What is the Giving Back fund?

Each year, we commit £5,000 in grants to families who need extra help during their child’s early years. For us, this is a huge part of what Changing Lives really means. A legal claim can take a long time to resolve, and not every claim will succeed. We understand that a child’s need for therapy or equipment often can’t wait that long, so the fund is there to give them valuable short-term support, whatever the eventual outcome.

Changing lives by supporting families

Here are some of the children the fund has helped:

  • Gympanzees

    CL Medilaw was delighted to be able to support Gympanzees in their amazing work to bring a world of fun and fitness to all disabled children. Over the summer they ran a pop-up to provide access to play and exercise to children and young people with disabilities. We used our giving back scheme to sponsor two sessions and a member of our team was able to volunteer to see their amazing work.

  • Scott

    Scott and his mum Sal have waited a very long time for a new property from their local housing association to be adapted to meet Scott’s needs. We are funding sensory lights and a music system to come with Scott’s specialist bath in his new home to make bath time even more fun and relaxing for him. As described by Sal, the bath is his “happy place” and we think it deserves to be made special.

    “I’m so grateful to CL Medilaw for funding the lights and sound for Scotty’s bath. He struggles badly with anxiety and having a bath with his favourite tunes and relaxing lighting will help him hugely. Thank you!”

    Sal, Scott’s mum

  • Charlie

    Music has always been Charlie’s great passion, but cerebral palsy affects his arms and body, which makes playing instruments a real challenge. When he started at Treloar’s, he took up singing lessons to help his breathing, speech and diction. He then discovered the Clarion, an accessible instrument he’d seen another student playing. We gave £500 towards his lessons, and his mum Laura says they bring him immense happiness.

    “Charlie’s teacher specialises in music and told us that he had seen another student using the Clarion and expressed an interest in using this too. We are so grateful to CL Medilaw for offering £500 towards singing and clarion lessons as this brings Charlie immense happiness on top of helping him cognitively and with his fine motor skills.”

    Laura, Charlie’s mum

  • Jorgie-Rose

    The siblings of a child with a brain injury are often greatly impacted and that’s why we think it is also important to support the wider family. We are ‘Giving Back’ to Jorgie-Rose and her family by paying for some extra professional care so that her siblings can enjoy a trip to the seaside with their Mum and Dad together, something that is normally impossible, with a little extra money to pay for an ice cream or two.

    “Using the Giving Back money to help fund Jorgie’s nursing care allows us to spend time with her older brothers away from the stresses of home doing normal things, like trips to the sea side or days out, which we otherwise would struggle to do together.”

    Jason, Jorgie’s dad.

What the fund can pay for

Every family we meet has different needs, so we keep the fund as flexible as possible. Grants have paid for therapies, such as conductive education and intensive physiotherapy. They’ve also covered music lessons that support speech and motor skills. Others have funded equipment that makes everyday life easier, from smart lighting to sensory bathrooms. Some grants support the wider family too, giving parents and siblings precious time together that might otherwise be out of reach.

Support that doesn’t depend on a claim

We know how hard it can be to wait for answers when your child’s support can’t wait. Grants from the fund aren’t tied to how a legal case turns out. If early therapy, new equipment or community support would help your child, we’d love to hear from you, whatever stage you’re at and whatever happens next.

How the fund works

As our team gets to know each family, we often see where a little extra help could make a real difference. That might be a course of therapy, a piece of equipment or a break for the whole family. When we see how we could help, we may offer to fund it directly or contribute towards it. There’s no application form or panel, it’s simply part of how we support the families we work with.

Have you been told you don’t have a claim?

If another firm has told you there’s no claim to bring, it may still be worth another look. Our second opinion service gives your child’s case a fresh review from specialists who handle birth and brain injury claims every day. Sometimes a closer look at the records tells a different story. Whatever we find, our support for your family doesn’t stop at financial compensation alone.

Supporting the charities families rely on

Sometimes the best way to reach families is through the charities that are also dedicated to helping them. We’ve used the fund to sponsor sessions at Gympanzees, which brings play and exercise to disabled children, and one of our team volunteered on the day.

We also donated to the Footsteps Foundation to fund intensive physiotherapy for a child who couldn’t otherwise have accessed it.