Seashell Trust salute generous gift of a minibus

Fifteen-year-old Seashell Trust student Vincent Parkinson accepts delivery of Seashell Trust’s new minibus on behalf of the charity. He is pictured with members of the Care team

Profoundly disabled children from Oldham will now be able to enjoy specialist short breaks after a local charity donated a wheelchair-accessible minibus.

The locally-based Stoller Charitable Trust made the grant to Seashell Trust, a charity educating and caring for profoundly and multiply disabled children and young people at its national centre of excellence in Cheadle Hulme in Cheshire.

The new vehicle, which can accommodate two wheelchairs and seven seats including the driver, will enable Seashell Trust to extend its short breaks offering to eligible Oldham families who are caring for children or young people with complex needs.  

Short breaks are provided by local authorities to give carers a crucial break from their caring responsibilities and in some cases life-saving..

The grant means Seashell Trust can pilot a scheme to match the number of short breaks the local authority in Oldham is able to offer families.

The new vehicle will transport young people with a range of disabilities from Oldham to Seashell Trust’s campus where the charity runs 17 home-from-home-style residential houses.

Seashell Trust’s Director of Care Linda Parrish explained: “We are keen to make our wonderful residential short break houses on site available to greater numbers of children and young people with complex needs who match our peer group at Seashell Trust.

“The generous grant from the Stoller Charitable Trust is helping to make Oldham’s budget go that much further.  It has already seen three young people benefiting from our expertise.”

Stephen Lowe, from the Stoller Charitable Trust, said: “Seashell Trust is widely acknowledged as one of the country’s leading providers of residential care for children and young people with high-needs who additionally struggle to communication verbally.

"We want to help a group of families from Oldham by enabling them to have a regular short break from their caring responsibilities while their child stays at Seashell Trust.”

Enquires about Seashell Trust’s short breaks programme for Oldham should be directed to Alison Higton at: Alison.higton@seashelltrust.org.uk