A 14-year-old boy, who has cerebral palsy, has been presented with his very own light-weight wheelchair by boxing legend Frank Bruno, courtesy of CHIPS Charity and Genting UK at Resorts World Birmingham.
Finn Lusty, from Cheltenham, lives with his mum, step dad and three siblings and has a huge passion for sport. Finn has cerebral palsy spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that causes muscle stiffness which makes walking difficult and as a result, is a full-time wheelchair user.
Finn has recently outgrown his wheelchair and following a bike accident in 2017, has become even more reliant on his wheelchair.
The new chair provided by CHIPS and Genting UK will enable him to enjoy his passion for sport and as a result of the mountain bike wheels on the chair, Finn will now be able to access sports fields and referee football games, as well as participate in other wheelchair sports.
The wheelchair was purchased with funds raised by employees at Genting UK who ran the Rock and Roll Madrid Marathon and Half Marathon in April 2017. £20,000 was raised in total by ten runners from Genting Casino UK and the money was donated to CHIPS – a charity founded on behalf of the Casino and Gaming Industry, to raise money for specialised wheelchairs to give to young people with disabilities.
Frank Bruno, said: “I was delighted to have been asked by Genting UK and CHIPS to present Finn with a brand-new wheelchair.
“As a former sportsman myself, I believe every young person should have the opportunity to participate in sport and it’s amazing to hear this wheelchair will give Finn the opportunity to get more involved in something he’s so passionate about.”
Vickie Lusty, Finn’s mother, said: ““The new wheelchair that we have received from CHIPS is the chair of Finn’s dreams and has modifications that will help to make his life so much easier. I have never heard anyone else trying so hard at life and he is only 14 years old. He is breaking the rules of disability and you will see him on a podium one today!
“I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to CHIPS and Genting UK, you have provided him with something that it would have been impossible for us to provide and by doing that you have helped heal my heart just a little bit.”
Mark Sergeant, Group Managing Director at Genting Casino, said, “I’m incredibly proud of the staff members at Genting UK who raised money for CHIPS by taking part in the Rock and Roll Madrid Marathon and Half Marathon.”
“As a teenager, Finn deserves his own independence and with this new, lightweight wheelchair it’s brilliant to know that Finn will now be able to participate in wheelchair sports, something I know he’s very passionate about.”
Linda Lindsay, CHIPS Charity co-founder said, “It’s great to see a sporting legend such as Frank Bruno present Finn with his very own lightweight wheelchair that really is going to help change his life. Finn deserves to enjoy his passion for sport and the wheelchair will really help him gain the access to wheelchair sports.”
“I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the fundraising and making the presentation possible.”
For media enquiries, please contact The PHA Group (Genting’s communications agency) on [email protected] or on +44 207 0251 377 or +44 207 0251 377
About Genting UK
Genting Casinos UK Limited (“Genting”) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Genting Malaysia Berhad. Genting operates 42 land-based casino premises in the UK across England and Scotland and also operates a casino in Egypt Crockfords Cairo through a subsidiary. In London Genting runs the Crockfords casino which has its origins in the private members gaming club established in 1828 by William Crockford and the Colony Club, Maxims, The Palm Beach, Genting Casino Cromwell Mint and Genting Casino Chinatown.
