It’s looking to be a birthday full of excitement for Noah – who not only celebrates turning 12 next month – but can now really do so in style, in his fantastic new space that has been created to meet his needs safely and securely.

‘Noah’s new bedroom, bathroom and accessible garden’, which involved converting an attached garage into a bedroom and wetroom, with a ceiling track and hoist to aid Noah’s mobility, saw his family needing to raise £17,000 required above the council grants awarded for the works.

Noah’s Dad gives us an insight into life before the works commenced:

“Before we had our home adapted, one of the main difficulties we faced was lifting/carrying our son up/down the stairs to access his bedroom and our family bathroom. Additionally, the family bathroom was too small to carry him in and give him a wash in his bath chair. The lifting and carrying meant we were putting both our son and ourselves at risk. Another issue we had is that our kitchen diner space was too small to be able to feed our son whilst he was in his wheelchair. The garden access was also an issue as the patio door was not wide enough for our son’s chair and there was a step down onto the patio which was very old and uneven.”

Noah’s family set about fundraising through Sullivan’s Heroes, raising the funds required through personal donations from friends and family, together with support from various external charitable funds and organisations. Noah’s father’s employment within the education sector enabled access to funding support from educational organisations Teaching Staff Trust and Education Support, along with many other generous organisations.

Noah’s father explains the benefits Sullivan’s Heroes brought to the fundraising journey:

“The support provided from Sullivan’s Heroes meant that we could get the funding required to complete the project. We were given direct funding from them as well as being signposted to other charities who would be able to help. They even helped us complete applications for some of the suggested charities as well as provide statements of support for our cause.”

“Sullivan’s Heroes gave us funding directly and informed us of charities that were known to them who could potentially help us. Fiona was instrumental in the success we had with our funding applications to other charities and was always available on the phone or via email when there were any queries or concerns.”

The extension to Noah’s home has not only improved internal space and access for Noah around the house, but the external wheelchair accessible space that has also been created means Noah can now enjoy the garden with his family rather than sitting in the kitchen watching his sister play outside.

Noah’s Dad tells us the difference the works have brought about:

“Our son now has a downstairs bedroom and wetroom with a ceiling hoist as well as additional space in the kitchen dining area. This means that we do not have to carry him around the house and can transport him safely from bedroom to wet room as well as putting him in his chair. Having a larger dining space has meant that our son can have his meals in the kitchen dining area and more importantly eat with the rest of his family.  We can now also take our son into the garden with ease as new bifold doors have been installed for wider access and the patio has been updated so that it is level with the door which means we can just push the chair smoothly into the garden.”

“We as a family can now look after our son safely and meet all his caring needs with the new accessible rooms and added space. Our son can enjoy his wash time in his new wetroom and there is plenty of space in his new bedroom to store all his medical equipment which would have been otherwise in the shed. We can eat as a family together in the new dining space and that has brought us closer together as a family. Having garden access for our son means that he can appreciate the outdoors and nature which is important to him as he has visual impairment and so relies on his sense of smell and sound.”

We are so pleased at Sullivan’s Heroes to hear of the benefits these adaptations have brought to Noah’s life ­– and equally pleased to hear these lovely final words from his family as to how the charity enabled these:

“We heard about Sullivan’s Heroes from a parent at our son’s school who spoke very highly of the organisation. Once I made contact with Fiona the support provided was wonderful and I am so grateful for all the charities that were suggested to us as by applying to them we managed to reach our target."

“I can’t thank Sullivan’s Heroes enough for their support and dedication to our project goal. Without them, we would not have been able to complete the project as we were still far off from our target funds when we first contacted them for help. The charities that we were made aware of and applied to would not have ever been known to us and so this support was crucial to us reaching our target.”

View the fundraising page for ‘Noah’s new bedroom, bathroom and accessible garden’ here.