My venture for fund finding towards a specialised wheelchair has now finished and I am delighted to say I have taken delivery of my specialised chair
For anyone having to do similar, here is how I went about it:
Before I started my fund finding, I spoke to my GP, and my OT about the benefits in my having a specialised wheelchair and how it would help me maintain my independence in daily living. However, these specialised chairs come with "designer price tags" and although I was aware of there being help out there in funding children’s wheelchairs, I hadn’t heard of anything similar for adult’s, so I wondered if it was possible to get some help through the UK Charities?
My GP and my OT both gave me a letter of support including assessment details.
I contacted Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and they sent me a Funder Finder Form which can also be downloaded from the Joseph Patrick Trust Guidelines on
http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org/care_ ... _with.html
As soon as I completed the form with my personal details, I returned it to MDC who would process it and write back with a list of charitable bodies I could approach.
In the meantime, I made an appointment to have a home demonstration of the specialised wheelchair I had been looking at. I also asked my OT to be present at the demo just to make sure it was going to be suitable for me. After going through the various functions on the chair, we all agreed that this was the right one for me. I explained to the rep that I would be approaching various charities for help towards funding the chair and asked if he would send me a written quote of the cost involved which I could photocopy and send to the Charities together with my letters of support.
When I received the list of charitable bodies whose umbrella I fell under from MDC
I wrote them a letter explaining who I was/my fsh condition/ details of the specialised wheelchair and the benefits this type of chair would make to my daily living. I then, forwarded my letter together with photocopies of the quote and letters of support.
When they received my letters, most of the Charities forwarded their own Application forms for completion. These were sent either to me or to the Professional who supported my application. In my case, they were sent to my OT.
It was important to keep up to date with all correspondence so I kept everything together in one file. My OT did similar, as we often had to contact each other to let each other know which Charities we had heard from.
Through writing to Charities, I have learned that the Trustees only meet every so often during the year. Sometimes, this may only be twice a year, in which case there will be a waiting period, and then you have to wait and see whether or not your application has been successful.
As the Charities wrote back either to me or my OT, we had to keep an up to date working list of the various amounts of pledges or promises. As soon as the total was raised we wrote to let them know, so they could forward their cheques. The cheques were then banked into a Muscular Dystrophy Fund Raising Account by the Regional Care Advisor of MDC, who kindly agreed to oversee the funding on my behalf until it was required.
As soon as all the cheques were banked, I contacted the wheelchair rep so he could place the order for the chair which usually takes about 4 to 5 weeks. I was thrilled to bits when it was delivered
When I look back at all the paperwork work that has been done over these past months was it worth it…?
You bet it has..!!
After getting used with the chair’s functions, I had some photo’s taken which I forwarded together with Thank You Cards to all those concerned.
On an end note, I would like to thank everyone who supported me in my venture. I especially would like to thank my friend and OT Linda Morris who has supported me throughout.
I met Linda 15 years ago when she worked as Family Care Advisor with Muscular Dystrophy Campaign during which time she dedicated herself in supporting patients and their families living with muscular dystrophy.
Three years ago, due to changes in the NHS Linda had to leave her position and we became friends.
While working as Family Care Advisor, Linda herself campaigned for funding towards much needed specialised equipment. I asked her if she could offer any advice to our Group having to do similar, and this is what she said…
Hi Carol,
Sorry for delayed reply.
The key thing is to get a letter of support from a professional, preferably with assessment details (like my letter) but failing that just a general letter of support (like your GP letter).
Many people can manage the paperwork and forms but without the support of a professional letter they'll run into problems.
The ideal is for the MDC care advisor to do the letter, as some charities and trusts require the backing of another charity before they'll consider an application.
MDC Care advisors who are OT’s or physio’s may have more experience of equipment than those who are nurses or social workers.
Of course they may refuse on the basis that they don't have time.....
NHS or Social Services OT’s may be willing to provide a letter as long as the individual will take on the paperwork and processing.
The other hurdle is the holding of any money raised, and for that they are likely to need the assistance of JPT, who (I think) will hold cheques in an account for an individual.
( yes, this is correct, you can download JPT Grant Guidelines on
http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org/care_ ... _help.html – Carol)
An independent OT may do a one-off assessment, and letter, but some are a bit expensive!
Personally I would happily do one-off letters of support free of charge for any of your people, but they probably live too far away.
It’s a difficult situation isn't it?
Linda x
For anyone having to do similar, I do hope this has been of some help, and for those interested you can view my photo’s on the following link:
click here for more info
Carol xx
What is it exactly ?
