Thanks to CHIPS Charity and the joint fundraising efforts of customers and staff at Cashino Oxford, 11-year-old Ethan Brown has been presented with a brand new wheelchair, which the ecstatic year 7 schoolboy said will give him more independence, and the ability to self-propel without tiring as easily.
Cashino, which operates 165 adult gaming centres across the country, is one of the main fundraisers for CHIPS, a charity set up on behalf of the casino and gaming industry, which provides specialised wheelchairs for children with severe mobility problems.
Ethan, who lives in Chipping Norton, West Oxfordshire with his mum Natasha, sister Alyssa and twin brother Vincent, suffers from spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that permanently affects muscle control and coordination.
Ethan’s mum, Natasha, said: “Although Ethan can walk a short distance with a ‘K’ walker, he has to use a manual wheelchair around school. Whilst he’s good at self-propelling, he gets tired very easily and has to ask for help from a teaching assistant to get around school. This new powered wheelchair will mean he can travel a lot further without assistant, giving him the independence any 11-year-old boy wants. We’re so thankful to Cashino and CHIPS for this wheelchair; it will really make a difference to Ethan’s life, and ours.”
Cashino Oxford venue manager, Neale, said: “It’s such a proud moment to know that our fundraising efforts are going to make such a huge difference to Ethan and his family’s life. He’s such a lovely, friendly boy who thoroughly deserves this powered wheelchair.”
One of the co-founders of CHIPS charity Linda Lindsay said: “It is so important for CHIPS that our donors see the results of their hard work, and we try to ensure that all the recipients are local to where the funds have been raised. Cashino and parent company Praesepe have been amazing, and have donated £1.2 million allowing CHIPS to provide more than 150 wheelchairs up and down the country.”
In total CHIPS has raised more than £2.2 million to date and presented over 520 wheelchairs to children throughout the UK.
