WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU MULTIPLE
DISTRICT 201 OF LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL Inc.
Children from all over Australia are thanking
Australian Lions for their support of The Hart
Walker Program.
The Lions Club of Richmond, based in District
201 N5 started the ball rolling by sponsoring
one child in a group of five Australian families
who went to England to be fitted with a Walker
by its inventor David Hart. While the families
were in England, they also organised for the
local Keighley Lions Club to look after the
families during their stay so far away from
home.
Upon return to Australia, it was soon evident
the Hart Walker was a major break-through in
mobility for disabled children. News spread and
the waiting list for the Walker quickly expanded
to nearly 300.
It was at this stage that Lions Mints and Cake
Slices threw their substantial weight behind the
Program initially to provide seed funding to
establish a manufacturing plant in Australia.
At the Canberra based Lions Conference held in
May 1998, The Spastic Centre was delighted to
receive an initial sum of $100,000 from The
Lions Mints and Cake Slice Program. This was to
be boosted in August by a generous donation from
George Weston Foods Biscuit and Cake division
QLD, who are the manufactures of Lion's
Christmas Cakes and Slices. A total of $350,000
was donated by Lions prior to May 1999 when the
formation of the Australian Lions Children's
Mobility Foundation was approved at the Brisbane
National Convention.
To meet the needs of those children on the ever
expanding waiting list, it was realised that the
quickest option was to import kits from David
Hart himself, and assemble them at the Spastic
Centre's Allambie headquarters. David Hart has
stringent quality controls and has now found a
manufacturer in Canada who can produce his
Walker to a standard that he insists upon.
The initial seed funding provided by Lions was
invaluable in establishing the Hart Walker
program in Australia. The money was used to
train staff, and to establish a specialised Hart
Walker Unit at The Spastic Centre, now the
central link for the various state programs.
Every State in Australia now has children fitted
with Walkers, and trained teams to assess and
fit the walkers. This has reduced the disruption
to families and the travelling costs incurred.
It also means that children can be seen for
adjustments as soon as the need arises - growth
spurts etc.
In December 2005, more than 465 Australian
children have been provided with a Hart Walker
of their own, thanks to funding assistance from
Lions.
With the growth of the Australian Lions
Children’s Mobility Foundation, funding has been
made available for many types of walking device,
with a total of 875 grants approved since the
inception of the Foundation. (As at 30th
November 2005.)
