Member Article

H.I.P in Cheshire announces Old Fiver Amnesty

A Cheshire charity is launching an amnesty for people to donate their old-style £5 notes on Friday, April 5 as the cash is legally phased out.

Friday is the deadline for people to spend their old fivers in the shops following the introduction of new plastic polymer notes in January, but Head Injured People in Cheshire (H.I.P) – which supports individuals living with the effects of head injuries across Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East – is inviting people to make sure their ‘blueys’ don’t go to waste by offering to give them a good home.

According to H.I.P fundraiser Lisa Forbes, it could make a real difference to people who rely on the support services H.I.P offers.

“The old £5 note ceases to be legal tender this week,” she said. “But notes can still be exchanged in the banks for a short time – and in person at the Bank of England for all time.

“If that seems like a lot of effort to exchange a fiver though, we’re happy to give them a good home! Our Old Fiver Amnesty is a great way to support the vital services we provide across Cheshire while easily getting rid of those old, obsolete notes.”

H.I.P helps people deal with the complex range of issues that impact the lives of people with acquired head injuries. These range from changes in taste to eyesight problems, personality changes, memory and perception difficulties, poor mobility and many more. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and H.I.P delivers support services.

The causes of these injuries can range from medical conditions to assaults and road traffic accidents and additional physical difficulties can complicate life for those with head injuries and their families and carers.

You can donate your old fivers at Veeno Italian wine café on Northgate Street in Chester, Total Fitness on Liverpool Road in Chester, the Rising Sun Fayre & Square pub on Congleton Road in Gawsworth, Macclesfield, Trinity Church in Whitby Road in Ellesmere Port and the Best Western Crewe Arms Hotel on Nantwich Road in Crewe.

H.I.P will also be marking Brain Injury Awareness Week with a Sponsored Snowdon Challenge, where on Tuesday, May 9 a team of volunteers will be pulling one of HIP’s wheelchair users up Snowdon in a specially-adapted chariot chair.

If you see them on the mountain you can give them your old fivers as part of the amnesty, or you can donate online here: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/snowdonchallengeforhip/437494#.WPXxFoufAxI.facebook

And if you’d like to show your support as a business, why not take part in Mad Hair Day to close Brain Injury Awareness Week on Friday, May 12? Apply for your kit here: http://www.hipincheshire.org.uk/connect/events/mad-hair-day.html

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mike Stephenson .