Who We Are
EDC is a small local charity which purchases specialised equipment to help local disabled
children. All the money comes from fund-raising and donations and, apart from very small
amounts used for essential costs, it is all used to provide help to the children. The Charity is run
entirely by unpaid volunteers.
EDC gives help to local disabled children who live or attend school in the West Surrey area, or
are under the care of the Royal Surrey County Hospital Children’s Unit in Guildford.
EDC provides equipment to disabled children to make their lives as full as possible. The
equipment enables children to live more comfortably, to play in more creative ways alongside
their peers and siblings, to learn more easily or to enjoy more mobility.
The equipment provided by EDC is always approved by a professional in the child’s medical
caring team to ensure that the item purchased is the most appropriate for the child’s needs.
Because the equipment is usually so specialised, and is either tailor-made or adapted
exclusively for the child concerned, it is always much more expensive than standard
‘off-the-shelf’ products. For example, tricycles are frequently recommended and give children
independence, exercise and the ability to play on equal terms with other children. They cost on
average about £800 each. Normally, because of budget limitations or other restrictions, such
equipment is either not available from the Health, Education or Social Services or would be so
delayed that the necessary benefit to the growing child would be lost.
Because each child’s need is different, each applicant receives individual attention. Apart from
trikes, other examples of equipment provided in the recent past include walking aids, car seats,
other specialised seating systems and buoyancy aids to encourage the children to swim as
independently as possible.