CEO of Tourettes Action said that the organisation relies on funding from Children In Need.
BBC Children In Need, which runs a National fundraising effort each year called SPOTacular with well known teddy bear mascot Pudsey. The money is used to fund charities and projects all over the UK which aim to support children to “feel and be safer, have improved mental health and well being”.
Although Tourettes Action has relied on funding in this way for a number of years the charity’s “TICfest” Event will feature in the SPOTacular programme for the first time this year. TICfest focuses on children with Tourettes and their families giving them the chance to spend a weekend away with families in the same situation.
Emma McNally who alongside her role as CEO is a parent to a teen with Tourettes. She said that “It was one of the only weekends where we truly relaxed as a family”.
Tourettes Syndrome is a neurological condition characterised by involuntary movements and sounds caused by brain signals misfiring. Tourettes is often stigmatised and people with the condition often face a lot of judgement and often struggle with social situations. “We hear a lot of the time from families where they say their child is refusing to go out,” McNally said. “They don’t want to interact with friends, they don’t want to go to school.”
TICfest provides these children and their families with a get away from these pressures with the charity renting out venues for exclusive access and training staff members in how to deal with everything that comes with the condition. Having a venue which only has visitors that understand or live with Tourettes is a lifeline for these children but this makes each weekend more expensive than the average holiday camp. Ruby, a young volunteer who works at the events said “If we didn’t get the funding it would be really difficult to run the events because of how expensive they are.”
The Great SPOTacular Appeal Show will run on Friday 17 November at 7pm on
BBC One and iPlayer voiced by Harry Pinero and showcasing the importance of fundraising for children across the UK.
For more information about Tourettes Action go to https://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/
