Lifelites is a charity that provides sensory and assistive technology to empower children and young people with life-limiting conditions, along with their families, to experience unforgettable moments of connection, creativity and joy.
The charity provides organisations with specialist packages of tech from iPads with the latest inclusive apps to state of the art Eyegaze systems so that enhanced services can be provided to children with life-limiting conditions and complex disabilities.
Lifelites partners with 59 children’s palliative care services, including every children’s hospice in the UK. Each technology package is supported by bespoke, specialist training and full technical support at no cost to the organisations.
Lifelites is determined to reach more children and families and has used its 25th anniversary to launch an ambitious expansion programme to provide technology and support to specials education schools, community organisations and NHS services.
Janine Share, from Lifelites explained: “Many of the children we support live with complex conditions that affect their ability to communicate and connect with the world around them.
We passionately believe that every child and young person should be able to enjoy a life of fun, self-expression and connection – no matter how short of challenging their lives are. And technology is helping enable that.
“Technology like Eyegaze, which enables children to communicate just through the movement of their eyes, or the large multi-touch screen of a Tilt and Touch Table where children can play interactive games, paint and draw and interact with siblings to learn and play.
“Virtual reality headsets transport children to different worlds, from swimming with turtles to sitting under the Northern Lights.
“This transformative technology exists and we know that it makes a world of difference – often letting a child communicate for the very first time.”
A donation of £5,000 from the Wain Foundation will help fund life-changing technology and support services at the Charlton Farm and Jessie May centres in Somerset and the Joshua Tree in Cheshire.
Janine said: “We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary this year and are truly grateful for all the generous donations that allow us to continue to buy and update the technology we provide – we know it makes an enormous difference to children and their families.”