Helen Foley
This live stream will commence on Tuesday 23rd February 2021
1pm - Our Lady Of Victories RC Church, Southwell, Nottingham
Dr Helen Foley, MBE
24th February 1937 – 31st January 2021
A Lifetime of Work for Children with Disabilities
Charities working with disabled children in Guildford are marking the enduring legacy of Dr Helen Foley, former consultant neurological paediatrician at the Royal Surrey. Dr Helen is remembered as a compassionate and understanding doctor but her intense interest and concern for families and children in her care went beyond just medical issues. She recognised, well ahead of others at the time, that disabled children needed opportunities to play, have fun, learn skills and make friends, just like other children. She was also all too well aware of the pressures on parents of ‘her’ children and that they needed more support. She saw the problems and did something about them. She was the driver for the setting up of:
Cherry Trees (1980- Present): short term, respite care for children with complex disabilities.
Challengers (1979 - Present): inclusive play for children with disabilities.
Opportunity Playgroup (1974 – Present): playgroup for children that were outpatients at the childrens unit for play and observation, St Luke’s Hospital.
The Toy Library (1976 – 2009): outpatient toy scheme at St Luke’s and then The Royal Surrey.
Equipment for Disabled Children (1990 - Present): Providing equipment for children with disabilities.
Special Needs and Parents, SNAP (1993 -1997): support group for parents.
Dr Helen was always very modest about her own role in getting these charities off the ground but she was in practice a force of nature in making them happen. She got parents together to help, found donors/sponsors, influenced anyone she could, pulled strings, persuaded and persisted. She never gave up and was undaunted by what looked to others like potentially serious obstacles. And she remained involved with these charities for many years after setting them up.
Establishing any one of these important local charities would have been a significant achievement. To have been instrumental in setting up so many is a truly marvelous and unique legacy. Many children and families in Guildford are deeply grateful for all she did for them. Dr Helen was appointed an MBE in 2015 for services to children with disabilities.
Cherry Trees is a unique charity in terms of its service provision, history and ability to support children with a range of complex disabilities and is a much loved organization in the local community. Celebrating over 40 years of supporting families all of our efforts to this very day rest in the impact of the commitment and determination of Helen to help families locally. When reflecting on our founder, Cherry Trees CEO Claire Bryant says:
“Dr Helen Foley was a truly inspirational lady. I have nothing but admiration for her determination and drive to improve the lives of children with disabilities and their families. She was such a compassionate lady, always so grateful to hear about the children at Cherry Trees and the developments of the charity. It became one of our traditions to ensure that each year the children made her a Christmas decoration; a small thanks for the indescribable impact she had on so many lives, each year she wrote of great thanks for the gift.
Helen left such a remarkable legacy and ingrained child centered ethos at Cherry Trees of ‘Child first, Disability second’, something that resonates through all of the charities she founded.
We were all so very sad to hear that Helen had passed away, it’s rare to ever meet someone that has directly improved the lives of thousands of people, providing them with a true lifeline. We are grateful that her legacy, drive and incredible motivation to help improve the lives of the most vulnerable children and their families will always be central to everything we do.”
A memorial to cherish Helen’s life and work will be included at Cherry Trees, so her memory and all that she did for us is never forgotten.
If you wish to make a donation, here are two charities set up by Helen which were dear to her heart:
Our Story | Challengers Challengers - (disability-challengers.org)