A Ledbury charity has been awarded a major lottery grant so it can help even more people with motor disorders.

Megan Baker House (MBH) is getting £375,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to help pay for its new project, REACHOUT.

The grant, which gives MBH £125,000 for each of three years, will help with the core costs of providing its conductive education services for people of all ages who experience movement issues caused by motor disorders such as cerebral palsy, dyspraxia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis or recovering from a stroke.

The total cost of REACHOUT over the next three years is £1 million and will involve recruiting additional staff so that even more people can benefit.

The charity’s chief executive Lee Gough said was thrilled to receive news of the grant, “especially as the fund had been oversubscribed and only 20% of applications were successful.

“We had been working on this for almost a year and would like to thank the Lottery funding officer for Herefordshire, Anthony Bush, for his help during what was a very demanding time for MBH.

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“There are an estimated 24,000 people with motor disorders in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Gloucestershire and we are looking forward to helping as many as we can improve their independence.

“There are only about 15 major conductive education centres in the UK so I hope that local people will take full advantage of what is on their doorstep.”

Megan Baker House is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and has a host of events planned to raise the additional funds needed to secure REACHOUT into the future.

These include an Indian Gala Night organised by Suki Pantal, a homecook and cooking tutor who appeared in Jamie Oliver’s latest Channel 4 series.

The event takes place at Ledbury Rugby Club on June 11 and tickets can be bought for £50 by emailing lee@meganbakerhouse.org.uk

MBH receives no funding from local or national government but its work has a huge impact on the wellbeing of those who receive the services and their families.

Clients can self-refer for a free assessment, just contact admin@meganbakerhouse.org.uk and for more details look at their website www.meganbakerhouse.org.uk