Charity that honours late son has announced their support to another Inverness based charity, MFR Cash For Kids

A GRIEVING family is honouring their son’s name by supporting a charity that provided him comfort in his final year.

Leo Flett sadly passed away aged just four in 2019, after battling a rare form of congenital muscular dystrophy.

Parents Mitch and Louise had already set up a charity, Leo’s Pride, to help support Leo and Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK).

Leo’s Pride has now decided it will support a different charity each year from among those who made a positive difference to Leo’s life, with this year’s beneficiary set to be MFR’s Cash for Kids.

Mrs Flett (pictured inset with Leo) explained the decision to step away from MDUK.

“Now the chance to try to save Leo has been taken away from us due to him passing away suddenly at the end of July 2019, and having a break over lockdown to think, it seemed like the right time to step away from MDUK – having raised around £100,000 for our family fund with them,” she said.

“We didn’t want to give up on helping others and we want to keep Leo’s memory alive, so it felt fitting for us to focus on a different charity each year that helped Leo when he was alive, in his memory. “

Cash for Kids provided Leo with a specialised car seat at very short notice, which allowed him to travel safely and comfortably.

Mrs Flett continued: “There was nothing suitable on the market for him. After speaking to his health professionals we then realised that Leo would need a specialised car seat.

“We found ourselves in a desperate position. We couldn’t take Leo out anywhere without a car seat.

“We managed to get a little money from another funder but we still required a very large chunk for the seat that we simply couldn’t afford ourselves. We didn’t know what we were going to do.

“Then we were told by a family member to put in an emergency application to MFR Cash for Kids, which we did, and within 24 hours they gave us the money to allow us to order Leo’s car seat.

“Getting the car seat for Leo completely changed his life!

“It supported him in every way he needed, from the day it arrived at our door until the day before he died.

“Cash for kids came to our rescue for Leo, and now we want to be able to help other children in our area get the specialised equipment they require.”

Together the two charities will ensure that all money they raise this year will go towards buying equipment for children with disabilities in the local area.

The first fundraiser has been organised in partnership with Inverness Musical Theatre (IMT) and their latest show.

The company are performing their production of Legally Blonde between March 30 and April 2 at Eden Court and after each performance volunteers will be there with collection buckets for donations.

Chairwoman of IMT, Morven Reid, put forward Leo’s Pride to the group as she was Leo’s childminder and holds the charity close to her heart.

They are also going to host a special show later in 2022 that will also raise funds for the charity.

Lyndsay Rose, charity manager at MFR Cash for Kids, said: “We are delighted to be the charity of the year for Leo’s Pride and, having supported Leo, it means so much to us.

“Together we’re hoping that we can raise vital funds to give children in our community a brighter future.

“We’re looking forward to working with the team and making a difference.”

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