What we do...
Its very simple really, we provide specialist and adapted equipment to babies, children and young adults living with disabilities in the North East region which changes lives. This equipment can range from powered wheelchairs and specialist beds to sensory toys and walking frames and cannot be funded through the NHS or social services so without us the families would have to fund these items themselves. The children who benefit from our equipment have a whole range of physical and learning difficulties. Many of them suffer from life limiting or life threatening conditions meaning their time with their families is limited, some of them have terminal illnesses and are already accessing palliative care. Some of the children we support have conditions that remain undiagnosed which mean their futures are uncertain.
We help families make memories, imagine being able to take your child to the beach for a paddle for the first time ever now that you have an all terrain wheelchair or waking up from your first real nights sleep in years after we have provided your child with a specialist bed keeping them safe and comfortable through the night? These moments are priceless to the families we support and unless you have experienced them yourself, its hard to appreciate their importance. We also support schools and organisations who for example, offer respite care or therapy sessions. This means each year we have an impact on literally hundreds of young peoples lives right here in our region.
Covid 19 has caused chaos and misery for many of the children we support. They have suffered physically without their regular therapy sessions and emotionally as schools have closed and their routine has been thrown into disarray. In addition to specialist equipment, we provide one to one pre counseling sessions and befriending service to parents and carers to support them through difficult times and we have seen a huge demand for this service since the pandemic hit and carers feel isolated, helpless, and anxious for their children's uncertain futures.
But we need your support now more than ever...
It's tougher than ever to be a small charity right now. The pandemic has hit us hard. Our main sources of income such as our annual events and community fundraising have dried up. However, applications from families in desperate need have continued to flood in and we have seen a huge increase. Covid 19 has created the perfect storm for us as a charity and we need the support of business partners now more than ever. We have amended our fundraising model to include new ways of generating income, cut as many costs as we possibly can, and reached out to all of our warm supporters from trusts to local businesses. Did you know its costs three times more to raise a child with disabilities than to raise an able-bodied child? In research conducted by Disability Rights UK, its estimated that 40% of children with disabilities live in poverty. We will not let the most vulnerable members of our communities down.
Ways you can help us...
· Please fundraise for us! We have just launched our Christmas Appeal to support children from our November Equipment round and we have over £50,000 worth of equipment on this waiting list. Please see the attached art work for Christmas Jumper Day and our Letters from Santa initiative, as well as our Santa list, these are great ways to get your teams involved and help us change more lives.
· Please Shout about us! Like you, we are proud of our region and how we contribute to the lives of the disabled and disadvantaged children who live here. Our work makes a difference and with your help, we can celebrate this! We have a weekly column which goes into print in The Chronicle each Friday, on line on Chronicle Live and on our new website as a blog post. We utilise our column to celebrate our business partnerships which is a great way to motivate your teams, shout about your brand and engage with a new audience through supporting us.
· Please play our weekly lottery! It costs just £1 per ticket and there are cash prizes to be won each week Its an easy way to support our work
· Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and LIKE and SHARE our posts to help us raise awareness and funds
We are lucky to have lasting relationships with many of the families we support. We have lots of promotional materials, lovely photos and quotes approved for use by families and organisations who we have helped that we can share. We are happy to create bespoke content for any of our business partners for use on your websites, as email banners, in news letters etc. Anything you need, just ask!