I am sure that if I stood at the check-out of your supermarket with a bucket you would put in a £. I am sure that if you saw Death of a Nightingale on the stage and, at the end of the performance, you were asked for a small contribution, you would make one.
This is not very different, when you go to the Donation page on this website.
Why do I ask at this moment?
I have just received the following letter from the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland
“We have received 11 applications (for a holiday in London for children with special needs) and must say that it is very difficult to decide which are the most deserving…. There is a balance of £6,551 in the Fund and ought to make a 10% charge for administration. In other words £6,000 in round figures. We advertised help of up to £2,500 for holidays so it would be possible to make 4 grants of £1,500 or thereabouts.”
I will give you three extracts from letters forwarded to me:
My daughter is 11 years old. She has global learning difficulties and medical problems. In May 2004 she underwent a bone marrow transplant. She needed this as she had a very rare illness called chronic aplastic anaemia. Thankfully she is now well. Unfortunately with all the treatment she has lost the equivalent of 2 years schooling…. She is not allowed out on her own as she is very immature for her age and very gullible and thinks everyone is her friend. …. She got her bone marrow from the Anthony Nolan Trust. We are led to belief that the gentleman was from the London area. It is her wish to meet the donor and to thank him personally, for if he didn’t donate she would not be here.”
***
“My son is 12 years old and autistic. My daughter is 9 and acts as a carer for both her brother and her mother who is profoundly deaf. Over the last 5 years my son has developed a real interest in abstract art. It has helped him in numerous ways both educationally and helping him cope with the challenges he faces. He has even sold a number of them to family and visitors to the house. One of his favourite artists is Richard Serra a world renowned artist and sculptor ….
***
“My daughter has cerebral palsy and microcephaly and these give her severe learning disability… Her favourite things are animals and football. …. In London we would be able to take her to a zoo, to an aquarium and on the London Eye.”
I also have a letter from someone I knew when I was a governor. Her daughter has Worster-Drought Syndrome, an uncommon version of cerebral palsy, which affects her speech and her feeding greatly. She would love to take her daughter to London to see her Great-Grandfather. She would also like to visit Buckingham Palace “she is hoping to meet the Queen!”
These children cannot go on holidays on their own. There has to be a carer, too. That means every holiday costs more. Please join me in giving them the treat of a visit to London. I would love it if I didn’t have to choose between the 11 applicants.
GO TO “MAKE A DONATION PAGE” ON THIS WEBSITE NOW