday 19th March, 2025.
Thursday 20th March, 2025
To Be Confirmed
“Having being involved in 2 previous Together For Cinema projects, and seeing the difference it makes for the children and their families, I was always keen to help with another. With 2024 being busy and not having time to think about anything but work, when Ian and I met at EI Live! last October I was just interested to see how things were going. The topic of Jolly Josh came up and having lived in Rochdale for the last 25 years, I wanted to give something back to my local area and hence agreed to take the installation on.
I called my colleague Darren Power from Powercom UK, who also lives in Rochdale, and we arranged to visit Liz at Jolly Josh and put together a plan. We had to some challenges as the room had a sliding ceiling track for a hoist which landed where projector was to be situated, but with some accurate measuring and a low profile bracket, the system was install in 2 days as planned.
We were so pleased to be able to help and would urge others in our industry to do the same – it really is so rewarding…”
Jit Mistry, Sales Director, Majik House Ltd
A Magical Addition to Jolly Josh: Our New Cinema Screen
“We are absolutely thrilled to share the exciting journey of our brand-new cinema screen, a truly special gift made possible by the incredible generosity of Ian and Together for Cinema. Their support has enabled us to bring the magic of the big screen to Jolly Josh, creating a fully inclusive and immersive experience for the families we support.
A huge thank you also goes to the fabulous team at Majik House, whose expertise, time, and dedication have turned this vision into reality. Their skill in installing the state-of-the-art technology means that children with complex medical needs and physical disabilities can now enjoy films in comfort, surrounded by the care and facilities they need.
For many, a trip to the cinema can present many challenges—from inaccessible seating to a lack of changing facilities. But at Jolly Josh, families can now relax, watch movies, and make special memories together, knowing they have access to fully adapted seating, essential care spaces and changing facilities, and a warm, welcoming environment.
This cinema room is more than just a screen—it’s a space of joy, connection, inclusion, and shared experiences. We are so grateful to Together for Cinema and Majik House for making this dream a reality! Your generosity is changing lives! ????????.”
Liz Dodd, Lead Fundraiser, Jolly Josh
THANK YOU…, you have helped make a real difference at Jolly Josh in Rochdale, and in turn, have made a real difference to so many people’s lives.
We’re all aware that charities have to work very hard to secure the funding for most of their operational costs. With the comprehensive and considered cradling of a family through tough times, there is little monies left over for luxuries such as a cinema room.
For Jolly Josh this new cinema room is a wonderful addition to their facility and at a normal cost of around £16,000, is something that would not usually be considered as a possibility.
This was Together for Cinema’s 53rd good cause cinema room installation and helped take the Together for Cinema good cause community delivery to very nearly £1.4m worth of installations, had they all been paid for.
For Jit Mistry and the Majik House team, this was their third Together For Cinema installation and is a gift that Jolly Josh and their families will enjoy for many years to come. Be it movie time, gaming, karaoke, training, fundraising, the installation will be used and for many different purposes, all bringing joy and benefit to this wonderful cause. Most importantly of all, it will help cradle a families journey and create some happy moments and memories.
Thank you again to Majik House, and of course for the assistance from Darren Power of Powercom UK, for taking this on and I hope the ‘feel good’ factor of being involved in such a project, and making a difference to so many lives, is worth more than any payment.
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For further details please contact Ian Morrish at:-
Work: 01372 454366 ♦ Mobile: 07768 398007 ♦ Email: ian@togetherforcinema.co.uk
www.togetherforcinema.co.uk
Report created by Ian Morrish. All quotes to be from Ian Morrish, unless otherwise stated.
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