Dad's urgent plea to save Heel and Toe children's charity facing £350,000 shortfall

A dad-of-two has issued an urgent plea to help save the charity which turned his son’s life around.
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Ethan Beadle was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one, after suffering a seizure not long after he was born.

But like many children in the region, Ethan, now three, has been given a standing start in life thanks to a lifeline charity which is now in danger of closing.

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Ethan – who lives in Biddick Green, South Shields with mum and dad Mark and Alice Beadle and little brother Harrison - has been attending Heel and Toe Children’s Charity, in Chester-le-Street, twice a week since he was 18-months-old.

Mark Beadle and son Ethan, 3, who attends Heel and Toe Children's Charity twice a week.Mark Beadle and son Ethan, 3, who attends Heel and Toe Children's Charity twice a week.
Mark Beadle and son Ethan, 3, who attends Heel and Toe Children's Charity twice a week.

Thanks to physiotherapy and conductive education provided by the facility he learned to sit independently, to crawl and eventually to take his first steps.

“Almost everything that Ethan has achieved now has been as a result of Heel and Toe,” said his dad Mark, 30, who campaigns to raise awareness of cerebral palsy.

“We don’t know what we would have done without it.

“Ethan couldn’t sit independently when we first took him but he started to receive physio it was just a little bit of help for us.

Ethan Beadle with dad Mark.Ethan Beadle with dad Mark.
Ethan Beadle with dad Mark.
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“Eventually they got him commando crawling, then crawling upright and then he started walking.”

Heel and Toe, which was founded in 2008 to provide physio and speech and language therapy among others, to four children with disabilities, now supports over 200 young people across the North East.

Its state-of-the-art hydrotherapy centre in Perkinsville is undergoing an extension.

But due to the coronavirus outbreak, the facility has had to close until further notice and the charity now faces a £350,000 shortfall from having to cancel all its upcoming fundraising events.

Ethan at Heel and Toe.Ethan at Heel and Toe.
Ethan at Heel and Toe.
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“It costs £600,000 a year to run the facility and it’s looking like all of our 2020 events are going to be cancelled - that will be £350,000 in revenue,” said fundraising officer, Kirsty Hutton.

“We also rely on businesses choosing us as their charity of the year but that is at a standstill as well because many aren’t running as normal and other fundraising methods such as bag packs in supermarkets have completely stopped.

Kirsty added: “It's the only one of it’s kind in the North East, it’s a really big deal for the children who come here. They really rely on it to progress.”

Heel and Toe has launched an urgent appeal to try and raise £350,000 to keep the service running.

Mark Beadle with sons Ethan and Harrison.Mark Beadle with sons Ethan and Harrison.
Mark Beadle with sons Ethan and Harrison.
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And Mark has set up his own fundraiser through Facebook, which has raised £650 so far.

“I was really surprised,” he said.

“It shows how many people out there love Ethan.

“Heel and Toe is in real danger of closing but it’s too important to lose.

“It would be devastating to so many of us, I’m not expecting one person to give £350,000 but if we could get 350,000 people to give a pound.

“Maybe we could save them and continue to provide help to the most vulnerable children In our society.”

The hydrotherapy pool at Heel and Toe.The hydrotherapy pool at Heel and Toe.
The hydrotherapy pool at Heel and Toe.
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The charity has launched a seven-day rainbow fundraising challenge which is open to everyone.

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