Banbury area family wins £750 raffle prize in draw run by charity for disabled children

Gareth and Rhiannon Birket of Great Bourton, whose son William has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome - a severe form of epilepsy, alongside developmental and muscle problems - were the winners of the Newlife charity’s Big Brand Raffle, which provided over £750 worth of vouchers for brands including Primark, River Island and Oliver Bonas.

Funds raised from the sale of tickets go towards helping disabled and vulnerable children across the UK to secure the equipment they need through the charity's services.

Newlife is the UK’s largest children’s charity provider of disability equipment and has helped more than 250 disabled and terminally ill children in Oxfordshire alone through a range of free services, including grants for disability equipment.

Newlife is the only charity provider of emergency equipment loans, often provided within 72 hours. It also provides a nurse helpline to support families as well as a Play Therapy Pod Service which loans specialist toys to aid child development.

The Birket family was helped to obtain a specialist car seat for William through Newlife's Equipment Grant Service. The seat enables the youngster to be in the correct position if he were to have a seizure.

Mr Birket said: “After a long week in hospital with this little trooper, it was a lovely surprise to get home to lots of vouchers that we won in the Newlife Raffle.

“We’re so grateful to Newlife for these vouchers. We entered the raffle as a means of supporting a great charity that has helped us considerably.

“We’ll use the vouchers to make sure that William and his little sister are kitted out for the summer holidays. We also have another baby due in October, so the vouchers will be really useful for making sure all the children have warm clothes for next winter.“

The Big Brand Raffle is one of the ways Newlife raises funds, along with revenue from the charity’s stores, to enable families with with disabled and terminally children to get the support and equipment they need.

Joanna Duggan, Director of Fundraising at Newlife, said: “We are so grateful for everyone who entered the raffle and I’m delighted to see that the winner is one of the families we’ve helped in the past.

“Each ticket bought has directly contributed to making a difference to the life of a disabled or terminally ill child. This could potentially provide life-changing specialist equipment enabling them to fulfil their potential.”