Bath firms are being urged to join pioneering city-based charity Designability’s new Ten for Ten Club as it marks 10 years of its flagship kids’ powered wheelchair loan service.
Designability has been providing its unique Wizzybug wheelchairs free of charge to very young disabled children across the UK since 2011.
Without dedicated funding for such products from the NHS – and with the added financial strain that can come with raising a disabled child – the loan scheme has been a lifeline to more than 1,000 families.
Designability, which began life in 1968 as the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering, is now looking to the city’s business community for 10 corporate supporters to raise £1,000 each – enough to provide two new Wizzybugs to help more families and give greater independence to more disabled children.
The innovative wheelchairs have a long lifespan and an incredible legacy. At the end of the loan period, each one is fully tested and refurbished by the team at Designability’s Bath workshop before being allocated to another child.
The Ten for Ten club Wizzybugs will change the lives of half-a-dozen or so children and their families over the next five years.
Designability chief executive Catharine Brown said: “The Bath business community has always been a staunch supporter of charities like ours and we’re looking forward to working closely with 10 of the region’s best and brightest businesses to make a real difference to the lives of disabled children.
“For any businesses that sign up, the Designability team is able to help you with fundraising ideas, publicity support and even a tour of our dedicated workshop space. We’ll be with you every step of the way in your fundraising, cheering you on and celebrating when you hit that target!
“As we receive no government funding and rely entirely on donations and fundraising for the Wizzybug Loan Scheme, the support of local businesses is needed now more than ever.”
Designability, which has helped more than 300,000 disabled children and adults throughout the UK, began loaning Wizzybugs to families for free in 2011 through fundraising and donations.
There is often no NHS funding for powered mobility for children under five even though it costs three times more to raise a disabled child as it does to raise a non-disabled child.
To find out more about the Ten for Ten Club, email gemmaharvey@designability.org.uk or visit https://designability.org.uk/corporate-partners/ten-for-ten-club/
