A charity which supports children and young people with cerebral palsy has expanded its services after being awarded £90,000 by the Steve Morgan Foundation.
The grant will help cover the salaries of two key members of staff at Stick ‘n’ Step over a three-year period.
Stick ‘n’ Step provides free weekly conductive education sessions from centres in Wallasey and Runcorn to children and young people with cerebral palsy up to the age of 25.
The charity relies on supporters and volunteers to help raise the £750,000 required to deliver its services to over 100 families each year from across Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales.
Chief executive, Amy Couture, said, “To meet growing demand we have expanded our services and we want to continue to develop our services to maximise the outcomes for every family we support.
“We want to improve people’s quality of life. Our biggest cost relates to staff costs and it can be a challenge and this current donation will make such a difference towards meeting our staffing costs.
“We’ve had a wonderful relationship with the Steve Morgan Foundation for a number of years. They funded our Runcorn centre when it was first developed.”
The Steve Morgan Foundation has now stepped in to cover a £90,000 salary shortfall for the roles of a conductor and a lead conductor/early years teacher over the next three years.
CEO Amy Couture added, “The £90,000 from the Steve Morgan Foundation gives us security and we’ll be able to supplement it with our own fundraising. We’re very grateful for their support.”
Stick ‘n’ Step provides conductive education for children and young people with cerebral palsy and aims to help every child reach their potential and give them the best chance of living a full and independent life.
Staff use activity-based tasks, exercises, rhythmic routines, songs and educational play to teach key life skills to children and young people.
These include walking, talking, self-feeding, dressing and undressing, and life skills such as cooking and cleaning.
The key to the success of any of these skills is the repetition of doing the task, hence the need for weekly sessions and rhythmic routines and songs to act as reminders.
Jonathan Masters, Trustee of the Steve Morgan Foundation, said, “Stick ‘n’ Step is a proactive charity which receives no statutory funding. By attending sessions at the charity, children and young people with cerebral palsy not only access much-needed conductive education, but they also form friendships with children and families who face similar challenges. We are delighted to be able to help to continue with the incredible work they do.”
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