Case Studies: Major Grants
Parkinson's Disease Society
Parkinson's Disease Society received a grant of £170,000 over three years to fund research by Professor Nicholas Wood at the Institute of Neurology, University of London to study the PINK1 gene. When mutated, this gene is associated with the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain, resulting in Parkinson's. Determining how this gene affects brain cells will provide more options for developing new therapeutic treatments for this progressive neurological condition that mainly affects movement.
The Parkinson's Disease Society is the leading UK charity supporting people with Parkinson's, their families and carers by providing authoritative information and promoting Parkinson's Disease Nurse Specialists and Therapists. Entirely supported by voluntary grants and donations, the Society is also the UK's largest non-commercial funder of medical research to find better treatments and a cure.
Visit the Parkinson's Disease Society website (external link)
St John Cymru Wales
St John Cymru Wales received a grant of £42,000 to fund a new emergency 4x4 vehicle in Deeside, North Wales and contributed towards a replacement vehicle in Holyhead. The 4x4s make a huge impact on the quality of service St John Wales can provide to men, women and children. It enables St John Cymru Wales to increase the numbers of volunteers active at any one time, attend more events and treat more casualties.
St John Cymru Wales has a fleet of 100 emergency vehicles across Wales and is a leading Welsh Charity in its own right. Every year 4,700 highly-trained volunteers each give over 600 hours of their time on duty at public events, treating people suffering from anything from a cardiac arrest to a bee sting. The quick response to medical emergencies means they save lives and can dramatically reduce the long-term effects of injuries. The volunteers undergo over 40 hours of training annually equipping them with the skills they need to deal with medical emergencies - making them expert at saving lives.
Visit the St John Cymru Wales website (external link)
Bag Books
Bag Books is a national charity, working to help enrich the lives and support the learning of children, teenagers and adults with profound intellectual and physical difficulties. They provide specialist educational resources, offer training to their carers and educators, and run storytelling sessions. Together these offer a way to learn and communicate through the joy and magic of stories.
Bag Books received a grant of £24,800 payable over three years to fund the Story-Go-Round project providing storytelling packs for use in local libraries, for school-age children with severe to profound learning difficulties. This followed a successful Pilot Project, in the Eastern Counties, which introduced libraries to local school-age children with severe learning difficulties, trained library staff, and provided story-packs, with sounds and smells and textures. The grant from The Freemasons' Grand Charity will fund 100 free packs for community libraries and is helping to train more library staff on how to use them with severely disabled children.
Visit the Bag Books website (external link)