Member Article

Heel and Toe announces £250,000 donation for its ‘Footprints Appeal’ at its Winter Wonderland Ball

North East children’s charity Heel and Toe had a magical annual Winter Wonderland Ball with the surprise announcement that it is to receive a colossal £250,000 donation toward its Footprints Appeal to give life changing therapy for children across the region.

The donation from the Bradbury Foundation was announced at the charity’s Winter Wonderland Annual Charity Ball at the Hilton Hotel in Newcastle-Gateshead.

Heel and Toe offers therapy to children and young people with physical disabilities including free conductive education sessions plus courses of intensive physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, Special Educational Needs tutoring (SEN) and outreach services with life changing results.

Doug Long chief executive of Heel and Toe said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Bradbury Foundation has been so incredibly generous in providing a quarter of a million pounds, such as staggering amount of money, towards our Footprints Prints building appeal which has already raised £110,000 so we can move to the next phase and our plans for Heel and Toe are set to become a reality.

“We knew that given the growing demand for our services for children and their families across the region and beyond, and the impact we have on those children and young people that we support, together with their families and friends, that we needed to expand what we could offer to keep pace.

“From there we developed the ambitious building project at Perkinsville to be financed by the Footprints Appeal. Now thanks to the Bradbury Foundation and other generation donations those plans are moving to the next phase and our extended suite of specialist therapy services and state-of-the-art facilities which are unique to the region continue to become a reality. This will help to transform the lives of children and young people living with cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities and their families.

“Whilst all this development and growth is exciting we must continue to ensure the sustainability of Heel and Toe’s invaluable work which means marquee events like the Winter Ball and the loyal support of our sponsors continue to play a central role in our fund raising calendar.”

The money raised by the Heel and Toe Annual Christmas Ball which is sponsored by Irwin Mitchell, Barclays and Stanley Travel goes to support the ongoing sustainability of the charity that is so vital to hundreds of children and their families.

Rachel Ord, Heel and Toe Ambassador and branch manager of Barclays Bank in Washington, said: “With the Bank’s help I can raise the profile of this small local charity that provides amazing care to fantastic kids in the area. You know exactly where the money is spent and can see the impact this charity makes not only to the kids, but also the families. It really is a charity at the heart of the community. I’m hoping to link into other areas of the bank to get people involved whether it is matched fundraising or volunteering at events like this to make a difference!”

Angela Kirtley is a partner at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors and a Trustee of Heel and Toe.

She said: “The ball is a great way for Heel and Toe to raise its profile in order to maintain and grow the services it provides to the children and young people and their families. I’ve been working with them and supporting them for several years and it’s amazing how far they have come. They have gone from helping three children to over 516 a month this year - no mean feat when you consider they are totally reliant on donations.

“This means the sustainability of the charity’s invaluable services are based entirely on the success of the generosity of continuing donations from the public and the business community at large, and makes the fund raising and support around marquee events like the Annual Ball vital.”

Barclays has match funded the entire figure raised by the Ball through its pound for pound scheme, donating over £100,000 to Heel and Toe. This donation helps to fund other parts of the charity outside of the Footprints Appeal and Rachael offers her staff the opportunity to volunteer on the night.

Meanwhile Andrew Scott, joint owner of Stanley Travel, said: “I am very honoured to be an Ambassador of Heel and Toe. It is a fantastic charity that is very close to my heart and has been my main focus over the past year. The fact that Heel and Toe is the only charity in our region to offer free conductive education and that they actually receive no government funding, makes me more determined to help them in any way I can.”

The planned phases for the Footprints Appeal are as follows:

· Phase 1 includes hydro pool, family accommodation and one multi-purpose therapy room

· Phase 2 includes hydro pool, and two additional rooms to be used for gait analysis and on-going therapy and block physio - ongoing

· Phase 3 includes hydro pool and another two rooms to include rebound therapy and block physio.

Follow the campaign on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn accounts, or post using #footprintsappeal.

For more information or to make a donation please visit http://heelandtoe.org.uk/footprints-building-appeal/ or contact Amanda Tweedy, fundraising executive at Amanda.tweedy@heelandtoe.org.uk or call 0191 386 8606.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 2B Communications Limited .