BBC presenter Martha Kearney joins very special Milton Keynes community as their patron

Famous TV presenter and journalist Martha Kearney has joined the Camphill community in Milton Keynes as their patron.

And she has pledged to help them with their campaign to raise £15m so they can expand their facilities.

Established in 1981, Camphill MK provides support, accommodation, and day workshops for adults

with learning disabilities and autism.

Martha’s brother-in-law was a resident at Camphill for around 30 years, so she already has a strong connection to the MK-based charity.

She is often on site with her husband and welcomes residents from the community to her home each year for a summer party.

Martha will now be a figurehead for the campaign to build 60 new accessible bedrooms at the Willen Park and Pennyland sites and has vowed to help Camphill raise awareness of their work and meet their fundraising targets.

She said: “I am thrilled to be supporting Camphill MK as a Patron. The community is dear to my heart, and I look forward to working with the team in any way I can to help them to secure such much-needed funding.

"Camphill MK is unique in its approach and enables adults with learning disabilities to live full and rich lives.”

Martha presented World at One for more than a decade and now presents BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Her awards include Political Commentator of the Year (House Magazine), Radio Presenter of the Year (TRIC) and Best Individual Contribution to Radio (Voice of Listener and Viewer).

Her literary prowess and love of storytelling have seen her on the judging panels of the Man Booker Prize and Orange Prize for Fiction.

As patron, she will advocate for the community, attend fundraising events, help the community to engage on a greater level, and fly the flag for a charity that is so vital to social care in Buckinghamshire and beyond.

Starting in 2022, the Capital Campaign aims to raise £15m for the expansion of their facilities to double the number of rooms available for adults with learning disabilities. The new buildings will include include items such as level access, hoists, adaptive technology, and carer sleep-in spaces.

There will also be new purpose-built workshops and an outdoor learning zone with an edible forest and storytelling circle.