Midlands charity Newlife writes to Government in funding plea
A charity based in Staffordshire has written to Government chiefs urging them for support after discovering it cannot access emergency funds.
Cannock-based Newlife, which helps families with disabled and terminally ill children, said they were not eligible for a slice of the £750 million funding and had fallen "through the net".
Now chiefs have written a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and urged him to extend the criteria – or else the services it provides would end.
Co-founder Sheila Brown OBE said: "Like all charities around the UK, we were initially hopeful when financial support was announced by the Government on April 8 – but quickly found that because we provide what is essentially a statutory service, but aren’t commissioned by the Government to do so, we effectively fall through the net.
"We are pleading with the government to widen the criteria for accessing the funding so we can ensure our services can continue supporting extremely vulnerable children and continue supporting the NHS. Newlife exists because if it was a child you loved, you would want the best for them – and that has never been more true than today."
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The charity, which has a store in Market Drayton in Shropshire, owns a suite of 360 specialist beds, wheelchairs and hoists which it loans to family – allowing children to be discharged from hospital.
More than 1,000 children are supported by the service each year but it is fast running out of funds – with all seven of its stores closing and fundraising events cancelled.
Mrs Brown added: "We desperately want to continue supporting the NHS at the time it needs us most.
"It’s what Newlife’s services have been built upon and we are being called on by hospitals and social care teams more than ever at the moment to provide our crisis service so vulnerable children can be safe at home, in as much comfort as possible and shielded from the virus.
"But we are quickly running out of equipment and, without an income or government support, we are unable to buy more.
"If Newlife does not find £1million, more children will be left on hospital wards unable to shield from Covid-19; that is the stark reality of the situation."
The charity, which has entered its 30th year, also doesn't qualify for Comic Relief or Children In Need funds – with both not providing grants to organisations providing services where there is a statutory responsibility.
To donate visit https://newlife.support/COVID-19Appeal
