insideKENT Magazine Issue 78 - September 2018 | Page 163

CHARITY
CHARITY ROUNDUP cont.
HELP ACROSS KENT
Kent Association For The Blind
Working across Kent (including Medway,
Bromley and Bexley), the Kent Association for
the Blind goes above and beyond to ensure
that anyone who has a sight impairment is
able to live a fulfilling and fulfilled life. They
should be able to make their own choices and
walk their own paths – and it is the charity
that helps them to do exactly that and achieve
important personal goals.
KAB offers a number of different resources
to help as many people as possible. For
example, they have a rehabilitation arm that
supports those who have lost their sight. They
also have eye clinic liaison officers to support
those travelling to eye clinics who might
otherwise not be able to attend appointments.
KAB also runs over 40 different social clubs
across the county.
www.kab.org.uk
The Bridge Trust
The Bridge Trust aims to help homeless people
in West Kent. Over the past 24 years the trust
has helped more than 6,000 people and
housed over 700, getting them off the streets
and keeping them safe, warm and fed. It’s not
just about housing either; there is support and
advice on hand for those who are unsure of
what they should do and what their next step
should be, and for anyone suffering difficulties
with being homeless.
www.thebridgetrust.org.uk
Find A Voice
The mission of Find A Voice, a charity that
works across Kent and Medway, is to support
both adults and children who have severe
problems with their speech and language, and
who may also require additional
communication methods and support. Their
vision is to have a world in which no one is
unable to communicate. In order to do this,
Find A Voice is able to offer specialist
equipment at no cost (on a trial basis), public
awareness training, advice and access to legal,
professional and public bodies.
www.findavoice.org.uk
ellenor
ellenor offers superb end of life care and
support for patients and their families facing
a terminal illness. Whether someone chooses
to pass away at home, or in ellenor’s Northfleet
care home, they will be able to make their own
choice and die with the dignity they deserve.
This is personalised care for all ages.
Upcoming events include the Thames Bridges
Trek (16 bridges and 25 kilometres) and an
open air screening of The Greatest Showman
at Hartley Social Club.
www.ellenor.org
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust is
based at Medway Maritime Hospital in
Gillingham. The fund has been used to
purchase essential equipment for the unit
namely ventilators, incubators, blood gas
machines, ultrasound machine to scan babies’
brains and hearts, bilirubin machine to
measure the level of jaundice, infusion pumps
and new computer-based cot side terminals
with patient monitoring system. The Trust
also provides travel expenses to help parents
visit their babies on a daily basis.
www.oliverfisher.org
Demelza Hospice Care for Children
Demelza provides specialist care and
emotional support for children with terminal
conditions and their loved ones, so they can
enjoy time together as family, for as long as
they have. Demelza gives you choice and
control of how your child is cared for, through
support in their hospices, at home or in school.
Demelza is always coming up with
fantastic events for people to join in with to
raise money for this worthy cause, and some
that will be taking place in the coming months
including skydiving, the Thames Path
Challenge and the Canterbury carol concert.
www.demelza.org.uk
Catching Lives
Catching Lives supports rough sleepers, the
homeless and those in vulnerable housing
situations in East Kent and particularly in
Canterbury. These are the people who have
fallen through the gaps in society; Catching
Lives aims to give them somewhere to turn
to when they feel there is nowhere left to go.
The vision of the charity is that no one should
ever feel excluded; everyone has some part
to play and can always make a contribution
to society.
Catching Lives offers meals, showers,
laundry services, new clothing, even a postal
address so that family members can get in
touch or jobs can be applied for. There are
health services including mental health help
and GPs that can be registered with. And there
are activities and learning centres too.
Everything is geared towards giving the
homeless what they need to be able to start
fresh.
www.catchinglives.org
Demelza Hospice Care for Children
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