Our search for our two new charities of the year will soon be complete, as we look forward to our first league match of the season. We'll be announcing the identity of the new Club charity of the year soon, but now we need you vote on who should be the 2019-20 supporters charity.
This year, we had 27 applications to take up one of official charity parternships. The Club's charity committee went through each of the applications and assessed them on their merits. The shortlist for this year's supporters charity of the year is as follows:
- Age Concern Luton
- Beds Northants MS Therapy Centre
- East Anglian Air Ambulance
- Alzheimer’s Research UK
- CLIC Sargent Young Lives vs Cancer
Find out more about each of the charities below, then click on the link to make your vote count. Votes close at 1pm on Wednesday 31st July.
AGE CONCERN LUTON - VOTE NOW
Age Concern Luton promote the independence and wellbeing of more than 4,000 elderly people in Luton, many of whom are the most isolated and vulnerable in our community.
We do this through the provision of services, including:
- Practical support for those who struggle with frailty, disability or illness
- Personal contact and friendship, especially for those who have sadly lost their own families and friends
- Support for up to 6 weeks after discharge from hospital for everyone who needs i
- Help and advice, especially about benefits to which they are entitled
- Information, particularly regarding access to care and housing
- Housework, laundry, handyman jobs, gardening and shopping
In 1999, we pioneered regular telephone chats with the lonely or housebound. This enables us to monitor and respond to their needs in a sensitive manner. Our wonderful volunteers form strong bonds and friendships, to the benefit of everyone.
One of our most successful initiatives is our regular Lunch Club which is open three days a week. This is so popular we intend running it five days a week by the end of the year.
Our mission is to make life the best it can be for every older person in Luton.
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BEDS AND NORTHANTS MS THERAPY CENTRE - VOTE NOW
The Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire MS Therapy Centre was set up 36 years ago by a group of people affected by MS and continues to operate today as a self-help organisation, run by people with MS for the benefit of people with MS. We are a friendly and welcoming centre, and our facilities are available to anyone with MS living in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. The therapies, advice and support we provide can help with symptom management, limit the effects of MS and improve quality of life.
MS is a neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms. People living with MS can experience issues with arm or leg movement, sensation or balance, vision, mobility, continence and energy levels. It is a lifelong condition that can cause serious disability and it is one of the most common causes of disability in younger adults.
At the centre, people can access advice and support from an MS Nurse and benefit from physiotherapy, APS therapy (pain management), and complementary therapies including Oxygen therapy, Bowen therapy, Shiatsu and Reflexology. The centre has a large social hub where people can relax between treatments, enjoy refreshments and socialise. We have over 990 members registered, with 300 attending the Centre regularly, and we also assess 10 new MS referrals each month. We have a specially adapted minibus that collects people from their homes who would not otherwise be able to get to the Centre to receive the treatment they need.
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EAST ANGLIAN AIR AMBULANCE - VOTE NOW
The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is a Charity providing helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the people of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. Since our launch in 2000 we have attended over 25,000 missions saving the lives of many thousands of people across the region.
Our mission is simple, we want to save more lives by providing the best possible outcomes for patients involved in life-threatening and/or medical emergencies and minimising the impact of trauma in the communities we serve, through:
- The combination of a quick response time, advanced clinical care on scene and quick transfer to the most appropriate hospital
- The delivery of first aid training to our communities from our frontline crew, to help form the chain of survival
- Dedicated aftercare support to help our patients and their families recovery
- Developing partnerships and collaborations with organisations which have aligned ambitions
- Providing this service on a 24/7 basis
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ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH UK - VOTE NOW
We’ve come a long way since 1885 when Luton Town Football Club was founded. We’ve travelled to the moon, doubled cancer survival rates, and a diagnosis of HIV is no longer a death sentence. Yet, we still have no treatments to stop or slow the diseases that cause dementia. That’s not because dementia is too hard to cure, it is because dementia research is underfunded.
This is a heartbreaking truth, as dementia strips people of their identities and tears families apart. Across the UK, there are more than 850,000 people living with dementia, with 2,035 of these people living in Luton alone. By 2025, more than one million people in the UK will be living with dementia.
At Alzheimer’s Research UK, we want to see a world free from the fear, harm and heartbreak of dementia ‘“ and we must make it happen sooner. We are the UK’s leading dementia research charity, and we’re challenging the way people think about dementia, uniting the big thinkers in the field and funding innovative science. We are relentless in our mission to bring about a life-changing treatment for dementia by 2025.
Without effective treatments, one in three babies born today will die with dementia - but with the support of Luton Town Football Club, we can be the last generation to fear dementia.
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CLIC Sargent Young Lives vs Cancer - VOTE NOW
Today, as 11 players wait to hear if they’ve made it into Saturday’s line up, 12 children and young people will hear the devastating news they have cancer.
Young cancer patients’ education, relationships and futures can suffer. Being in and out of hospital is the new normal. And watching friends moving on with life without them, as they struggle to keep up and stay in touch, shatters their confidence. CLIC Sargent helps get them back on track and CLIC Sargent stops cancer destroying young lives.
Our CLIC Sargent care teams fight tirelessly to limit the damage cancer causes. They will listen, and ask the right questions, so that they can provide the right support, tailored to each young person and family.
This might mean arranging a CLIC Sargent grant or helping young people and families get the benefits they are entitled to. Coordinating care so that some medical procedures can happen at home, or arranging free accommodation in a CLIC Sargent Home from Home. Or helping young cancer patients and families keep in touch with school, college or work to keep life as normal as possible.
Our vision is for everyone under 25 with cancer, and their families, to get the support and help they need during their cancer treatment and beyond, including bereaved families living with emotional pain. We want them to thrive, not just survive, and for Luton Town FC to join in that mission.