Sparks is The Official Charity of Goodwood Duathlon

If you’ve ever asked an expectant parent if they’d like a boy or a girl, the answer is almost always the same – they don’t mind as long as it’s healthy. That’s what Sparks is all about.

Please help us to give every child the start in life they deserve – a healthy one.

Kate Silverton Supports Sparks at Goodwood Read More

Who we are

	Sparks is the children’s medical research charity. Our vision is a world where all babies are given the best possible start in life and where a medical condition or disability at birth is not a barrier to opportunity and fulfilment. Each year in the UK around 700,000 babies are born, 1 in 30 of them will have a condition that may affect them for life. That’s around 70 families every day that are told their baby has been born with an illness, disability, or in the worst case scenario, that their baby’s life is at risk. Sparks aim is to change this.
What we do
Sparks research is at the cutting-edge of medical science. All the charity’s pioneering, ground-breaking work has a single aim: to give every child the chance to be born healthy and stay healthy. Our breakthroughs have helped thousands of children who only a few years ago may not have survived, let alone grow up, experience and share the simple joys we all take for granted. Since 1991, Sparks has been supporting leading doctors and scientists around the UK funding high quality medical research that is intended to have a practical and positive effect on the lives of children.

In the past

Sparks has already supported 165 pioneering medical research projects around the UK, over £11.6M in funding has contributed to important research into:

• Pioneering “cooling treatments” to help prevent brain damage in babies
• Whether premature babies feel pain
• Preventable deafness
• The development of a ‘baby sensing mat’ to help improve chest physiotherapy given to children in intensive care
• Improving motor function for children who have suffered a stroke

Currently

Sparks is now supporting a further 37 medical research projects, committing a further £6.5M to investigating a broad spectrum of conditions affecting the good health of children. Some of our research is looking into:

• Possible treatments for neuroblastoma cancer, one of the biggest cancer killers of children under 5.
• Reducing scarring after burns and scalds
• Possible causes of cot death
• Improving lives of children with arthritis by understanding their response to medication
• A method of predicting pre-eclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy
• Why some children develop allergies and some do not
• Tays-Sachs disease - a devastating brain condition
• The early detection of childhood leukaemia

How can you help to make a difference?

Without charities like Sparks and the dedication of our supporters providing research funds, most of this vital research would never take place.

You can help support the remarkable work of Sparks by entering the Duathlon and being sponsored to raise money for paediatric medical research.

Please help us to give every child the start in life they deserve – a healthy one.

How to contact Sparks

Saiqa Raja: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel: 020 7799 2111
Address: Sparks, Heron House, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0DX
Website: www.sparks.org.uk

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Sparks is registered in England No. 2634037.
Company limited by Guarantee. Registered Charity No. 1003825 (England and Wales) and SC039482 (Scotland).