Two mid Cheshire charities need your help to win share of £16,000

Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing £128k in cash to support local charities across the country and we have a £16,000 share to distribute across the north west.

In August and September, we asked readers to decide where this money should be spent and after being inundated with nominations The Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund, which supports Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), has been put forward as the nominee for Northwich and the NeuroMuscular Centre is Winsford’s chosen charity.

The two mid Cheshire charities join a shortlist of ten from across the region who will take a share of the available funding.

Now, we are putting the power to allocate the cash back into the hands of our readers and we need your help to make sure that The Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund and the NeuroMuscular Centre receive a big share of the money.

For the next three weeks, you are invited to collect tokens printed inside the Northwich and Winsford Guardian which can then be sent to collections across the area or posted in to us.

Each token collected will be used to allocate the cash to the nominated charity – so if The Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund collects 50 per cent of all tokens collected it will receive 50 per cent of the £16,000. Likewise, if the NeuroMuscular Centre were to receive 40 per cent of all tokens collected it will receive 40 per cent of the money.

Deborah Dixon has been raising money for Cardiac Risk in the Young, which is supported by The Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund, since tragically losing her only son Aaron at the age of 23 from an undetected heart defect.

Deborah set up a memorial fund in Aaron’s name and continues to raise money for young adults to receive heart screening.

Deborah Dixon lost her son Aaron when he was just 23 from an undetected heart defect

She said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as one of the Cash for Charities nominations and would like to thank everyone who took time to nominate the charity.

“I set up The Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund when I lost my only son Aaron at the age of 23 to an undetected heart defect.

“I have since been raising money to fund free heart screening for all young adults aged 14-35 in Cheshire.

“I have six screening days booked in Northwich next year at a cost of £36,000, so any money received from the vote will be put towards these events.”

The NeuroMuscular Centre (NMC) has been a charity in Winsford for more than 32 years, helping people from local communities who are affected by neuromuscular conditions, by providing a range of essential services and specialist advice.

Funding for the Neuromuscular Centre will go towards to improving gym equipment

Natasha Froggatt, community and events fundraiser, said: “We’re very grateful to be selected as the representative charity for Winsford.

“The people of Winsford have supported us, donated to us and helped us so much over the past three decades.

“Any funds awarded will help us to replace and upgrade our physiotherapy equipment, in particular equipment for our accessible gym – the only one of its kind in the UK and Europe!

“Much of our equipment is adapted and custom built to be as accessible as possible.”

Pick up a copy of this week's Northwich and Winsford Guardian and find the first token on page 8. You have until Sunday, November 20 to vote. 

You can post your tokens or drop them off at collection points which are located at the following places:

• Vale Royal Abbey Arms, Chester Road, Northwich, CW8 2HB

• Fresh Floral Design, 289 Chester Road, Hartford, CW8 1QL

• The Cutting Lounge, 228 London Road, Northwich, CW9 8AQ

• Willowgreen Home & Gifts, 463 London Road, Davenham, CW9 8NA

• Greenwood Lighting, 59 Mere Lane, Sandiway, CW8 2NR

• Premier Stores Cuddington, 109-113 Norley Road, Cuddington, CW8 2LE

• Tesco Extra Superstore, Manchester Road, Northwich, CW9 5LY

• Sainsbury’s, Venables Road, Northwich, CW9 5RT

• Waitrose, 22 London Road, Northwich, CW9 5HD

• NMC Design & Print, Woodford, Winsford, CW7 4EH

• Morrison’s, Nat Lane, Winsford, CW7 3GZ

• Asda, The Drumber, Winsford, CW7 1BD

• Morrison’s, Newton Bank, Middlewich, CW10 9EX

• SKN Traders, Weaver Street, Winsford, CW7 4AJ

• Spar/Over Square Shell Garage, Delamere Street, Winsford, CW7 2LU

• Tesco Express, 1 Wheelock Street, Middlewich, CW10 9AG

• Tesco Express, 76 Warmington Lane, Middlewich, CW10 0DJ

• Middlewich News and Post Office, 49 Wheelock Street, Middlewich, CW10 9AB

Here are all the finalists in the running for the £16,000 Gannett Foundation funding:

Byrne Avenue Trust, Rock Ferry, Wirral

What they do: Byrne Avenue Trust was set up to rescue, restore and re-open Byrne Avenue Baths, a 1930s building in the heart of Rock Ferry, Wirral. After substantial restoration of the first areas, the Baths re-opened a year ago as a Sports and Community Centre.

What the money would be used for: The money would fund two new activity clubs. Buggy Club will be open to babies and toddlers and their grown up, whether that is mum, dad, grannie and grandad, auntie or uncle. It will be a fun place for little ones to play with a range of sports related equipment, helping them to develop co-ordination, dexterity, language, and social skills. The Byrne Avenue Pensioners (BAPs) will be a warm, welcoming social club open to everyone of an older generation. The BAPs will plan their weekly activities but initially it will be board games, music, sports or films, accompanied by refreshments.

William’s Gift, Warrington

What they do: Support children and their families in hospital by providing various care packages. The packages include: A little box of smiles, which are for children on longer term admissions and include items to cheer them up and entertain them during their stay in hospital. A little bag of help, which is essentially an emergency pack of essentials for parents who find themselves on an unexpected admission to hospital with their child. There are also activity packs and bravery packs which contain various items for staff to distribute on the wards as and when required.

What the money would be used for: To expand the care packages to include specific packs for ICU patients and families in the three hospitals the charity covers.

Willowbrook Hospice, Prescot

What they do: Willowbrook Hospice is an independent UK charity formed in 1993 to establish and create a local, specialist palliative care unit for the community.

What the money would be used for: The provision of health and wellbeing support for people living within our community living with a life-limiting illness. The hospice needs a virtual reality machine which will enable people living with acute pain to achieve some respite during VR delivery at drop-in clinics. The cost is in the region of £3,500 and has been proven to provide relief from pain.

The Bury Project, Bury

What they do: Personal debt is a burden too great for many to cope with by themselves. It leads some to despair of life itself, and it prevents others from fulfilling their potential.

For Bury residents experiencing such distress, the CAP Debt centre offers a free debt counselling and support service. The Bury Project charity runs the centre in partnership with national debt charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP). The debt coach and a team of committed trained volunteers guide clients through the complex process of dealing with debt, and then presents them with professional advice and ongoing support from CAP’s qualified debt advisors.

What the money would be used for: The cost-of-living crisis is inevitably causing an increase in the number of people seeking debt advice from supportive organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau and Stepchange. Many of these organisations are operating at full capacity.

This is also the case with Bury’s CAP Debt centre, with some clients having to wait three months to receive help. The restriction on current capacity is also resulting in some people being turned away. The Bury Project would like to increase capacity by 50% for 2023 and thereby assist more people. This will only be possible if more funding can be secured.

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team, Bolton

What they do: As a non-government funded charity, the main aim is to relieve the suffering and distress of those who become injured during outdoor activities or vulnerable adults/children who are missing/lost. They do this with a team of 70 volunteers who are available 24/7 regardless of weather conditions and personal commitment. Engaging with people from all walks of life, age groups, ethnicity, they also engage with the local community to educate them about hazards of the outdoors and how to stay safe, providing unquestionable help to those in need.

What the money would be used for: The team needs waterproof jackets and trousers that are able to keep them warm and dry during their time outside in the worst weather conditions. The current equipment has been in use for more than 20 years so needs replacing as it’s no longer waterproof. The clothing required is specialist clothing and specific to the needs of mountain rescue teams.

Credu Connecting Carers, Llandrindod Wells

What they do: 1:1 family support working towards shared personal outcomes, creating sustainability and resilience for carers to be enable them to continue to care and lead the life that they chose. Community support links carers with their local community offering peer support and reducing isolation. Voice and influence is a carers forum, where carers have a voice to influence the services that affect them.

What the money would be used for: Adult carers need wellbeing courses to support them in their role. The Hive, in the centre of Welshpool, is a drop-in centre and needs funding and young people on the ASD spectrum need a virtual reality system. After being given some ground by a carer and their family for us to create a vegetable patch, it needs a shed.

Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, Royton

What they do: To provide palliative and end of life care. Support is given to patients and their families and services include community care, hospice at home, in patient unit admission, complementary therapy and bereavement support.

What the money would be used for: The grant would allow the hospice to buy specialist equipment and systems to enhance patient care, better monitor, understand their needs/symptoms and enable staff to deliver medication and/or communication with the patient and their loved ones, making their final days the best they can be. Providing comfortable facilities in the Hospice for patients and their loved ones, providing care packages and access to complimentary therapy and bereavement services as well as wellbeing sessions and pamper gifts.

East Lancashire Hospice, Blackburn

What they do: Provide palliative care to people in the communities of Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley who are suffering with a life limiting illness.

What the money would be used for: Towards the bathing service, to help patients who are not able to use their own bathroom facilities.

Cash for Charities T&Cs

Newsquest terms and conditions will apply where relevant to the grants process; please newsquest.co.uk/prize-competition-rules. Personal data will be used by Newsquest and its agents solely for the administration of the grants process and will not be shared with any third party; our general privacy notice is at: newsquest.co.uk/privacy-policy. This campaign will be published in multiple Newsquest publications across this Newsquest region. The 10 charities chosen by the local editorial panel will be voted for by our readers. The value of the grant awarded to each of the 10 charities will be calculated pro rata according to their share of the vote. Only original voting coupons will be accepted, no photocopies. The cash grants will be sent by BACS transfer. Grants are conditional on completion of the relevant project and a successful nominee charity may be required to evidence its use of the grant. The top 10 charities selected for the vote will be contacted to provide additional information for entry into the readers’ vote; should this information not be provided within the timescale provided then the editorial panel will select an alternative charity. The charity must be registered with the Charities Commission and have not received a grant from the Gannett Foundation in the last two years.