AN urgent appeal has gone out from a disabled children’s charity for donations after an influx of applications from struggling parents in York.

Caudwell Children has been providing vital sensory kits to disabled children during the coronavirus pandemic in the city.

Their Get Sensory Packs campaign has been met with huge demand from parents seeking help with daily tasks including home-schooling and fitness activities while at home during the Covid restrictions

The packs help children play, engage with family and regulate their emotions.

And Caudwell has pledged to provide thousands of families with a pack, with each receiving appropriate and safe toys to support children living with a wide range of disabilities.

Trudi Beswick, CEO of Caudwell Children, said: “The demand for our Get Sensory Packs has been enormous in recent weeks as the reality of a further lockdown has affected families up and down the country.

“We want to support every parent who has come to us for help – and we want to do that as quickly as we can.

“To achieve that goal we need extra support.

“No donation is too small.

“For just £10 you can help us provide a child with a set of two fibre optic devices that change colour to stimulate the visual and tactile senses.

“They are very popular with disabled children.

“Please support us if you can.”

She said that the charity has received more than 3,000 applications from parents in all four nations of the UK – including applications so far from 13 families here in York.

Caudwell Children launched its Get Sensory Packs campaign following consultation with parents to find the most appropriate and safe sensory items – selected by the charity’s team of in-house Occupational Therapists.

The packs include: a liquid cell timer; scented bubbles; a BoBo massager; a natural sisal brush; a four ball massager; a weighted cushion; spikey domes; a space blanket, and a fibre optic lamp.

Packs are available to children who have a confirmed disability or chronic illness.

Families can apply directly to Caudwell Children for support, with the charity providing 80 per cent of the cost of each pack.

Families will be asked to contribute 20 per cent of the cost, which is £20, and to confirm their financial status and their child’s diagnosis. To donate visit getsensorypacks.com/donate.