LITTLE George Tappenden is a great deal closer to the special chair that could change his life - thanks to a whopping £3,000 donation from a local charity.
Eighteen-month-old George, who lives with his parents and sister in Addiscombe, suffers from the wasting disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
The condition has deprived George of all movement in his legs, and children with SMA often do not live past the age of eight.
The Advertiser is now spearheading a drive to raise £21,000 and buy George the Snap Dragon wheelchair, which will allow him to sit and stand unsupported.
Donations have been flooding in from Advertiser readers, since we told George's story last week.
And Brighton Road firm Axis Europe, which deals with social housing across the country, has shown incredible generosity, by donating £3,000 through its charitable arm the Axis Foundation.
Projects it has donated to in the past include buying a summer house for a homeless shelter and funding the Purley Youth project, which took 33 children on an excursion to the Downe Activity Centre in Kent.
Axis Foundation chairman Peter Varney said: "When we set up the foundation we wanted to make a difference in the communities that Axis works in.
"Instead of doing big grandiose things we wanted to do smaller projects where we could make a difference to a community or an individual, so this fits perfectly.
"Hopefully this chair will bring a dramatic change to George's life, which is exactly what we are aiming to do and why the foundation was set up."
George's mum Lucy Frost was thrilled when she found out about the donation. She said: "The money has already gone up so much since last week, we are so grateful as a whole family, it's brilliant.
"£3,000 is such a huge amount of money and goes a long way to helping George get his chair and live a more normal life.
"He is already such a little cheeky and mischievous little boy, so when he gets the chair I know he will be loving it and moving about everywhere."
Other donations in the past week include:
Addiscombe hairdresser Ricky Daniels, who raised £135 via a raffle.
The Kidsplay Cafe, in Lower Addiscombe Road - £300 through a cake sale
Mark Lambeth, from Crawley - £1,700 so far to run next month's Paris Marathon
A charity football match, due to be held in Kent on Sunday, had to be cancelled because of the snow.
Lucy added: "The closer he gets to getting his chair the more excited he becomes.
"We're so thankful and I hope people continue to support us."
To support George, visit www.justgiving.com/george-tappenden or www.georgesrainbowfund.com
