THE Voice UK is returning with three new judges that include the star of McFly – Tom Fletcher.
The singing competition will return to ITV on Saturday 31st August, with Tom Fletcher as a judge. But did you know he’s also a patron of Whizz Kidz. Here’s everything you need to know.
Whizz Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users was founded in 1990.
They are a National children’s mobility charity created by co-founder Mick Dickson to address the lack of support and services for disabled children in the UK.
Dickson’s inspiration for founding Whizz-Kidz came from a promise he had made to raise money for a child with cerebral palsy that he knew that was in need of a powered wheelchair, but couldn’t afford one.
In 1989, Dickson ran the London Marathon and he raised £9,000 to fund the powered wheelchair she needed.
More than 75,000 young people in the UK need a wheelchair to be mobile.
Due to NHS delays and costs, most are without access to a wheelchair that’s right for them.
The cost of an electric wheelchair can range from anywhere between £1,000 to £12,000, depending on the needs of the individual.
Whizz Kidz believe that without the right wheelchair, many children are at risk of social isolation, poor mental health, and physical injury.
Tom Fletcher is an English musician, composer, author and vlogger.
Many will recognise Tom Fletcher as the Mcfly band member and a judge on ITV’s The Voice.
He initially reached out to Whizz Kidz back in 2016.
Tom was in the process of writing his novel ‘The Christmasaurus’ and wanted to ensure the lead character accurately represented the experiences of a young wheelchair user.
Tom has continued to work with Whizz Kidz, and went on to cast one of the Whizz Kidz Ambassadors, Archie, as the lead in The Christmasaurus stage show.
There are 10 other patrons of Whizz Kids that include:
