THG in the Community is our social impact strategy for contributing to positive change and making a meaningful impact in our local communities. Newlife are transforming the lives of disabled and terminally ill children by creating opportunities to help them reach their potential. Besides managing their disability, the sad reality is that thousands of children do not receive the specialist equipment needed to help them thrive.  

Currently, there are 1.7 million disabled and terminally ill children in the UK, many of whom rely on Newlife to acquire essential equipment due to refusals by statutory services or supply delays. Without these services, children are losing out on valuable life experiences. The charity exists to support parents, partner with health professionals, and aid in creating a future where all disabled children have access to the equipment they need.  

THG recently donated nearly 100,000 units of various body care products from our Mini Mio and Mio range. The estimated contribution from these sales is £13,676. So far, approximately 55% of the products have been sold both in-store and online, with sales continuing. With the average cost of equipment, this donation has the potential to make a significant impact on children and families in need, including those like three-year-old Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth’s Story  

Elizabeth seemed to be a perfectly healthy little girl who was saying her first words and taking her first steps, much to the delight of her family – but not long after her first birthday, she began to regress, quickly losing her ability to speak and make any purposeful hand movements.  

Now, doctors have given Elizabeth a working diagnosis of Rett Syndrome, a rare and heartbreaking neurological and developmental disorder which affects the way the brain develops. It means parents of any child with this condition are forced to look on helplessly as they gradually lose all the skills they had watched them gain with such joy.  

The condition is now affecting Elizabeth’s mobility and makes it much harder for her to go anywhere. But the specialised car seat and buggy she needed to keep her pain-free cost more than £7,000 – prompting Elizabeth’s mum, Heather, to turn to Newlife for help.  

Heather said: “Because her old buggy no longer supported her properly, Elizabeth was in pain so would refuse to get into it, but she can’t walk far and would sit down on the floor, making it impossible to go anywhere.  

Having the right equipment to meet her needs right now has made such a big difference, helping her feel more comfortable and be in less pain – in fact, she loves the buggy so much it has become her safe place wherever we are.  

It means so much for Elizabeth to be able to join in with everything as much as possible while she can. We know that Elizabeth could wake up one day and no longer be able to walk, she will also regress to the point of no longer being able to chew and swallow, and she will develop epilepsy, but the timeline is different for every child who has Rett Syndrome.  

Specialist equipment is so expensive, and it wasn’t something we thought we would ever have to buy, so we are very thankful to Newlife for helping us; there is no way I could have met her needs otherwise.”  

We look forward to continuing our support for Newlife with future donations, aiming to help more children receive the care and equipment they deserve. If you would like to find out more about the work Newlife does and how to donate, please visit: https://newlifecharity.co.uk/