The challenge

Our client, the Muscle Help Foundation charity, provides unforgettable, life-changing experiences for children and young people between the ages of 8 and 28 who suffer with the muscle wasting condition, Muscular Dystrophy.

It is a small charity that punches well above its weight but is run by a husband and wife team (the husband has Muscular Dystrophy himself) from their home in Hertfordshire.

They run the charity themselves without much outside help and no regular team to help organise their events. They approached us over 5 years ago as they run two regular programmes each year and needed help with project managing both events.

One event is a driving programme, offering 8 young beneficiaries and their families the chance to be driven in Porsche cars around the track at Silverstone, including an overnight stay at a nearby 4-star hotel and the other is a flying programme, offering 4 beneficiaries and their families the chance of a short flight in a small 6-seater plane from Blackbushe Airport in Farnborough, including an overnight stay and the nearby Village Hotel.

All aspects of both events needed someone very organised, with an eye for detail who would put themselves out to make sure that everything had been covered, especially managing accommodation and transport for a number of disabled children plus a large volunteer team to help at each event.

The results

We were delighted to come on board with the charity and have been successfully running both programmes for them for the past 5 years, giving many children and young people from around the UK with Muscular Dystrophy the chance to fulfil their dreams and be driven in fast cars or soar into the sky in a small plane.

The children and young people have all enjoyed the experiences immensely but also these programmes have given their families a day or two of respite from their constant role of carer and allowed them to meet other families going through the same experiences.

We and the charity have received many, many testimonials from delighted families, expressing how much they enjoyed the day and, in some cases, how much it has changed their and their children’s lives.

In addition, the volunteer teams that we have managed for each event annually get so much from the experience that they sometimes come back again and again to volunteer year after year!