Four-year-old Holly Costello from Somerton will soon get the specialist bed she needs to keep her safe at night thanks to her family’s amazing fundraising efforts. With help from the charity Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, Holly’s bed is now fully funded.

Holly has an undiagnosed genetic condition which has resulted in her having developmental delay, she has speech and language and mobility issues and no awareness of danger. Holly is in need of a new safety sleeper as she has outgrown her current cot-bed – the new equipment has enclosed sides to prevent her hurting herself or falling out so it will keep her safe at night. That’s a big relief to mum Zoe Costello.

Zoe said: “Holly is nearly five years old and is outgrowing her cot bed, it’s become quite difficult to lift her up and out, she’s getting taller so it’s quite tricky. Holly throws herself backwards and is always hitting her head; because she has no sense of danger she doesn’t realise that she is hurting herself.”

Holly’s family did as much as possible to help raise funds for the bed which cost £3,134. With help from Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children – the UK’s leading charity provider of essential equipment to meet the needs of children with disabilities and terminal illness – they were able to get local Statuary Services funding of £1,635, leaving a remaining amount of £1,499.

Determined to raise the remaining amount, Zoe set up a Go Fund Me internet page. A ‘Sparkle party’, with jewellery donated by Newlife, and a cake sale made an amazing £560; The Royal Oak pub in Somerton donated £480 and collection buckets in Williams Supermarket in Brunel Centre raised nearly £300.

Zoe added: “We can’t wait to get Holly’s new bed, I won’t have to worry as much. We are thrilled with the amount of donations we’ve received and once we get the bed it will make such a big difference to all our lives.”

The family have organised a Toddle Walk through Somerton town centre on June 11 and the Go Fund Me page has raised over £800. As the bed has now been fully funded, with £1,944 already sent to Newlife, any surplus from the Go Fund Me page and money raised from the Toddle Walk will go towards providing other disabled children in Somerset with vital specialist equipment.

Newlife has provided 180 families in Somerset with disability equipment – including beds, wheelchairs, seating and sensory aids – worth over £240,000. However, the demand is still high with another 11 families currently working with Newlife to get the specialist equipment they need totalling £11,557. Which is why Newlife has a dedicated Somerset page: https://newlifecharity.co.uk/local/Somerset

For full details of Newlife Foundation’s range of practical support for disabled and terminally ill children and their families, call the Newlife Nurse Helpline – 0800 902 0095 (free from UK landlines and mobiles) – or go to:https://newlifecharity.co.uk

Pictured: Holly Costello

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