Charity of the Year

Juvenile Arthritis Research were delighted to hear that we have been chosen as one of two Charities Of The Year by Woodlands Primary School in Tonbridge. Children were asked to nominate a charity to support. After carefully considering all the nominations, the School Council (made up of one child from each class) voted to support Juvenile Arthritis Research (JAR), alongside the other charity they are supporting, the NSPCC.

Woodlands school told us, “The School Council read all the letters and had a good discussion as to which charity we felt we would like to support this year. As a group we were very inspired by the reasons that were given by all of the children. However, after a vote we have decided to support the JAR (Juvenile Arthritis Research) Project.”

JAR has two aims: first, to find a cure for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and secondly to increase awareness of the condition. Juvenile arthritis affects 1 in every 1000 children and young people – that’s around 15,000 children under the age of 16 in the UK. It is a crippling and painful autoimmune disorder that attacks the joints causing pain, inflammation, discomfort, reduced mobility and disability. In some cases it can also attack the eyes causing uveitis which can lead to permanent sight loss if left untreated.

As well as researching a cure for juvenile arthritis, JAR is also raising awareness of the condition because early diagnosis leads to better clinical outcomes. Yet for around 5% of children with JIA, diagnosis took more than 3 years from the point of first contacting a health professional. Increasing awareness will help improve diagnosis times, helping to improve the health of children with JIA.

Mrs Priestley, headteacher of Woodlands Primary School said “We hope that supporting this charity will raise awareness that children and young people get arthritis.”

We are so touched that Woodlands Primary School has chosen to support us as one of their charities of the year this year, and we look forward to working with them to raise awareness of juvenile arthritis and to find a cure for this painful chronic condition.