Customers and staff at The Fabulous Showboat amusement arcade on Burnham-On-Sea seafront have raised funds towards the cost of a new specialist wheelchair for Bristol Children’s Hospital.
The wheelchair will be used by palliative children affected with cancer at the hospital, which provides a service for children living in Bristol and across the South West.
Some of these children remain in the hospital, while many stay at home or in hospital accommodation and regularly attend for appointments and treatment.
Cashino, which operates 171 adult gaming centres across the country including in Burnham-On-Sea, is one of the main fundraisers for CHIPS, a charity set up on behalf of the casino and gaming industry, which aims to provide specialised wheelchairs for children with severe mobility problems.
Bristol Children’s Hospital Lead Occupational Therapist Lisa Mills said: “This donation from CHIPS is fantastic. The chair will be used by parents to help their children leave the hospital and visit home, as well as getting the children out and about once home. It really gives them a lot more independence and comfort.”
“Once the wheelchair is no longer required by a family, it has been designed to be re-issued and re-used by another young person. This means it can be used for many years to come, and help a huge number of families, having a really positive impact on the department and patients. We are, of course, incredibly thankful to Cashino for the donation.”
Cashino Burnham-On-Sea’s venue manager Pauline Williams added: “It’s so rewarding to see that our fundraising efforts are going to make such a huge difference to Bristol Children’s Hospital. It’s an amazing hospital run by great people and we are just happy that we can help out.”
Co-founder of the CHIPS charity Linda Lindsay said: “It’s so important for CHIPS that our donors see the results of their hard work. Praesepe have been amazing, and to date have donated £1 million allowing CHIPS to provide more than 170 wheelchairs up and down the country.”
In total, CHIPS has raised over £2 million and presented around 500 wheelchairs to children throughout the UK.
Linda Lindsay, Daria Wierzbicka, Gill Clulow, Pauline Williams and Lisa Mills
Pictured: L-R; Pauline Williams, Linda Lindsay and Lisa Mills; and Pauline Williams, venue staff member, Daria Wierzbicka, Gill Clulow, venue staff member, Lisa Mills and another venue staff member
