Supporting Autism Awareness
As part of the Monarch Foundation’s work to support autism awareness, a special day was organised for Luke Jones and his family
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Monarch CEO Andrew Swaffield spotted the story and invited the Jones family to spend a day at Manchester Airport to help Luke and his family prepare for their next holiday.
The Monarch Foundation is pleased to announce that a small donation from the sale of all scratch cards sold onboard Monarch flights will go to the National Autistic Society. The NAS is the leading UK charity for people with autism and their families, providing life-changing advice, services and information to approximately 700,000 people.
uke, an eight-year-old boy with autism, became increasingly anxious about his Monarch flight to Gran Canaria and was almost hysterical prior to take-off. But with support from the customers and crew on board, Luke’s family managed to settle him so they could continue with their holiday. Luke’s Mum Lauren posted a heartfelt thank you to everyone for their support that became a viral hit on Monarch’s social media sites. Lauren said: ‘As a mother of a child with autism I often feel judged by his different behaviour but the crew and passengers on our flight showed acceptance and patience. Thank you for not judging us - you have no idea what a blessing you were!’
scratchcard charity
Funds raised by donations from the sale of scratch cards will be directed towards the NAS National Helpline, often the first point of contact for people with autism and their families. The team provides specialist advice to more than 16,000 callers. Luke and his brother David were treated to a full private tour of the airport, with a trip to the Runway Visitor Park, lunch in the Runway Café and the chance to watch aircraft take off. They also had a tour of Concorde and spent time with some Monarch crew. The highlight for the boys was sitting in the captain’s cockpit seat. The visit highlights Monarch’s commitment to providing a positive experience for all customers – we are
widely recognised for our outstanding customer service as a ‘WorldHost’ accredited business. Working towards the Autism Friendly Award, we aim to do as much as we can to support customers with hidden disabilities. After the visit, Lauren said: ‘we are so grateful to Monarch and Manchester Airport for providing us with such a wonderful experience – it is something that Luke will remember forever’ ■
£50,000 for Tameside Macmillan Unit ‘With chemotherapy, clinical haematology services, complementary therapy and cancer information all together in one place, patient experience will be improved enormously’
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very year more than 1,000 people in Tameside and Glossop are told they have cancer and there has long been a need for a purpose-built centre where local people can access specialist cancer treatment. Monarch Foundation charity partner Macmillan Cancer Support has responded by building a new state-of-the-art unit for patients.
Carol Diver, Macmillan Advanced Nurse Practitioner
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monarch.co.uk
The new unit is already accepting patients in the Tameside, Glossop and Greater Manchester areas but the capital appeal is
still open for the unit so Monarch wanted to help. With the support of our customers and the funds we’ve raised onboard, Monarch has donated £50,000 to the unit to help fund the new facilities. Pauline Prow, Chair of the Monarch Foundation, said: ‘The new facilities will make a huge difference to patients. Cancer touches the lives of so many and we are delighted to be able to make this donation to this significant local project. It will allow our customers and staff to see for themselves the direct impact their fundraising efforts can have on people’s lives’ ■