Marathon man
Mike Crawley ran more than 3300 miles
in 100 consecutive days earlier this year
to raise money for BLESMA. See p08
welcome
Don’t do it yourself!
BLESMA provides its Members
with various grants to help them
maintain their independence and
lead fulfilling lives. The majority
of grants are therefore awarded
for the provision of mobility and
disability aids such as scooters,
wheelchairs and stairlifts, as
well as for home adaptations.
But BLESMA also gives grants
to go towards redecorating costs.
“These grants are to help with
the cost of paying a decorator
to do the work rather than for
the materials themselves, since
we realise Members may not be
able to use ladders or carry out
the work on their own,” says
Heather Nicholson, Director of
Membership Services. “And if
you have a garden, BLESMA
can contribute towards the cost
of hiring a gardener, since we
understand Members may not
necessarily be able to tend their
gardens themselves.”
BLESMA also awards grants
to alleviate financial hardship.
If you feel you may need financial
assistance you can contact either
your local BLESMA Support
Officer, or Headquarters on
one of the numbers on p03.
If you do contact Headquarters
directly, requests for a grant will
be discussed with your Support
Officer before proceeding.
A Garden Grant application
form has been inserted into
this copy of the magazine.
see the
country
in total
comfort
Are you looking for great,
accessible places to stay
in England? The National
Accessible Scheme
(NAS) is invaluable if you
have visual, hearing or mobility impairment. Accommodation that
has been given NAS status has been independently assessed by
trained assessors and includes facilities such as handrails, ramps,
level-access showers, hearing loops and colour contrast. Perhaps
most importantly, staff members have been trained to be aware of
the assistance you may need.
NAS-rated businesses can be found on the OpenBritain website
at www.openbritain.net and in the ‘Holidays in the British Isles’ Guide
published by Disability Rights UK at www.disabilityrightsuk.org
At Headquarters we have copies of BLESMAG
dating back to the early years of BLESMA, and
fascinating records they are. It is interesting to
see how content and presentation have changed
over the years – and modest change is here
again. BLESMA Magazine continues to be the
source of news for Members but we want to
spread our news further so that our supporters
and stakeholders can see what we get up to.
From this issue the magazine will be more
up-to-date in its design and will be published
four times a year. Contributions are very
welcome, as always, so please get in touch.
Nowadays, we also have other ways of being
kept informed and our new website is a good
example of that – please do have a look at
www.blesma.org if you have the internet.
‘Regeneration’ was a theme of this year’s
AGM and Members’ Weekend in June. It is
a good word as it suggests looking ahead but
also rebuilding what was good in the past, and
BLESMA has much that was great to guide it.
National Chairman Sir Cedric Delves explained
how the Board of Trustees had studied BLESMA’s
work and how it should develop. The study
concluded with a great endorsement of our
value and affirmation of busy times ahead. He
spelt out the Board’s ‘intent’ which is well worth
looking at – indeed I commend the reader to look
at the report of that weekend – see p04.
While developing and regenerating, we must
also keep in mind that, as an Association, we
are really good at supporting each other – that
must never change. We are a special fellowship
of shared experiences, whether injured on
battlefields 70 years ago or last year in Helmand,
which just goes to show what a long road we
are on. Thank goodness we are helped along
the way by our generous supporters – we never
forget we are spending others’ money.
Jerome Church MBE
Chief Executive
www.blesma.org 05