2020
This is what makes it all worthwhile 
. This little boy’s smile is wonderful.
Thank you for sharing the photos. We hope Andrew gets his trike soon 
.
Andrew Jones: Thank you Email from Gemma Jones.
We were so grateful yesterday to receive a cheque from the Old Farts Fundraising Cycling Group towards Andrew’s trike. It was lovely to meet Maureen and Chris who came to present us with the cheque. This will really help towards the cost of the trike which we hope to order very soon. Thank you again very much from Andrew and myself xxx Also big thank you to my Auntie Lynda for recommending us for a grant xxxxx
This is Andrew, saying thank you to the Old Farts. He looks so awesome on his new trike. Well done, young man! 
We are so pleased to have helped a little bit.
Headway Charity: One of Matthew Khan’s playing colleagues is in Rookwood hospital having suffered a significant brain hemorrhage. Matthew has been to Rookwood with his rugby team to visit and has suggested that we provide calennig (a gift) to thank them for their support. Headway is the charity that works to improve life after brain injury.
2019
Adam*: On 15th October 2019 13 year old Adam was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma and since then has been receiving treatment at the Children’s Hospital. He is on his second round of chemotherapy with a long road of treatment ahead. Adam lives with his dad Brian* and his 12 year old brother Chris*. Brian is a single parent and is spending all his time at the hospital supporting Adam through treatment whilst Chris is being cared for by a neighbour. We provided calennig (a gift) to support the family through this difficult time to support them at Christmas. Our prayer is that hopefully together, they can enjoy making memories without Brian having the added stresses that come with being a single parent. Nadolig Llawen.
*Name changed at the request of the family.
Virginia: is an old friend of an Old Fart and she has a son who 21st birthday was on New Years Day 2020. Her son is autistic and has recently been diagnosed with a very rare and serious cancer which has advanced significantly. Virginia wanted to give her son a 21st birthday to remember – as it will highly likely be his last. Virginia has given up work as a nurse to care for her son. We provided a calennig (gift) to help Virginia and her son. Let’s hope they had a wonderful holiday.
Mared Lewis: Mared is a 7-year-old girl with Dravet Syndrome; a severe and rare form of epilepsy. Mared faces many challenges, including frequent hospital visits and admissions to PICU. We hope our support will go some way to helping this lovely little girl.
George Vella: Little George has Cerebral Palsy, from a difficult birth. He is doing well because of the amazing input he receives from his family. We want to support with a monetary gift, to help make life a bit easier for Little George.
Ffion Hood: At 10-years-old, Ffion has been diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, in her eye socket. This is a rare and aggressive form of tissue cancer. We hope to enable Ffion to have some fun experiences during the time she isn’t in hospital.
Cian Curtis: Cian is a 15-year-old with recent diagnosis of Philadelphia Chromosome Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. We would like to provide some support to help alleviate the stress during Cian’s invasive and arduous treatment, which can last over 3 years.
Boomerang
A Cardiff man who started a charity after a chance encounter with two homeless people has appealed for help to create a new community centre in Splott .
Paul Gwilym, from Tremorfa , started his charity Boomerang in 2012 after talking to two homeless people outside a shop in the city.
Since then Boomerang’s volunteers have fed the homeless in Cardiff between two and four nights a week. It has also provided other services including respite for young carers and providing shoes and clothes for disadvantaged families.
Now 37-year-old Paul has requested help from individuals and businesses, with the charity looking to go one step further by opening a community centre at Templar Parc on Eastmoors Road in Splott.
The facility will be called Boom-I-Am and will available to hire for childrens parties. All the money from these parties will go back into the community centre to provide services for the homeless and local residents.
KIDS’ COOKING LESSONS AND BINGO FOR THE ELDERLY
Apart from providing a safe base for their food distribution the centre will also host kids’ cooking lessons, bingo for the elderly and community fun days.
Paul said: “A lot of the old people in Splott can’t afford to pay for a bus to go to events and this gives them something closer.”
Explaining how he set up his charity, he added: “I was in town after finishing a gig and went into a shop to get a packet of cigarettes and a sandwich.
“There were two homeless guys outside and it was a miserable day. I sat and spoke to them for an hour and then went back to my unit to get them some blankets.”
TRADESMEN ARE MOST NEEDED
When not running his charity Paul is busy managing his own events business dressing weddings. The initial capital to secure the lease on the unit has come out of Paul’s own pocket and he says he is in desperate need of volunteers to help get the premises ready for action.
He particularly needs tradesmen and businesses to supply expertise to get it off the ground.
The problem of community provision and local services has been a big issue in Splott with a campaign currently under way to prevent any threatened closure of the nearby Cardiff Central Youth Club.
But the scale of the task has not affected Paul and his boundless energy.
Duchenne Family Support Group
DMD is a genetic disorder which affects boys and can be “carried” by some healthy female relatives.The DMD gene is damaged so an important protein called dystrophin is missing. Young boys appear healthy but the muscles gradually weaken as they grow. The heart and breathing muscles can also be affected when older.
It used to affect only children and teenagers but nowadays, with better management, an increasing proportion of young people enjoy adult life and we should encourage them (from a young age) to achieve their goals in education, employment, independent living, leisure and relationships. The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) has booklets written for boys with DMD.
Huggard
We are a Cardiff-based charity tackling homelessness and seeking to overcome the problems and barriers that force individuals to sleep rough on our streets.
Our services focus around our day centre open 365 days of the year, a 22 bed hostel with additional (8 Pods and floorspace for 20+ clients) emergency spaces, 14 shared houses with tenant support that accommodate 53 clients.
In extreme weather conditions we also open our day centre at night to 20+ homeless and vulnerable, to provide shelter for people who would otherwise be forced to sleep rough.
This is all underpinned by personal and tenant support, development, advocacy, training and many volunteering and work-focussed opportunities.
Jacob Abraham Foundation
Our Foundation was set up after the death of our son in October 2015; Jacob was aged 24 and took his own life through suicide. His death deeply shocked our family and the local community raising questions about the complexities of mental health in young people particularly as Jacob presented as happy go lucky young man who was popular, funny, athletic, handsome and with a family who loved him dearly.
We decided to set up a foundation in Jacobs memory to help other young people suffering from anxiety, depression and over whelming feelings of despair. We aim to raise awareness in mental health and in doing so reduce the stigma, and encourage open conversations about mental health. We would like to ensure that young people know who to speak to about their concerns, which could prevent them feeling that suicide is their only option.
Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease (MND) is a progressive disease that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting.
Take a look at some key facts and information about MND.
MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. However, not all symptoms necessarily happen to everyone and it is unlikely they will all develop at the same time, or in any specific order.
Although there is currently no cure for MND, symptoms can be managed to help you achieve the best possible quality of life.
The Stroke Association, in Memory of Tony Hall
Stroke Association is the UK’s leading stroke charity changing the world for people affected by stroke.
More people than ever are benefitting from cutting-edge treatments and making full recoveries. And more people now understand the need to seek emergency treatment for stroke.
We’ve been at the heart of every one of these developments, championing the cause of stroke and stroke survivors.
Our research has helped to improve treatments and care which has saved tens of thousands of lives.
Our support services have helped hundreds of thousands of people get through one of the most frightening experiences of their lives and build a life after stroke.
And our campaigning has touched the lives of even more people through initiatives like the FAST campaign which we developed to help people recognise the signs of a stroke and take emergency action. The Department of Health in England was so impressed with this campaign that they took it up in 2009 and promoted to millions of people.
But there’s still more to do. Every year there are about 152,000 strokes in the UK. Thanks to improvements to stroke care you are twice as likely to survive a stroke than 20 years ago, however stroke remains the fourth single largest cause of death in the UK.
These figures remain shocking.
Stroke is one of the greatest health challenges of our time but doesn’t get the attention or funding it deserves – especially compared to cancer and heart disease.
As the leading stroke charity in the UK we know we need to change how people think about this devastating disease. But we can’t do it on our own. We need to work with people who share our commitment to changing the world for people affected by stroke – with stroke survivors and their families; with decision makers; with researchers and medics; as well as with our supporters – so that we can ensure stroke gets the attention it deserves.
At the Stroke Association we believe that strokes can and should be prevented.
We believe that everyone has the right to make the best recovery they can from stroke.
We believe in the power of research to save lives and ensure people make the best recovery they can.
And ultimately, we believe that together we can change the world for people affected by stroke.
We are for life after stroke.
If you have been affected by stroke, if you share our passion to change the world for people affected by stroke, if you share our beliefs, then please do join with us.
Together we can conquer stroke.
Thrive
Thrive (Cardiff) is a self funded, registered charity run entirely by Parents & Volunteers. Thrive Cardiff helps support children and families with disabilities. We do not receive any funding from local government and work hard to be able to self-fund our activities and events. Our aim is to offer our very special children, their siblings and families a protective arena where they can play in an exclusive, non judgmental and supportive environment without prejudice.
Ty Hafan
Tŷ Hafan is one of the UK’s leading paediatric palliative care charities and offers care to children and support for their families, throughout Wales.
If you think this means we simply provide a place where children can come to die, you couldn’t be further from the truth.
We offer comfort, care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families in the hospice, in the community and in their home so they can make the most of the time they have left together.
We allow parents and carers to relax and recharge their batteries. And we make sure the needs of brothers and sisters are never forgotten.