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92 Clubs on a bike...
MAIDSTONE Hospital’s Intensive
Care Unit (ICU) will receive money raised through an extreme
sponsored cycle.
Local former patient Dave Sinfield will cycle around England
visiting all 92 football league grounds in England and Wales, in an
effort to raise money for the unit which saved his life.
After joining a gym to build up his muscle again, Dave had the idea
to raise money for the unit through his newly found hobby. The
mammoth 2,500 mile journey will take six weeks to complete, starting
at the end of August 2006.
Dave says that:- “I would like to praise every member of staff
who treated me, from nurses to physios to radiologists to surgeons
to porters to doctors to health care assistants to the paramedic who
wheeled me into the hospital, they were all brilliant!! Hurrah for
the NHS!”
Dave has dubbed his fundraising effort “92 clubs on a bike”
and has so far raised £3,000 from friends and family. In
addition to being sponsored for the journey, Dave has requested
memorabilia from the clubs which he will visit, these items will be
sold on eBay to raise further money.
Dave was given a 50% chance of living and spent 12 days in the
Intensive Care Unit, eight of which he was unconscious which caused
him to have memories of things which never took place, known as a
morphine induced dream. He had no recollection of the staff who had
been tending to him throughout his stay which added to the
confusion.
Gloria Wilkie, Senior Nurse on ICU said:- “We are delighted
that Dave has made a complete recovery and wish him good luck with
his sponsored goal”
If you would like to support him visit his website
www.92clubsonabike.co.uk or contact Claire O’Connor, Fundraising
Co-ordinator 01622 224 903 claire.o’connor@mtw-tr.nhs.uk.
Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Charitable Fund is a
registered charity, number 1055215.
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Receive more benefits!
HOUSEHOLDS could potentially
receive more benefits if their children stay on in learning post 16,
according to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
Young People who remain in full-time learning at 16 and claim
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) can help their families as
some households will remain entitled to other benefits, such as
Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit worth just over £60 per week.
Yet despite awareness of EMA being at an all time high, close to six
in ten (58%) parents wrongly believe that having a child who remains
in learning at 16 and receives EMA will reduce other family
benefits. This misconception could be denying eligible young people
money for staying in learning.
EMA does not affect any other benefits and the LSC is today urging
households whose annual income in 2005/06 was up to £30,810 to
remind their 16 to 19 year old children that they may be eligible
for EMA if they remain in learning after 16. They should apply
quickly so they can start receiving payments as soon as they become
eligible.
Young people can apply for EMA now or find out more by logging on to
www.direct.gov.uk/ema, or
by calling 0808 10 16219 or by picking up an application form from
their learning provider or their local Connexions centre.
Trevor Fellowes, Director of Learner Support at the Learning and
Skills Council, which
operates the scheme, said:- “While most people are now well
aware of EMA, we still need to ensure that people are not being put
off applying because of a simple misconception. EMA enables the
whole family to enjoy the benefits of learning – not only will young
people enjoy a brighter future, but they will be financially
supported to remain in learning and the rest of the family can
continue to receive benefits such as Child Tax
Credits.
We are urging young people and parents of 16 to 19 year olds to find
out if they are eligible for EMA, in advance of the new academic
year that starts in September. EMA is available on many different
courses, including GCSE retakes and vocational or academic courses
at school or college. We have also extended the scheme to include
young people on LSC funded Entry to Employment (e2e) or a Programme
Led Apprenticeship.”
In order to apply, young people need to follow this procedure:-
1. Pick up an application form from their learning provider,
Connexions personal adviser or by logging onto
www.direct.gov.uk/ema. or
by calling 0808 10 16219
2. EMA is paid directly into a young person’s bank account,
therefore if they haven’t got an account, they should set one up and
obtain a statement in their name or ask the bank to fill in the
relevant part of the application pack to verify the account.
3. Parents/carers need to fill in parts of the application form and
provide evidence of household income in the previous financial year
2005/2006. This will normally be a Tax Credits Award Notice (TCAN)
from the HMRC. Some parents/carers may need to send in a P60 (for
employed parents) or SA302 (for self-employed parents).
4. Once the form is correctly completed and returned to the
Assessment and Payment Body, and if they are eligible to receive EMA,
a ‘Notice of Entitlement’ will be sent to the young person,
which will explain how much the young person can receive when they
enrol on a valid learning programme with their learning provider and
start attending regularly.
5. The young person should take the ‘EMA Contract Part 1’
which accompanies the Notice of Entitlement, to their school,
college or learning provider when they start their learning
programme and sign an ‘EMA contract’ agreeing to be paid in
return for regular attendance and commitment to their course. |
