Newlife
Newlife is the UK's largest charity providing essential and specialist equipment to disabled and terminally ill children. There are more disabled children in the UK than ever before. Improvements in medical advances mean children born with conditions or who acquire disabilities as a result of illness or accidents are surviving, albeit with very complex needs.
This translates directly to them needing a greater level of support and, in many cases, multiple pieces of specialist equipment. Demand for equipment is reaching critical levels, which is why partnerships like the one between Mistral and Newlife are so important.
In the last 12 months, and thanks to partnerships like that with Mistral, Newlife has been able to change the lives of more than 2,150 disadvantaged disabled and terminally ill children; spending £1.2 million on life-changing specialist equipment.
"Not only do Newlife help us to achieve our corporate social responsibilities and commitments to the environment with excess products, faulty and sample garments being sent to the charity for resale or recycle (saving them from being sent to landfill) we also get a huge sense of pride to be supporting such a worthwhile charity. Being able to give something back which directly contributes to funding life changing support to some of the UK's most vulnerable children is fantastic."
-Tracey Garreffa, Mistral Creative Director.
Julia's House
Another cause very close to our hearts is Julia's House, which is an award winning Children's Hospice in Dorset and Wiltshire, dedicated to bringing comfort and care to families across the two counties.
When a family finds out that their child has a very serious medical condition, which is life-limiting or life-threatening, their world falls apart. Julia's House exists to help these children and their families. Julia's House provides practical and emotional support, tailoring their care to the needs of each individual child and their family, providing frequent and regular support in their own homes, in the community or at their hospices.
Mistral Stores hold collection tins, and each year our staff at Head Office and in-store get involved in various fundraising events to raise money for the charity. In 2019, this included one of our staff members undertaking a sponsored walk of the Great Wall of China.