Briggs Equipment UK Ltd is extending the partnership with its current nominated charity, Cannock-based Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children, into 2018.

The national company – which provides materials handling and lifting equipment – has its headquarters in Cannock, Staffordshire, with bases in Cumbernauld, Scotland, and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since the partnership was launched in January, fabulous Briggs fundraisers around the UK have raised more than £25,000 for Newlife – with every penny being spent on specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness.

Forty children have already benefitted, including one-year-old Isaiah Gordon from Biddulph in Staffordshire who needed a specialist car seat to keep him safe and comfortable while travelling, five-year-old Brody McAteer from Bonnybridge in Falkirk who now has a safe sleeping environment and Weronika Martyniw from Lisknaskea in County Fermanagh who also has a special-needs car seat.

Briggs’ fundraising activities have included cycling, skydiving, running and mountain walking challenges. Briggs’ Marketing Manager David Turner said: “Our partnership with Newlife has really captured the imagination of our staff around the UK. It became clear that 12 months wasn’t long enough to support such a rewarding charity partnership so we are extending it by a further six months. This way we feel we will be able to help make a real difference to so many more disabled children and the inspiring work done by Newlife.”

Newlife Head of Charity Operations Stephen Morgan said: “Our partnership with Briggs has already helped change lives – and is set to transform many more. Statutory services around the UK are failing our young people and specialist equipment is beyond the budget of many families. The support of organisations like Briggs is vital to Newlife; without them hundreds of disabled and terminally ill children would go without the equipment they need for everyday life.”