A WINSFORD charity has recved a cash injection to help develop end-of-life care for young adults.

The NeuroMuscular Centre (NMC), which helps people across Cheshire with muscular dystrophy, has been awarded a £6,820 grant by the Cheshire Community Foundation.

The centre, based in Winsford, provides specialist services for more than 700 patients with the muscle wasting condition, and will use the grant to help adults aged between 19 and 30.

Helen O’Donnell, chief executive of Cheshire Community Foundation, said: “Our support will help with end-of-life pathway plans, enabling young adults and their families to have a more positive experience at the end of a patient's life and provide them with increased choice and control."

The charity is unique as more than half its 40-strong work force who suffer from muscular dystrophy, including 20 employees who run IT and graphic design courses for patients with the same condition.

Matthew Lanham, CEO at the NMC, said: "Our aim is to improve the quality of life for adults with muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular conditions so they can have more fulfilling and productive lives.

“The emphasis is on what you can do and not what you can't do and we provide ongoing service and treatment which the NHS does not.

"Physio is at the heart of what we do and is crucial to maintaining muscle strength and tone for longer and to help with pain management."

The centre provides physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and other therapies, and also offers care and support to allow people to work or train as independently as possible.

The NMC is the latest organisation to be awarded a grant by Cheshire Community Foundation.

The foundation has awarded more than £1.3million to more than 400 community projects since it was formed two years ago.

The Foundation's help will focus on younger users of the centre who will have had experience of children's hospices where respite care cuts off when they turn 19.

Helen O'Donnell said: “The vision of Cheshire Community Foundation is to make Cheshire better and in some ways we’re like a broker.

“Donors use our expertise as a philanthropic adviser and grant maker to choose organisations to fund that suit their interests and values and make sure their investment is a sound one and has the impact they intended.

“The organisations we help must be not-for-profit such as charities, community groups and social enterprises and they must be able to demonstrate a clear community benefit.

“Applicants don’t have to be registered charities and can even be part of a regional or national organisation working in Cheshire, as long as they can show they’re the best group to address a specific need and no local organisation can do this.”