 |
Nerve Tumours UK Known collectively as NF, Neurofibromatosis is the medical group name for Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), NF2-related-Schwannomatosis (NF2) and Schwannomatosis (SWN). NF is an incurable, neuro-genetic condition that causes tumours to grow on nerve endings, affecting over 26,500+ children and adults living in the UK. These tumours are usually non-cancerous, but they can lead to serious complications including skin problems, hearing loss, vision problems, bone deformities, learning disabilities, and chronic pain amongst many other conditions. Because symptoms vary greatly from person to person, many individuals face delayed diagnosis and misunderstanding about their condition. Combined, NF is one of the most common neuro-genetic conditions, although it can still be classified as a rare condition. NF manifests itself differently from person to person and so it is important that everyone is helped on an individual basis. Parents have a 50% chance of passing this genetic condition onto their child, but 50% of all diagnoses are a first one within the family. Nerve Tumours UK are the UK’s dedicated charity to those with all forms of NF. For over 45 years, they have provided support and advice to help the 26,500+ children and adults in the UK diagnosed with NF, along with their carers, family members and wider support network, which can include all types of healthcare professionals. We do this through funding a unique specialist support network, comprising Regional Specialist NF Nurses, a National Helpline, clinical guidelines, information days, an interactive website, online communities plus medical guidelines/literature. Our aim is to meet the needs of the 26,500+ in the NF Community, to ensure that each and every patient has direct access to the correct care path and subsequent services, as well as helping more people to simply know about and better understand NF. As a charity, we are 100% funded by voluntary donations, meaning we are entirely reliant on the generosity of all our amazing supporters. For further information on supporting this charity, visit www.nervetumours.org.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 0208 439 1234. |
 |
Hospice Aid UK Hospice Aid is a unique UK based charity delivering much needed grants to UK hospices. Hospice AID UK is committed to support all hospices who apply to us with every penny spent staying in the UK. We give support where and when it's needed. We provide support in many ways, in particular, we are the leading charity for Hospice Emergency Funding in the UK. We also help fund specialist equipment, core costs and in all areas Hospices struggle to receive funding for. There is no charge for Hospice care and they rely heavily on public funding. We are driven by our determination to increase awareness of how reliant hospices are for funding, but we couldn't do this without public support. A donation, however large or small, would mean we could help a larger number of hospices and reach more of the people that need it. Hospice Aid UK delivers the money where it is needed, when it is needed. For further information on donating to this charity tel 0845 606 0510 or visit www.hospiceaid.org.uk. |
 |
InDependent Diabetes Trust We are an organisation for people living with diabetes run by people living with diabetes. We recognise that when one person in a family lives with diabetes, this affects other family members and we offer support to partners and parents. We raise awareness of important issues for people with diabetes and provide information in non-medical language. A charity based in the UK listening to people with diabetes and their carers and supporting their needs. The Trust is run entirely by voluntary donations and we do not accept funding from the pharmaceutical industry in order to remain uninfluenced and independent. The InDependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT) is a registered charity and was formed in 1994. We are concerned with listening to the needs of people who live with diabetes, understanding those needs and doing our utmost to offer help and support. We not only want to help those who actually have diabetes but also their carers – the husbands, wives, partners and parents, indeed, all of us who ‘live with diabetes’. We recognise that when one person in a family has diabetes, all other family members are affected to a greater or lesser extent and they all have views and needs which may be different from the person with diabetes, but nevertheless are important. The Trust was set up to look at some of the day to day difficulties of living with diabetes, the worries, fears and concerns that perhaps we don’t talk about at the hospital clinic- the ones that many of us experience and understand because we actually live with diabetes. As a charity, IDDT has a Board of Trustees and all our Trustees either have diabetes or have family members with diabetes. So we all know first hand that while diabetes doesn’t rule our lives, it is an important part of them. It needs care and attention, it can be a nuisance and it is not without it’s problems! For further information about this charity including how to donate tel 01604 622837 or visit our website at www.iddt.org |
 |
The Respite Association
"Oh thank you SO very much. I have had a rather 'stressful' morning with mum and this news has made me want to cry! Very best wishes and thank you again.” When you are caring for someone the task can be overwhelming. You can be 'on duty' for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no breaks or holidays. This is too much to ask of anyone. We are a small Charity that makes a big impact. We provide short term assistance by funding appropriately qualified respite care for people with disabilities, long term physical or mental health conditions, and those who are terminally ill in order that their regular unpaid carer can be allowed to take a much needed break. Breaks can take the form of anything from enabling attendance at an evening class to a weekend break or longer.
Who will we help? Many of the people who are at home caring for loved ones are forced to live on very limited incomes. It is these people that we are working to help. What does it cost? Whilst providing suitably qualified carers in the home or funding a temporary place in a residential care centre can be expensive, the benefits to the carer are beyond measure. The cost and level of support varies dramatically from a few pounds to several hundred. Our average grant is around £450. For further information about this charity including how to donate tel 01566 783383 or visit our website at www.respiteassociation.org |
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the forming of The Respite Association. Over those 25 years the organisation has grown immensely and now supports over 300 carers every year, allowing them to get a much needed break. Because carers are individuals we provide a truly bespoke service, asking what they need, rather than dictating what we think they need. And the feedback we get is incredible, here's a note from Carole* after we offered her some help (*not her real name):
We also provide free week long seaside holidays to enable carers to recharge their batteries. We have four holiday facilities, caravans in North Wales and on the Yorkshire coast at Bridlington as well as two holiday bungalows on a park in Penzance in Cornwall. The scheme is so desperately needed that we get more than twice as many applications each year each of the spaces we have available. |
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Registered Charity No. 212808 Surgeons, save, extend and enhance lives every day, with patient care and wellbeing at the heart and drive of what they do. The Royal College of Surgeons of England shares this aim and as a charity, independent of the NHS, we have safeguarded the standards of clinical practice for over 200 years. Surgery is special, and there are few people whose lives have not been touched by it. Our work is not limited to specific illnesses or areas of disease but supports better care for all ages, from minor day surgery, to life-saving procedures and emergency trauma care. In every case, the patient places their trust in the hands of the surgeon. Whilst this trust is well founded, we need to invest continually in education, research and training to ensure that surgeons and the care they provide is the best in the world. A donation or legacy in your will can make a real difference to the lives of new generations of surgical students and patients. All gifts are an enduring way to support the College benefiting the care of surgical patients, both in the UK and around the world. For further information on donating to this charity tel 020 7869 6086 or visit their website www.rcseng.ac.uk/support-our-work. |
 |
Colostomy UK
Registered Charity No. 1113471 Founded in 1967, Colostomy UK became a registered charity in 2006, and we maintain our original mission to this day: to support people with stomas and those who care about them. There are now over 200,000 people living with a stoma at any one time in the UK who benefit from the work that we do as we:
We want to live in a world where having a stoma presents no obstacles or barriers and carries no stigma. A world where people can:
We generate all of our income ourselves (we receive no statutory funding) and so are enormously grateful to every one of our donors and volunteers, without whom we simply could not achieve all we do. A legacy gift today will help secure a positive future for people living with stomas, ensuring we can adapt and respond to their needs. For further information on donating to this charity tel 0118 939 1537 or visit their website www.colostomyuk.org. |
 |
Mustard Seed Project MSP is a small charity working in deprived urban Mombasa. It was set up in 2009 following a holiday visit to the area by a retired teacher and a Civil Engineer who now spend two months of each year working in the community. We support the community through training and education for women and youths and giving financial support to a football club and two boxing clubs. The main, and most successful project is the school. We set up the school with just 17 children in September 2009. The school grew by one class a year and now we have 300 children aged 3 – 14 years, with a feeding programme and a clinic, in classes of around 25. Initially the children were in a rented building but by the end of 2020 our own school building will be completed and will house all the children in the same place. But this is just the building. What goes on inside is what makes the difference. The aim is to provide quality education and varied experiences so that all children reach their full potential regardless of ability. All but our special needs children are meeting or exceeding government expectations. This is partly due to our feeding programme and clinic which keep our children healthy and happy and able to take advantage of the excellent teaching they receive. Education does not of course just exist in the classroom. In 2017, a group of our children came second in a large national music competition having come first in all the regional heats for their choral speaking. A wonderful achievement and experience for children living in such poverty. In 2018 our first group of 14-year olds took their Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education. The government considers a ‘C’ grade to be good but the mean score for our children in both 2018 and 2019 was ‘B- ‘. In 2019 one of our children achieved an ‘A- ‘, putting him in the top 1% in the country, earning him a place in a prestigious National school. We were equally proud of a student who had been receiving extra help because we considered she had special needs. She achieved a ‘C’. The children did brilliantly of course, but we must not forget the committed, hard-working staff who helped the children to achieve this. Our big aim now is to be able to continue supporting our children and to enable them to complete secondary school. Unfortunately, although this is now ‘free’ the children still must pay for books and the feeding programme which sadly makes it difficult for many to access even this. And of course, when they complete their 4 years of Secondary Education it would be wonderful to be able to support some of them at University or other higher education. A gift in your will would help ensure future sustainability of the project, including the feeding programme and would contribute towards secondary education and hopefully higher education for those who are successful in their Kenyan school exams. For further information about this charity including how to donate tel 01778 341855 or visit our website at www.mustardseedproject.co.uk |