A Harrogate six-year-old with Cerebral Palsy urgently needs a standing frame at home to stretch out her muscles which relieves pain and prevents her condition from worsening.
Daily standing is a vital part of Lilly-Ann Carney’s physiotherapy as her hip sockets can ‘pop out’. Lilly-Ann only has access to a standing frame at school, so at weekends and during school holidays she stiffens up and is in increasing pain.
But now, thanks to a partnership between Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children and Marks and Spencer, Lilly-Ann will soon have her own £2,179 standing frame at home.
Mum Sherrie Gadd said: “The standing frame at school is too big and heavy for us to transport. It really helps to stretch her muscles and without it she is in pain. The issues with her hip sockets can also get worse if she doesn’t stand each day. She is due to have surgery soon to release her tendons, so using a standing frame daily will help her recovery too.”
M&S has worked in partnership with Newlife since 2006 as part of its Plan A commitments, donating returned products and clothing samples that cannot be sold, to the charity to be resold or recycled. The majority of the donated products are sold in the Newlife SuperStore in Staffordshire and the charity recycles the remaining items, all to raise money for children with disabilities. In October 2010, M&S launched a grants scheme, which has specifically helped fund over 260 pieces of essential equipment, totalling in excess of £850,000 for disabled children in local communities across the UK.
Jacquie Leonard, Community Programme Manager at Marks & Spencer, said: “Our partnership with Newlife is not only great for the environment but it also helps to improve the lives of disabled children by providing much-needed specialist equipment. We are delighted to be able to support such a vital charity.”
Newlife Head of Operations Stephen Morgan added: “The UK has more disabled children than ever before – and our partnership with M&S benefits hundreds of children. It’s an outrage that families have to ‘battle’ local services and yet still face heart-breaking refusals. The support of organisations like M&S means we can change lives across the UK every day.”
Newlife guarantees that 100 per cent of monies donated or fundraised in North Yorkshire will be used to specifically help children with disabilities and terminal illness in the area.
