On 10th January 2012 Professor (Emeritus) Ann Lewis attended a reception, hosted by the Prime Minister and Samantha Cameron at Number 10 Downing Street, to celebrate the BBC Children in Need. This appeal has raised a record £46 million in the past year, all of which goes to projects supporting children and young people across the UK.
Ann is a member of the Advisory Board for the Fun and Friendship programme which is part of the BBC Children in Need portfolio. The Fun and Friendship programme focuses specifically on opportunities outside school for fun and friendship for disabled young people (ages 12 to 18). The importance of this focus and the targeting of funds for disabled children arose from the commissioned research review carried out by Ann and colleagues at the University of Birmingham (P Mason, L Loveless, A Lewis, K Morris and H Clarke (2008) Opportunities for Fun and Friendship for disabled children and young people: A focused review of the literature London: BBC Children in Need/ University of Birmingham).