Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund reaches out to Furness families in need

SINCE starting private physiotherapy sessions, little Laurence Crowe’s young life has been transformed.

Having previously spent most of his time lying flat on his back, his treatment has given him the strength to sit and hold himself up, to roll over and to move in a range of a different ways.

The 21-month-old and his twin, Donovan, were born just 27 weeks into their mum’s pregnancy. Laurence was diagnosed with meningitis and cerebral palsy and later suffered a brain haemorrhage, leaving him blind and deaf with a range of complex needs requiring around-the-clock care.

In October Laurence’s parents, Jessica and Thomas Crowe, found themselves with an unexpected source of support when they received the £1,000 monthly giveaway handed out by the North-West Evening Mail on behalf of the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund. Since then, they have been able to take him on supported day trips, to sensory sessions in Kendal, on holiday to Centre Parcs and to private physiotherapy.

Mrs Crowe, 25, of Hartington Street, said: “He’s doing things now that he would never have done otherwise. It’s fantastic.

“If you have a child like Laurence that sort of money is a massive help. There’s always, always something different they need.

“It’s things other people take for granted. Things like a special seat so he can sit up at mealtimes, and his special sensory toys, which are really expensive.

“Everything is just that bit more of a challenge. This just takes such a weight off you.”

The donation received by the Crowe family sits alongside a year of incredible giveaways to demonstrate the hugely diverse support the fund provides to the community in Ray Armstrong’s name. The Barrow businessman and philanthropist set the scheme up following his diagnosis with liver and pancreatic cancer in August 2012 and lived to see its first fundraiser before his death in April 2013.

Of more than £185,000 raised and donated in his name, £12,000 a year has been handed out by the Evening Mail. In 2016, donations helped families out in their hours of need, saved the short-term future of a village youth club, and supported local charities helping some of society’s most vulnerable people.

The money was raised at an annual celebrity chef event held in Dalton, hosted and sponsored by Clarence House Country Hotel and Restaurant.

Evening Mail editor, James Higgins said: “The legacy of Ray lives on through the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund and the people and groups it helps every year. Over the past 12 months I have had the honour of meeting some very inspiring individuals: those who have overcome adversity – and those who are dealing with it.”

One of the 2016 beneficiaries, and a prime example of the types of smaller groups and community projects than can benefit hugely from the one-off donation, was Barrow Dad’s Group. In June, the project received the £1,000 to buy equipment which would help them provide a range of activities for dads attending with their older children.

They bought equipment for sports-based outdoor activities and a programme for cooking healthy foods on a budget.

Dave Morrison, who set the group up, said: “It was great to the dads and children just sitting together, chatting, having something to do and talk about without worrying about the costs involved. We even managed to get out of the town on a minibus with the families and the dads really appreciated being able to do those things with their children.

“That money just gives you the chance to put something real together without having to worry about scraping pennies, something that you know will bring long term benefit.”

It is a donation Dan Austin, managing director of Lake District Farmers, remembers well and knows would have made the fund’s founder happy.

He said: “This group supports fathers so they can spend time, have fun and create special memories with their children. You can’t put a price on that, can you? And those memories can never be taken away so, essentially, that’s a donation that lasts forever.

“Ray Armstrong was all about family so, if we ever have the opportunity to bring family together, we grab it with both hands.”

Mr Austin is now looking ahead to his team’s next fundraising event, due to take place during the first two weekends of February. The first weekend of the fifth annual celebrity chef extravaganza will take place at Clarence House Country Hotel and Restaurant in Dalton while the second will take place at the Abbey House Hotel in Barrow.

It is the first time the event will take place across four nights and two venues, and the team is hoping to break its fundraising records by pulling in at least £35,000. They want to make sure those funds reach the people who need them most.

Mr Austin said: “I think what we have seen across the last 12 months is a really broad scope in terms of the charities and families we have supported.

“If we could reiterate one point I think it would be that you don’t have to be a charitable organisation to receive the funding. You can be an individual family that needs some help, and we would probably like to see more applications of that type. If we are able to help, we always will.”

When it comes to the Crowe family, those are words that ring true.

Told how the money has changed Laurence’s life, Mr Austin added: “This was a particularly significant donation. We understood that this money would make a huge difference and, ultimately, that’s all we’ve ever wanted: to make a difference.”

Visit www.nwemail.co.uk/ldf to apply for the £1,000 donation.

Donations given out by the North-West Evening Mail on behalf of the Lakes District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund in 2016:

January: Let Go Domestic Violence Service

February: Focus on Furness

March: Croft Care Trust

April: Askam Youth Action

May: Self-harm Awareness For All Cumbria

June: Barrow Dads Group

July: A Caring Space

August: Autism Unite

September: The Oaklea Trust

October: Donovan and Laurence Crowe

November: Jack Bennett