Local disabled children benefit from Postcode Millions in Brentwood
People’s Postcode Lottery Postcode Millions event was held in Brentwood on
Saturday where lucky players shared a £2 million prize pot. Because of players like
these, disabled children in Essex have also benefited and had their lives
transformed.
National disabled children’s charity, Whizz-Kidz, has been awarded £150,000 from
players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which will help to provide disabled children and
young people with vital mobility equipment, opportunities to meet and have fun, and
training to help them gain skills and look forward to a bright future.
Deputy Director of Fundraising, Andrew Howell, said, ‘We are incredibly thankful to
the players of the postcode lottery for all of their support. We are delighted to see
players can win some big cash prizes but also see how their money is supporting
causes like Whizz-Kidz.
‘Whizz-Kidz simply couldn’t attempt to reach the 70,000 disabled children, Like Sally
from Stamford le Hope, who are in vital need of our help by providing them with the
right equipment and skills training so that they can lead active lives and enjoy their
childhoods.’
Hazel Johnstone, Trusts Manager at People’s Postcode Lottery, said, ‘Postcode
Millions are extremely exciting for everyone involved but they are also a fantastic
opportunity for the supported charities to meet our players and gives the charities a
chance to say a massive thank you directly to the players for their continual support.’
Whizz-Kidz supports young disabled people in Essex to access the right mobility
equipment - including powered wheelchairs - at the right time; and delivers
wheelchair skills-training, work placements, and other life-skills to help their transition
from childhood to adulthood.
To find out more about Whizz-Kidz please visit www.whizz-kidz.org.uk
Ends
For more information please contact Katie Evans, PR Officer, on 0207 798 6148 or
[email protected]
Notes to Editor
About People’s Postcode Lottery
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People’s Postcode Lottery is a charity lottery. Players play with their postcodes to win
cash prizes while raising money for charities and good causes local to them.
People’s Postcode Lottery is an External Lottery Manager and manages multiple society
lotteries promoted by different causes supporting a range of good causes. For details on
which society lottery is running each week, visitwww.postcodelottery.co.uk/society
Postcode Lottery Limited is regulated by the Gambling Commission under certificate nr
829-N-102511-007 and 829-R-102513-008. Registered office: Titchfield House, 69/85
Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4RR
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People’s Postcode Lottery players support the following Trusts – Postcode Green Trust,
Postcode Care Trust, Postcode Culture Trust, Postcode Animal Trust, Postcode Heroes
Trust, Postcode Global Trust, Postcode African Trust, Postcode Children Trust,
Postcode Community Trust and People’s Postcode Trust. These Trusts are funded
entirely by players and support a variety of good causes. For further information on each
charity, visit:www.postcodelottery.co.uk/charities
50p from every £2 ticket goes to good causes and players have raised over £47.2
Million for good causes across the country
There are five draws a month with prizes every day and each ticket costs £2 – paid
monthly in advance by direct debit. For further prize information,
visit:www.postcodelottery.co.uk/prizes
Maximum amount a single ticket can win is 10% of the draw revenue to a maximum of
£400,000
Players can sign up by Direct Debit, credit card or PayPal online
atwww.postcodelottery.co.uk, or by calling 0808 10-9-8-7-6-5.
About Whizz-Kidz
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Whizz-Kidz has changed the lives of nearly 18,000 disabled children since
1990 - often literally overnight. The charity estimates there are still over
70,000 children in the UK waiting for the right equipment to fit their young
lives.
The right wheelchair and mobility equipment is not automatically provided on
the NHS. Whizz-Kidz aims to work where possible with local NHS services,
and aims to ensure that much-needed improvements are made in delivering
wheelchair services for children in the UK.
To date, Whizz-Kidz has helped 114 children in Essex with the provision of
equipment.
There are currently 13 children from Essex on the Whizz-Kidz waiting list for
vital mobility equipment.
Giving a disabled child a wheelchair is just the start of their journey with
Whizz-Kidz. In your community disabled children and young people are
meeting and making friends at one of our local clubs.
Here is a link to our interactive map which tells you about Whizz-Kidz in your
regionhttp://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/about-us/regional-map http://www.whizzkidz.org.uk/about-us/regional-map.
Case study – Sally from Stamford Le Hope
http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/meet-the-kidz/sally
Sally from Essex has athetoid cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. Before
she received her first powered wheelchair from Whizz-Kidz, she had to depend
on others to move around. Since getting a powered wheelchair, Sally has
become a lot more independent and has been able to pursue her passion for
wheelchair football – as well as completing a work experience placement.
Sally says:
‘My first encounter with Whizz-Kidz was when I received my powered chair from
them when I was four. My new wheelchair meant a lot to me. Before then, I couldn’t
go out into the playground at school on my own, or with my friends; I always had to
have a dinner lady push me around. I couldn’t navigate hills or small spaces with my
chair, I felt isolated and not very confident.
'My new chair gave me independence and enabled me to start playing
wheelchair football, which would not be possible if I couldn’t drive my
chair. After discovering wheelchair football, I have never looked back! I’m now a
player and a coach for two different teams – I really enjoy it. My sporting heroes are
Hannah Cockroft [who received her first sports wheelchair from Whizz-Kidz and is
now a double Paralympic gold medallist] and Lee Pearson [Paralympic gold
medallist in para-equestrianism]. I even met Hannah at the Paralympic Games in
London, which was very exciting!
'Not only has Whizz-Kidz opened up this door for me, it has also helped me think
about my career and my future. Recently, when my friends were setting up work
experience for themselves, my school told me that it was difficult for
organisations to cater for disabled people and suggested that I stay in school
whilst my class mates did work experience. I didn't want to do that and miss
out, so I contacted Whizz-Kidz.
'The Whizz-Kidz Work Placements team gave me the opportunity to spend some
time every week in the charity's headquarters, doing a range of tasks. I really
enjoyed it! The highlight for me was meeting and working with lots of different
people, as well as finding more about Whizz-Kidz. I found using a computer in the
office the most challenging, but I persevered and enjoyed the satisfaction of
completing projects on my own.
Sally at London Zoo'Having work experience at Whizz-Kidz has helped me think
about my future career. When I leave school, I think I would like to work for a charity
and so the next step I want to take is to become
a Young Leader at my Ambassador Club in Southend, to gain some more
experience.
'I think that work experience opens your eyes to the world that we’re all going to have
to go into when we grow up and leave school. My placement at Whizz-Kidz HQ was
the crucial first step to finding a job that I'll love in the future.'