Whizz Kidz

The ESC has made a three-year commitment to donating £120,000 to Whizz Kidz, the largest charity in the UK supplying mobility equipment to children.

There are at least 70,000 children in the UK whose lives would be immeasurably improved through access to a wheelchair or other mobility device, and the average NHS provision of around £300 per chair falls far short of the cost of an electric wheelchair, which ranges from £1,500 up to £15,000. Children who do not have independent mobility suffer directly from this and may also experience serious developmental delays; the younger the immobile child, the more this is true.  At present the only route for a child to get maximum independence and gain their full potential through mobility is through privately funded intervention.

Whizz Kidz employs a team of ten paediatric therapists, each working in a specific area of the country and visiting children at home to assess their mobility needs.  They then organise the delivery of appropriate mobility equipment and ensure that each child and their carers are trained in its use.  Therapists will then make an average of four visits for each delivery made, reflecting their thoroughness in seeking to provide each child with the most suitable equipment.

The outcomes are clear for both the disabled child and his or her family. Children go from dependence to the greatest degree of independence that their disabilities will allow. The impact of this in terms of leading a normal life and playing with friends is enormous. The child’s family gains immeasurably too, as clearly a child’s disability has major implications for his or her parents or siblings.

Donations from the ESC have already funded two new Whizz Kidz therapists, and as a result, 250 more children will now enjoying the benefits of a wheelchair which suits their mobility requirements perfectly. The ongoing assistance of the ESC will help to provide around ten children each year with the equipment and support they need to achieve their full potential.

WhizzKidz website

The ESC has made a three-year commitment to donating £120,000 to Whizz Kidz, the largest charity in the UK supplying mobility equipment to children. click for more

The ESC has made a three-year commitment to donating £120,000 to Whizz Kidz, the largest charity in the UK supplying mobility equipment to children. click for more

On the Run! Join the ESCapees on the Asics Reading Half-Marathon on April 9th 2006 and raise funds for the ESC