A Perfect Partnership

06/01/2010

Leading wheelchair accessible vehicle provider, Allied Mobility, is committed to supporting people with disabilities throughout the UK.

Year after year, Allied helps thousands of wheelchair users get into accessible transport and out on the open road.  Many Allied customers report that owning their own wheelchair accessible vehicle has given them a new lease of life.

As a company Allied Mobility is strongly committed to product development and is constantly working on new vehicles and innovations designed to help meet the needs of people with physical disabilities.  This, of course, is Allied’s core business but the company also finds other ways to support disabled people and groups.

Showing Support

Allied supports a number of disability charities across Britain, donating, taking part in fundraising events and supporting advertising campaigns.  One charity that is close to Allied Mobility’s heart is the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, the UK’s leading charity focusing on all muscle disease.

The MD charity provides free care and support for babies, children and adults affected by different forms of muscle disease. It funds world-class research to find treatments and cures, provides grants towards equipment and campaigns to raise awareness and bring about change.

Muscular Dystrophy affects around 60,000 people in the UK. Allied Mobility works in partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign team, providing support in a number of different ways.

Working Together

Allied Mobility is, of course, a regular supporter of Target MD – the MD Campaign's members' magazine.  Allied also helps to provide information on its range of wheelchair accessible vehicles through mailings to Muscular Dystrophy Campaign supporters. Allied even has a special MD Hotline - 0800 587 9693.  For any customer who rings on this number and buys or rents a wheelchair accessible vehicle from Allied Mobility, the company makes a donation back to the charity.

Christmas Spirit

Christmas is, to many people, a special time of year for giving.  Allied’s latest Muscular Dystrophy support project came about when company chairman, Gerry Facenna, realised how much it cost each year to send Christmas cards to customers.

“We wouldn’t be here without our customers and it’s nice to be able to show our appreciation of their faith in us,” comments Gerry.

“At the same time, we realised that there’s a considerable cost to printing and posting literally thousands of Christmas cards, not to mention the environmental implications, so we asked ourselves if there was another way to do things.”

The result is that this year Allied Mobility sent customers an e-Christmas card – with the saving made on postage being donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

“Hopefully this approach manages to achieve the best of both worlds,” adds Gerry.

“We still get to express our appreciation and best wishes to customers but we can also make a further contribution towards all the great work done by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.”

Living with Muscular Dystrophy

To find out exactly how Allied Mobility’s donations help to make a difference Allied Mobility Marketing Manager, Natalie McClure, met a Muscular Dystrophy Campaign supporter whose life has been greatly improved by the support and help of the charity.  Eoghan Warner, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, was invited along to visit Allied Mobility’s main wheelchair accessible vehicle manufacturing plant, in Glasgow.

Eoghan is 15 and lives in Dumbarton, near Glasgow, with mum, Elaine and dad, Robbie.  He was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy when he was 3 years old.  As a result of his condition Eoghan has limited movement of his limbs and is a wheelchair user.

Eoghan attends Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School in Dumbarton, where the majority of pupils are able-bodied. He is able to attend all his classes and navigate his way around the school along with his classmates.

Dad Robbie comments: “Although no adaptations have been made to the school to accommodate Eoghan’s condition, he is provided with learning assistance and his helper, Jonathan Highland, helps him to class, writes for him when needed and helps him with his school bag and books.”

Making a Difference

Ever since being diagnosed Eoghan and his family have had fantastic support from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, which has provided practical advice for living with the condition.

Robbie explains: “The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign provided full support for us as a family ever since we found out about Eoghan’s condition.  We have a dedicated care officer who visits us and helps us when needed.  We’ve also been given invaluable, practical information to help Eoghan live with Muscular Dystrophy, such as advice on things like home adaptations.

Through the MD charity Eoghan has been awarded grants that have made a radical difference to his life and made living with Muscular Dystrophy much easier.

Robbie recalls: “As Sommerfield’s charity of the year in 2003 part of the MD campaign, the Joseph Patrick Trust, was provided with a £1,000,000 grant to help people with MD.  We were delighted when we were awarded funding of £11,000 for a specialised wheelchair for Eoghan.  The chair allows him to lie down flat and he can also use the wheelchair to stand upright, which improves his bone density and helps with therapy for his condition.  We’ve had the chair for four years now and it’s still going strong.”

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is now Tesco’s charity of the year and the family have been successfully awarded another grant that will further help with Eoghan’s MD.

“We’ve been given £7,000 for a special bed that will turn Eoghan at night; just now me or his mum have to do this.  Turning him is essential to prevent build up of fluids in Eoghan’s body and it will also improve his oxygen levels.  We’re just delighted with the help we’ve been given.”

Fundraising

The Warner family are regular fundraisers for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and are organising a family theatre night for St Patrick’s Day next year in their home town of Dumbarton.  They also raised over £12,000 from a sponsored cycle from Glasgow to Loch Lomond.

As part of its ongoing partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, Allied Mobility has plans to support a range of fundraising events during 2010.  Allied is also committed to continuing its joint promotional campaigns and hopes that the MD hotline will also continue to bring in as many donations as possible for the charity and help people with muscle disease find suitable wheelchair accessible transport.

Robbie concludes: “ We don’t know where we’d be without the help of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and its companies like Allied Mobility that really help the charity to provide vital and practical help for living with Muscular Dystrophy.”

For more information on Allied Mobility and their range of wheelchair accessible vehicles, call the MD Hotline free on 0800 587 9693.

For further information on the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, visit www.muscular-dystrophy.org.

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