CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
MIRACLE WORKERS
MIRIAM BALANESCU MEETS THE TEAM BEHIND LITTLE MIRACLES, A CHARITY SUPPLYING CRUCIAL SUPPORT THAT’S OFTEN OUT OF REACH FOR CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS I n 2010, Michelle founded the charity
she wished she’d had access to years before. Her son Oliver was born with severe disabilities. Despite being told he would not live beyond a few months, Oliver came home after over a year in the neonatal intensive care unit. However, the lack of support and accommodation for his needs became glaringly clear – coming to a head when Michelle and Oliver struggled onto a bus, life-support equipment in tow, only to be instructed by the driver to get back off. “She’d reached a point of absolute despair and loneliness, just not knowing what on earth to do, how to get any help, whether there was indeed any help to get. Oliver’s actually outside here, running around,” says head of income generation Louise Evans, as I speak to her from their centre in Peterborough. “He’s 15 now.” For Michelle, the isolation she felt amid a lack of care and community was the most crushing facet of what her family faced. To tackle this, she started a coffee morning for parents and children sharing similar experiences, which has now evolved into an award-winning charity with 14 branches across East Anglia. Love for Little Miracles, a charity for
PATCHWORK PHILANTHROPY Little Miracles’ Blanket Campaign experienced country-wide success
needs, disabilities and life-limiting conditions. For services we offer to families and the children themselves, there is no end to referrals. We’re just getting busier and busier, growing slowly. It’s baby steps because we want to maintain the level of care we are giving.” For all charities relying on donations, the cost-of-living crisis has been incredibly tough. The Blanket Campaign was devised as an inexpensive, easily posted way to
children who have additional needs, disabilities and life- limiting conditions, extends throughout
lend a hand. It has certainly worked – and genuinely makes a difference. With inflation hitting families on lower incomes hardest, disability living allowance often doesn’t stretch to cover the most
February, I just don’t know. But we’ll do everything we can to be here for them.” It truly is a team of miracle workers keeping the cogs turning; Louise comes from a background in health and social care for young people, while volunteers provide a diverse range of expertise, from care work to gardening. “We’ve got huge grounds here – we’re very lucky, in protected woodland. But it takes an awful lot of maintenance.” With a new centre soon opening in Holbeach, Little Miracles is always on the lookout for volunteers. “You see the difference you’re making every day,” Louise urges. “Children here remind you why it’s so important that we find the support and help from the community we need, in order to carry on being there for them.”
There is no end to referrals. We are just getting busier and busier
the UK. Its recent Blanket Campaign made headlines on BBC News, calling for knitted patches to stitch into blankets for children as energy prices soar.
basic needs of children. “We’ve spoken to families who are genuinely terrified that their electricity is going to be cut off in the middle of the night because their children are on life support,” says Louise. “For that to happen would be catastrophic. “We’ve got families coming in literally in flip-flops even with this weather, because they don’t have any shoes that will fit their child,” she adds. “The impact is already being seen. What it’s going to bring come
Apart from providing a safe, inclusive space, plus training and counselling for families, Little Miracles’ work is hard to confine, constantly adapting to the needs of its communities. “We very rarely say no to anything and try to find a way to help everyone that comes to us, even if they don’t have a diagnosis,” explains Louise. “There is a huge gap in statutory provision for children with additional
To find out more about how to get involved, visit littlemiraclescharity.org.uk
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