Whizz Kidz’s BBC Radio 4 Appeal: you tuned in and changed lives
Thank you for helping make young wheelchair users unstoppable with Aniyah and Martin for the Radio 4 Appeal
We know that the right wheelchair can change young lives. So we’re thrilled we got the opportunity to tell a huge new audience by being selected for the weekly Radio 4 Appeal from Sunday, 2nd March until the following Saturday.
Whizz Kidz ambassador Martin Dougan presented our appeal, telling the story of five-year-old Aniyah and the difference the right wheelchair can make. So many of you supported us in raising vital funds to give young wheelchair users the equipment, skills, and confidence to go further. We raised over £7,000 in the week-long appeal, with more money still to come, as many Radio 4 listeners like to donate by cheque.
Get Aniyah's full story
We're also proud to be able to tell Aniyah's full story for the first time. While the BBC can spare a precious two minutes and 40 seconds for their weekly appeal, we can now give supporters the whole story of Aniyah getting her first wheelchair from Whizz Kidz and go into detail about the difference it makes with her amazing mum, Zainab. Don't miss it!
How to listen again to our Radio 4 Appeal
You can listen to Whizz Kidz's Radio 4 Appeal now. It was broadcast on Radio 4 on Sunday, 2nd March at 7.54 am and 9.25 pm and on Thursday, 6th March at 3.27 pm. You can no longer donate to this appeal through the BBC website or phone line but you can still donate on the Whizz Kidz website.
Martin’s Whizz Kidz story
BBC TV presenter Martin knows only too well the impact a high-quality wheelchair fitted to meet your needs can have, because he received one from Whizz Kidz when he was growing up.
“My Whizz Kidz story starts when I was 13 years old. I was born with cerebral palsy, but I just went in for my operation, which basically put me in the chair full-time for life after that operation…
“The wheelchairs that the hospital provided were very big and difficult to use. They had these big footplates and armrests that made them cumbersome.
“I went to a school for kids with physical disabilities in Glasgow. They invited Whizz Kidz in and selected a few of us who were new wheelchair users to have a session with them. It was all about teaching us how to climb curbs independently, navigate street obstacles, and use our chairs to the best of our ability every day.”
This wheelchair skills session led to Martin getting a new lighter chair that was fitted correctly to him.
Martin Dougan recording his Radio 4 appeal for Whizz Kidz in the BBC's Salford studio
How Martin’s wheelchair changed everything
”It genuinely did change my life,” he says. “Before getting that chair, I liked being out and about – but it wasn’t possible with my old wheelchair. As soon as I got that chair, I was never in the house! It also changed other things. For example, we started playing wheelchair basketball at school – I couldn’t play in my old chair but could in this one! And it turned out I wasn’t bad at it – I ended up playing for Scotland!”
The partnership has now come full circle, with Martin generously giving his time to present Whizz Kidz’s Radio 4 Appeal and asking for donations to give other young people the opportunity to get the equipment they need.
Aniyah trying out her new wheelchair from Whizz Kidz in a local park
Meet Aniyah
Martin told listeners the story of five-year-old Aniyah and the difference the right wheelchair from Whizz Kidz has made to her. She's a little chatterbox and loves hugging everyone and all colours but especially pink.
Born with spina bifida, she can’t walk more than a few steps and uses a wheelchair to get around. She’s just started at school and has made so many friends. But her bulky wheelchair from local services was holding her back from the freedom you should feel when you’re five.
She needed to be pushed around by her parents and teachers to go where she wanted. Her old wheelchair doesn’t fit under the tables at school, and getting in and out required a hoist or her mum, Zainab, risking injuring her back again, lifting her onto the carpet for storytime.
Aniyah with her mum, Zainab, in Whizz Kidz's Billingshurst clinic
Aniyah’s mum tells us more
Her mum, Zainab, told us: “As she’s growing, she needed a wheelchair which was growing with her, while helping her to be more independent and confident, doing everyday things.”
The good news is that, with the help of our supporters, Whizz Kidz was able to give Aniyah a high-quality wheelchair suited to her. You can find out the difference it made in the Radio 4 Appeal broadcast and with Aniyah’s full story here. From being able to join in with her friends at school to reaching the kitchen drawer with the chocolate at home, Aniyah shows the joy, independence and occasional mischief the right wheelchair at the right time can bring.
Listen to how lives are changed
Martin, Aniyah, and their families know that the right wheelchair can make a real difference. Over 75,000 young people in the UK need wheelchairs to get around. They have the same dreams, but they don’t have the same opportunities because many can’t access the equipment they deserve.
Please listen to Whizz Kidz's Radio 4 Appeal and donate to help disabled children and young people across the UK receive life-changing wheelchairs, skills, and support.