Aspire's Christmas Appeal

Please help Aspire to give the gift of independence to spinal cord injured people like Callum this Christmas.

‘My name is Callum. I’m 12 years old and live with my parents and two brothers. I have had a C8 complete spinal injury since I was 5 months old due to a spinal abscess which left me paralysed from the chest down. I have just started my first year at High School and I’m really enjoying it. It is a brand new school so I’m able to be independent and I have made lots of new friends and enjoy learning all the new subjects.

I love Formula 1, football, playing Basketball, wheelchair racing and will give most things a go. I play lots of sports and I’m an active wheelchair user, however, I live in an area with lots of hills which can be really challenging so I rely on my parents, my brothers or the kindness of others to help me. This often leaves me feeling isolated and I struggle to socialise with friends outside school and I can’t go out on my own. Even though we live very close to school my big brother pushes me to and from school every day, as I can’t manage the hill and my school bag, even when he wants to spend time with his own friends. I don’t go out with my friends as I can’t go anywhere without help.

An electric hand bike attachment for my manual wheelchair would allow me to go to school independently and spend time with my friends without having to ask for a push. I can easily clip it onto my chair and take it off when I don’t need it. I would love to go out with my brothers to the local park or just go to and from school by myself just like other kids my age do.’

Aspire Grants are available to anyone living in the UK or Ireland with a Spinal Cord Injury.  The grants that it provides assist with the purchase of much needed equipment, giving those with spinal injuries the independence most of us take for granted.  Whether the applicant requires assistive technology to enable them to use a computer again and return to work or study; a lightweight wheelchair to improve their mobility; or a handbike like Callum needs to help him to get to school and spend time with his friends, Aspire Grants are vital in ensuring that people can get on with their lives.

There are currently 35 people on the Grants waiting list with the number of applications increasing each week.  The majority of requests are for manual wheelchairs (which cost on average £3,500-£4,000) but due to the high demand for funding, we are rarely able to finance every application.

Aspire is asking for donations to enable us to start to clear the Grants waiting list and help people regain their independence by providing the funding for equipment that will change their lives.  Please help us to give the gift of independence this Christmas.