Kettering boy Alexander has a new buggy thanks to charity fund

A little boy from Kettering has a new specialist buggy which has stopped him becoming housebound thanks to the efforts of generous shop workers.

Alexander Johnson, six, has a rare chromosome deletion, this has resulted in him having severe global developmental delay, low muscle tone and hypermobility of his joints.

When he was nine months old his parents realised that he was not developing as he should have been at that age.

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Alexander has no awareness of danger and will regularly run off unknowingly putting himself in harm’s way, so a specialist buggy is essential for keeping him safe when out and about.

Mum Michelle Johnson said: “Without the buggy it would be very difficult to go out with Alexander. When his old buggy broke we were lucky that his school loaned us a replacement until the new one arrived from Newlife.”

With the specialist buggy costing £666, and no statutory funding available, the family turned to Newlife – the UK’s leading charity funder of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness – for help.

Newlife have been helped by Central England Co-operative which made the organisation its staff-elected in 2012, and since then have raised £1.2m, helping to buy specialist equipment for more than 542 children among the trading area.

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Michelle added: “The new buggy is fantastic! Alexander loves being outdoors and the specialist buggy has made it possible for us to continue taking him out in safety. The good thing is that the buggy will grow with and him so it will definitely be used for years to come.”

Amy Marsh, Store Manager at Central England Co-operative’s food store in Hallwood Road, Kettering, said: “Central England Co-operative takes fundraising to help local communities very seriously, and we are committed to making a positive impact in the local areas in which we trade. Working with Newlife has provided a great opportunity for us to help make life easier for youngsters like Alexander.”

Store staff across the region are now targeting a figure of £1.5m in fundraising to help local disabled and terminally ill children.

You can find out more about Newlife’s work in Northamptonshire here

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