Volunteers dig in to help transform garden for disabled boy (From Wharfedale Observer)
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Volunteers dig in to help transform garden for disabled boy
8:50am Saturday 16th June 2012 in News By Annette McIntyre
James Harte in the garden with his family and some of the volunteers
A nine-year-old disabled boy is enjoying a specially designed garden thanks to the efforts of a national charity and staff from a law firm.
James Harte was unable to get into his family’s overgrown garden in Horsforth in his wheelchair. But now he can enjoy being outdoors after a complete garden make-over.
The youngster, who has a condition called Ring 18 Mosaic Chromosome, suffers from global developmental delay and needs a wheelchair to get about.
Although he loves being outside, he has not been able to get into the garden in his wheelchair.
But now the garden has been transformed through the Helping Hands project, organised by the WellChild charity, with volunteers from the law firm Evershed. The charity said the task of making the necessary changes was too large for James’s parents to undertake by themselves.
The team has helped make a difference to James’s quality of life by creating an oasis of greenery, with a path leading to a new soft play area with additional sensory elements.
The transformation means James can now enjoy being outside with his brother Alphie, seven, and five-year-old sister Riannah.
WellChild is the national charity for sick children, and is committed to helping youngsters throughout the UK as they deal with the consequences of serious illness and complex conditions.
WellChild’s Helping Hands co-ordinator, Lee Trunks, said: “It is a tremendous privilege to be able to help a family such as James’s. We are extremely grateful to the team from Evershed, which worked so hard during the two days to transform James’s garden, and we were all delighted to witness his reaction to the transformation. We now have a lot of families in the Leeds area who need help with a project like this, so we would love to hear from other companies and organisations who would be willing to support us in this way.”
Families who could benefit or organisations who want to lend a helping hand should contact 0845 4588171 or e-mail helpinghands@wellchild.org.uk.
