North West charities benefit from donations by law firm Napthens

Charities helping abandoned dogs find a new home and children diagnosed with cancer are among five recipients of a north west law firm's charitable trust.  

The charities have each received £1,000 through the north west-based Napthens charity foundation, as part of its ongoing annual fundraising campaigns. 

Homeless Hounds, North West Air Ambulance Charity (NWAA), Williams Syndrome Foundation, PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide and Milly’s Smiles, received the money to support their charitable work, joining an increasing number of charities supported by the Napthens Foundation.  

Jess Brown, rehoming co-ordinator for Homeless Hounds, a charity that rehomes stray and abandoned dogs across Lancashire, said: “As a small local charity that solely relies on donations such as this, this money is so important to Homeless Hounds as it means we can help save the lives of more stray and abandoned dogs and find them new loving homes. 

“With vet bills and the number of dogs we see significantly increasing every year, we appreciate every donation, as it will inevitably mean more dogs will find their forever home.” 

The North West Air Ambulance Charity (NWAA), based at Barton and Blackpool Airports, needs £1m a month to keep its three helicopters flying and four cars mobile, saving lives across the north west. 

The charity covers an area from Crewe to Carlisle, home to more than eight million people. It attends around eight life or limb-saving incidents a day and survives solely on charitable donations.

Rachel Bates, corporate and trusts manager of NWAA said: “Without donations like the one from Napthens, our clinical teams wouldn’t be able to provide specialist pre-hospital and lifesaving care to the most critically ill and injured patients. 

“We receive no NHS or government funding, and every year we must raise around £12 million to keep us operational. 

“The medical interventions we provide at the scene of an incident include Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI), administering blood transfusions, analgesia, and many other lifesaving interventions. 

“By quickly attending the scenes of road traffic collisions, incidents in remote areas and medical episodes we are able to get patients the care they need at a critical time in their lives.” 

Lorraine Wilson of Milly’s Smiles created the charity after her own daughter, Milly, passed away from cancer. Now she wants to offer support and comfort to those going through something similar.

She said of the charity and donation: “Milly’s Smiles aims to help make the journey of children newly diagnosed with cancer, that little bit easier, including those who are cared for at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. 

“The donation will go towards providing Milly’s Bags to children not long after they are admitted to hospital.

“Milly’s Bags contain items that will help during the first few days, and weeks, of their hospital stay, and are essential to making sure these children and their families have some comfort during what is a particularly worrying time for them.” 

Williams Syndrome Foundation’s finance officer, Matt Burrows commented: "As a small charity serving a small (but very special!) community, the Williams Syndrome Foundation are really grateful to Napthens LLP for supporting us with this fabulous donation. 

“Williams Syndrome is a randomly occurring genetic disorder which affects just 1 in 18,000, meaning many of our members feel isolated due to the rarity of the condition.

“This donation will go towards our 2025 National Convention which will be attended by more than 150 people with Williams Syndrome of all ages, connecting them with other families and professional experts who will share guidance on managing the challenges of this complex learning disability." 

PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people. It was founded in 1997 by a group of bereaved parents, who had lost children to suicide. 

Ged Flynn, chief executive of PAPYRUS, said: “We would like to say a big thank you to Napthens for supporting PAPYRUS and helping us to continue giving hope to young people who are struggling with life. 

“Our confidential HOPELINEUK service offers support and advice to young people and anyone who is worried about a young person who may be having thoughts of suicide.     

“PAPYRUS also engages with local communities and volunteers in suicide prevention projects and offers training to individuals and groups, equipping people with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour. 

“We believe that many young suicides are preventable and together we can all help to keep our communities suicide-safe. 

“We know this partnership with Napthens will help to raise awareness and save lives.”

Napthens Foundation will continue to support many charities across the north west in 2024 and beyond, as it looks to support a wide range of people and causes. 

Nicola Mason, Napthens’ head of people and operations, and a member of the foundation, said: “Supporting our local communities and the people who live in them is at the heart of what Napthens is all about.

“Through these five charities we know our fundraising efforts will make a tangible difference to our local communities across the north west. 

“As we continue in 2024, our fundraising efforts will continue to raise awareness and money for charities, helping ensure lives are saved, supported and guided through often difficult times.”