Spinal Injury Charity to Benefit

Law firm Irwin Mitchell, specialists in personal injury, has set up a bursary fund to support a leading national disability charity.

The Back-Up Trust is a charity that runs a range of services for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) as well as their friends, family and volunteers to encourage independence, self-confidence and motivation following a life changing injury.

The cash injection from Irwin Mitchell will enable children and adults, who may not have been able to afford them, to be able to participate in the life-changing courses run by the Back-Up Trust.

Approximately three people every day have an accident or injury that results in permanent paralysis through damage to the spinal cord.  Over 40,000 people in the UK have a spinal cord injury (SCI), the majority of whom are wheelchair users. 

Courses are open to anyone with spinal cord injury. Whether you are eight or 80, male or female. The charity’s mission is to provide a supportive social network centred on the individual needs of people with spinal cord injury, taking into account friends, family, colleagues and medical professionals, to support the rehabilitation process.

Grahame Codd, Managing Partner from Irwin Mitchell in Manchester, said: “We are very proud to be supporting the bursary for the Back-Up Trust. We deal with people on a daily basis who are living with the consequences of spinal injuries.”

“The work the charity does is invaluable to people with such injuries, providing them with opportunities to build their confidence and surpass their own expectations of what they can do in a positive and enjoyable way.”

Bea Richardson, fundraising manager at the Back-Up Trust said: “It means a great deal to receive the sponsorship from Irwin Mitchell as this enables us to support more people with spinal cord injury to surpass their aspirations.

“Back-Up courses can be a life changing experience for participants but are also expensive to run. All support, that helps us to achieve our aims of spinally injured people pushing outside their comfort zone, is very important.

“The money we received is being utilised to provide bursary places for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) to attend our courses. We usually ask people to make a donation towards the costs of their place but not everyone is in a position to do so – the Irwin Mitchell Bursary allows us to reach those who require a course place, regardless of ability to contribute.”

Bea added: “For those who are benefiting I think the bursary is a great idea, as often people are uncomfortable thinking that as a charity, we are providing something ‘free’ – this way they know that a company has used some of its money to enable them to attend the course, rather than us using charity funds.