WARRINGTON based children’s charity Brainwave has received a boost from patron pop star Olly Murs after he landed the dreaded 50p prize on TV’s “Celebrity Deal or No Deal.”
Following his performance on the Channel 4 Show “Celebrity Deal or No Deal” which resulted in him “winning” the bottom prize of just 50 pence after a disastrous run with the legendary boxes, Olly has made a personal donation of £5,000 to support the charity’s work with children who have disabilities and Development Delay.
Olly said: “I am glad that I got the chance to promote Brainwave on Celebrity Deal or No Deal and helped to raise the profile of this wonderful charity that I am Patron to. I had a terrible game but will continue to fundraise and donate to this amazing cause.”
Phil Edge Chief Executive of Brainwave commented: “Olly Murs was so disappointed in not winning any money for Children’s Charity Brainwave on ‘Celebrity Deal or No Deal’ that he has very generously made a personal donation of £5,000, for which we are extremely grateful. We would like to thank him most sincerely for taking part in this programme and raising awareness of Brainwave. There was a humorous suggestion during the programme that Brainwave would have to “sack” Olly as Patron. Nothing could be further from the truth and we are very lucky to have him as our Patron.”
Following the programme Brainwave saw its Twitter feed jammed with messages of support from many of Olly’s fans wishing to make a donation and the charity is confident that hundreds, possibly thousands, of pounds will have been raised by those who understood Olly’s pain and wanted to support his charity.
Brainwave works with families to deliver home based individual therapies and exercises to help children with disabilities and Developmental Delay reach their full potential. That potential might be anything from a child sitting or walking to feeding themselves or counting. The children on Programme have a range of conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, genetic conditions including Down ‘s syndrome, as well as Autism or General Development Delay.
Families are invited to attend an Initial Assessment where the whole family is assessed and a Programme tailor made for that child developed. The parents are then shown how to deliver that Programme, which they undertake at home, returning to the Centre every 4-6 months for it to be adjusted as the child progresses.
The Centre in Somerset was set up in 1982 and Brainwave has also two further Centres in Witham, Essex and in Birchwood, Warrington as well as satellite clinics in Ireland and Scotland so that families can access Brainwave wherever they are based in the UK.
Places on the Programme are available for children at all three Centres. For more information see www.brainwave.org.uk ; email: [email protected] or phone: 01278 429089.
Picture shows Olly Murs visiting a Brainwave centre.
