St Johns Centre will be lending its support to the Merseyside branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association over the next three months.

After the success of 2018’s first charity partnership with Zoe’s Place, the centre is now teaming up with the MND Association to raise valuable awareness and funds to support those suffering from the condition and their families.

The group will be able to promote its work in St Johns over the 12 weeks and benefit from holding collections at their own and the centre’s events.

Moira Furlong, treasurer of the group which recently celebrated its 35thbirthday, says the partnership is a great opportunity.

“As well as having the chance to fund-raise, we can raise awareness and promote ourselves in a different way. It also means we can highlight events we have coming up locally like our family bike ride in Croxteth Park on July 22 and an abseil at Liverpool Cathedral on August 11,” she said.

“The ice bucket challenge really did help us to promote MND charities and it gave us an incredible showcase but it’s important for us to keep that profile up, to build on it and remind people we’re here and what we do.

“MND is an incurable condition that paralyses the muscles leaving people unable to do everyday things the rest of us take for granted. Walking, talking and swallowing become virtually impossible and MND can also affect the areas of the brain involved in thinking, language, behaviour and personality.

“Our association supports people with MND, their carers, family and friends and the money we raise allows us to offer grants too – we’re able to give holiday grants and to part-fund equipment like stairlifts or even specially-adapted crockery – so it’s practical as well as emotional help.”

Neil Ashcroft, St Johns centre general manager, added: “We’re really pleased to have the MND Association as our new charity partners. Our partnership with Zoe’s Place was a great success – we helped raise over £1,000 for them from Radio City’s Superhero Skyfall down St Johns Beacon and almost £1,400 from One Great Day in June, as well as all the money from collections in the centre – now we’re looking forward to giving the same help to the MND Association.

“They do amazing work but they’re one of the unsung charity heroes in Liverpool so we’re happy to put them in the spotlight and give them that boost.”

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