Statement

Weir Welcomes Launch of Family Fund Extra

Posted on: September 28, 2009

North Down DUP MLA Councillor Peter Weir has today welcomed the launch of the Family Fund Extra. The fund is aimed at giving financial aid and support to families who are caring for severely disabled children. The aim is to help these families cope with everyday life and improve the quality of life available to the children who they are caring for. The new Family Extra Fund allows the charity use internet shopping with their retail partners as a way of raising extra money. Welcoming the launch of the new and innovative way of raising funds the DUP MLA said:

“The Family Fund Extra is an innovative idea of harnessing the growing trend of internet shopping and using it to help those who are some of the most vulnerable in our society. Families of severely disabled children face immense pressures as they attempt to provide and loving and caring environment for their children to be brought up in. This can place massive financial burdens on them and increase the pressure that they are under.

Family Fund extra and the Family Fund work with over 115,000 low-income families and together are striving to provide much needed support for families who care for a severely disabled child or young person. The Fund provided this support in the form of grants helping children and young people across a whole range of disabilities including learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health problems.

Family Fund Extra works in two ways – it allows the families with disabled children to receive up to 25% discount when they shop online and it also allows you and I to donate money from our online purchases without spending a penny more. The online retail partners give extra commission to the Fund for all purchases made by clicking through the Family Fund Extra website – www.familyfundextra.org.uk – to over 100 online retail websites. I welcome these new innovations and the extra help that is provided to help these families. I would encourage everyone to get it involved, it costs nothing but makes a big difference in the lives of those families the Family Fund Extra is helping.”