Residents at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability

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raise money for another brain charity

Residents at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability’s Transitional Living Unit have raised over £500 for another brain injury charity Headway, by holding a raffle.

Headway is the UK's leading brain injury charity - provides support, services and information to brain injury survivors, their families and carers as well as professionals (health, legal etc).

Although the Royal Hospital, which specialises in the treatment and rehabilitation of people with complex neurological conditions, is a national charity and not part of the NHS, a team of 6 residents raised the money for a charity outside of the hospital.

Emma Gale, Speech and Language Therapist at the Royal Hospital who came up with the fundraising idea, says, “Some of the residents at the TLU were talking about feeling ‘stuck’ and unable to contribute to society.

Chief Exec Peter Franklyn buys raffle tickets from TLU residents Kim Dutfield and Sharon Leo (R) in the hospital canteen.

“This isn’t the case at all, so we organised a residents’ meeting and decided that a fundraising project would be a great way to get everyone involved in giving something back to the community.

“We chose to give the money to Headway as our residents felt it was relevant to them and to their families, as it is specifically for people with brain injury”.

William Mason has been a resident at the TLU for three months and initially contacted Headway to find out more about fundraising for them.

He says, “Leaving hospital has felt like swinging from a rope from one place to another, it is a huge step. For residents here, the TLU can act like a safety net, letting us try some of life again, but with the reassurance of support.

“Headway has contributed to this support as it provides information for carers and friends of people with brain injuries. All the residents at the TLU are sympathetic to its cause, so it seemed logical to raise money for them.”

Residents raised over £500 selling raffle tickets for prizes which included Waitrose vouchers, beauty treatments and Wagamama vouchers.


October 19, 2005