We hope you have had an enjoyable Summer. Ours at Sullivan’s Heroes has been a busy one with lots to report!

Firstly, we are delighted to bring news of not just one, but two recently completed projects. As Destiny’s Great Aunt and Guardian states of the new space and external ramp access for the 4-year-old:

“It has allowed more space for the family to spend time together and given Destiny the opportunities to use her sensory equipment in a safe and spacious environment.” 

Whilst at Toby’s new home extension, the 8-year old’s Mum explains of the new fully accessible bedroom and bathroom: 

“This space has changed everything for us as a family – giving Toby the independence he needs to thrive and learn new skills; giving him access to all of the things we take for granted.”

We have also welcomed numerous new applicants to the charity, bringing the total children supported to date to 88 – and with six of them to introduce to you here!

Iman and her family are raising funds towards the £28,000 required for ‘Iman’s home adaptation’ to improve the 14-year-old’s quality of life; whilst fundraising for ‘Sophie’s Independence’ has got off to a flying start, to raise the £25,000 needed to put life-changing adaptations in place for 4-year-old Sophie.

Meanwhile, ‘Ana-Lily’s Home Adaptations’ to meet the 9-year-old’s daily, basic needs in a more manageable way requires £50,000 to meet the cost of the project.

Other new applicants have been busy with fundraising events and activities also. ‘William and his great glass elevator’ project to fund the £20,000 required for 4 year old William’s new bedroom, bathroom and through-floor lift so he can have his complex needs managed safely has seen media coverage in their local Banbury Guardian, with both William’s Aunt Joanne and his Dad Gareth taking on huge challenges to raise funds for William, in the form of the ‘Robin Hood 100’ ultra 100 mile route, and the ‘Arc50 Ultramarathon’ respectively.

Jacob’s parents Sophie and Iain, will be walking a 32 mile route from their home in Crawley, West Sussex to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), London, next month, to raise funds for ‘Jacob’s Journey for home adaptions’. A regular visitor to GOSH since he was born, Jacob’s parents felt this would be a fitting challenge for them to undertake towards the £45,000 required to build Jacob a fully accessible downstairs bedroom, wetroom and ramp access meet the 5-year old’s needs. Their family friend Christine is also on a mammoth walking challenge – journeying 214 miles from her home in North Wales to Jacob’s West Sussex home to add sponsorship funds to his target.

Fundraising for ‘Home adaptations for Jude’ has also got off to a great start. The extension project for a fully wheelchair accessible downstairs bedroom and bathroom and full access adaptations to enable Jude to be properly cared for at home requires £50,000 above the Disabled Facilities Grant awarded. Jude’s Godparents Adam and Kelly were recently featured in their local Yorkshire Times detailing their Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk to boost funds for 2-year-old Jude.

Other families have also been in the media, with Grayson and his family’s fantastic 47-mile cycle ride to meet their £25,000 target featured in Bedford Today and ITV News. We look forward to bringing news of ‘Grayson’s Inclusive Home’ project when this gets underway soon, and further details of all the projects as they progress.

Further news is in at last on this year’s London Marathon plans – and Ben Lippiett’s marathon schedule has now doubled! We wish Ben and all our intrepid fundraisers well in their amazing challenges.

We’re delighted to have received funds over the past few weeks from various sources – Lions Club have pledged funds for ongoing grants; Independence at Home provided funds for ‘George’s Help for Home Adaptions’ and ‘Fletcher’s new bedroom & bathroom’ plus further funds for George’s project were received from Glasspool Charity Trust.

Meanwhile ‘Building Thomas a Future in Bromley Cross’ also received generous assistance with a donation from Teaching Staff Trust. Our gratitude to all these organisations for help in these uncertain and trying times for the children we are supporting.

Please do get in touch if you have any fundraising events, activities and ideas you’d like to share with us; or if you would like to apply for a grant or to fundraise through Sullivan’s Heroes.

Thank you for your ongoing support, it is greatly appreciated.