Highlighting the fantastic work of the charities that our clients have used, we shine our spotlight on the incredible efforts of the team at Challengers.Mark was injured at birth and received a substantial damages award. Mark is now an adult, with a care regime and a property suitable for his needs. But that wasn’t always the case whilst his parents, supported by our Clinical Negligence team, were progressing a compensation claim for Mark’s birth injury.The time came to take instructions for Mark’s Statutory Will, and gave his parents the opportunity to reflect on the difference that Challengers made to their lives, and to Mark over the years.Challengers provide safe, fun and inclusive places for disabled children and young people aged 2 to 18 across the South East, where they can make friends and have the opportunity to try exciting new activities.Mark’s father told us:“As parents of a disabled child, Challengers provided a lifeline for us when he was growing up. Being able to drop him off at the play-scheme for a few hours allowed us to do simple activities like going shopping or enjoying a leisurely lunch. It’s impossible to overstate the benefits of a few hours’ respite from a child who requires 24/7 care and supervision. And we could do so without feelings of guilt, because we knew how much he enjoyed his time there and the activities on offer. The staff seem to have limitless energy and enthusiasm, and Mark was kept occupied all day, whether he was spending his time at the play-centre, or being taken out for an activity. Seeing the Challengers’ staff take Mark swimming, ‘doughnutting’ down ski slopes, companion cycling, and swimming, amongst many other activities, gave us the confidence to try many of these things with Mark ourselves, and raised our expectations of what we could achieve with Mark and what he might enjoy. Although Mark has outgrown Challengers and moved on, we are still happy to support Challengers in as many of their fundraising activities as possible. We sincerely hope that as many parents as possible benefit from the respite and time for themselves that Mark’s time with Challengers afforded us.”We got in touch with the team at Challengers during the application for Mark’s statutory Will. They told us how much it means being remembered, and continuing to receive support from families that have used their services.Carla Gill, Head of Fundraising and Communications told us:“Leaving a gift in your will is a wonderful way to support a cause that you care about whilst also leaving a lasting legacy and making a difference. When people leave a gift in their will to Challengers, they are giving the gift of play to disabled children and young people. A gift to Challengers not only supports the next generations of disabled children and young people but also ensures future generations can access fully inclusive play and leisure opportunities without any barriers.Our non-exclusion policy means that anyone is welcome at a Challengers scheme. We don’t set any boundaries and young people do not have to be on a ‘disability register’ to access our service – where others say no, Challengers says yes. At the same time, families with disabled children can use these short breaks to pursue activities such as shopping or spending time with their other children. Families have told us that the Challengers lifeline of support keeps them strong.”Providing for a charity in a Will is one way to support charities like Challengers, but after a difficult period with the pandemic, charities like this one deserve our support for what they do for these wonderful children and young people.Mark and his family can still be found attending fundraising events for Challengers.If you would like to learn more about the work carried out by Challengers, or would be interesting in supporting them, visit their website here.“We want to enable as many families as possible to access Challengers by removing any barriers they may face” If you have any queries or questions about how to support someone to make their own decisions then please contact our Court of Protection team by email at cop@boyesturner.com.
