Brainwave opens new shop in Ottery St Mary
On the 11 December 2009, Brainwave will open its sixteenth shop in Ottery St Mary. National charity Brainwave provides home based therapy programmes for children with cerebral palsy and other conditions such as development delay. The charity was founded in the South West and has its head office in Bridgwater, Somerset. Christine Cryne, Brainwave’s Chief Executive Officer, said “Enquiries to Brainwave about our services have been growing at 30% a year and we have almost doubled the number of families on our Programmes in five years. We receive no funding from Government and so our shops are a really important source of income that helps us to provide our Programmes to hundreds of children. We are certain that the people of Ottery St Mary will support our traditional charity shop both by shopping there and by donating goods to us. We like our shops to be part of the local community and it provides an additional service as it’s a great way of recycling for a good cause!” The shop is at 14a Mill Street, Ottery St Mary and the manageress will be Alison Potts, already well known in the town having both lived in Ottery and also worked at another local charity shop as assistant manageress. Alison says, “As well as my previous experience working in a charity shop, I also bring my knowledge and skill gained from running various small businesses. I particularly want to show how the shop will embrace the traditional ethos of a charity shop dependent on donations and will aim to have something to suit everyone’s pocket. Brainwave welcomes volunteers of all ages and background to help in running the shop and I can testify that volunteering provides a great social activity in addition to helping a small charity.” Brainwave was established in 1982 in Bridgwater, Somerset but over the last few years it has expanded to have two additional Centres (Witham, Essex and Warrington, Cheshire) and to run outreach clinics in Ireland and Scotland. It chose to open new Centres so as to take its services to the families, reducing the amount of travelling the families have to do. The Charity works with families to deliver individual, home based therapy and exercises for children with disabilities and Development Delay to reach their full potential. This can be anything from walking to recognising numbers. The charity looks after a whole range of children with conditions including Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome and Autism. Places on the programme are available for children at the South West Centre. For more information see www.brainwave.org.uk ; email: enquiries@brainwave.org.uk or phone: 01278 429089. For shop enquiries contact: Alison Potts, Tel: 07856985052. Press information: Jane Adkins, Tel: 01935 813114 or email: jane@aheadforpr.co.uk Editor’s notes 1. Brainwave’s team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists development therapists and teachers seek to transform the lives of children with disabilities. By working with parents, giving them relevant therapy equipment and teaching them correct handling skills, they are empowered to actively participate in their child’s development. 2. Families are invited to the Centre for a two day Initial Assessment where the child is assessed and a programme designed for the child. On the second day the family are shown how to undertake the exercises, which they then carry out at home, retuning to the Centre every 4-6 months when the exercises are adjusted. 3. Brainwave currently has 470 families on Programme and the enquiries are growing at 30%. 4. See the charity’s video at http://uk.youtube.com/BrainwaveCentre . 5. Brainwave uses mainstream neuroplasticity techniques in its programmes. Its Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists are NHS trained.
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