The family of Kirkintilloch boy Gabriel McBryan are asking for your help with Gabriel and other children with disabilities and terminal illness in East Dunbartonshire.
Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children has already helped 12 children in East Dunbartonshire through equipment grants and loans totalling more than £24,000, so the charity knows there is a very real need for a specific county fund. In this way it aims to help more children, more quickly.
Right now, Newlife Foundation needs £1,589 for two children in East Dunbartonshire to secure vital specialist equipment to help improve daily life. Further information about the Newlife East Dunbartonshire Fund can be found by going to www.newlifecharity.co.uk/eastdunbartonshire or by emailing local@newlifecharity.co.uk. Telephone donations can be made by calling 01543 462 777.
The youngster has no independent mobility and can only hold head control for a short while. He has been found with his head trapped in his current seating but specialist seating would keep him supported and out of danger.
“Gabriel is a happy six-year-old boy who has severe dystonic cerebral palsy,” mum Mary explains.
“At the end of a full day at school he is exhausted and struggles to hold his head up or maintain a safe position in his wheelchair. A P-Pod chair would give him that safe, comfortable and supportive alternative place to chill out and relax that he deserves after a long, busy day.”
The Newlife Foundation East Dunbartonshire Fund supports equipment provision for under-19s facing any significant disability, whether acquired through birth defect, prematurity, accident or illness.
Gabriel’s family are encouraging local people to support the recently launched fund to provide specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness in East Dunbartonshire.
Vitally, the Newlife Foundation East Dunbartonshire Fund website – www.newlifecharity.co.uk/eastdunbartonshire – will enable local people to find out who needs help in their area right now and highlight the support the charity gives vulnerable families. It includes contact details for the Newlife County Liaison Team – telephone 01543 431 444 or email local@newlifecharity.co.uk – and shows specific ways people can help support children with disability and terminal illness and their families.
That might involve taking part in a local sporting challenge, give you information on how to organise a fundraising event – or even ask you to donate £5 today. Volunteers are also needed to help raise awareness of what we do and how we do it.
We hope that by launching the Newlife East Dunbartonshire Fund, children with disabilities or terminal illness in the county won’t have to go without the equipment they need for everyday life.
Newlife Foundation supports families in East Dunbartonshire through a range of free services:
Nurse-staffed helpline
Equipment grants
Emergency equipment loans
Sensory and developmental toy ‘pod’ loans.
Pictured: Gabriel McBryan
Web: https://newlifecharity.co.uk
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/newlifecharity
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newlifefoundation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/NewlifeFoundation
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NewlifeFoundation
