Sparks is a small charity with a big mission – for all babies to be born healthy and stay healthy.  We were founded by sports personalities who believe that all children should be able to share the joy of simply running a race or kicking a ball.  At Sparks we are motivated by the knowledge that we all have the power to change lives. Every penny you raise for Sparks brings us closer to giving all children a healthy start in life. 

Sparks is unique, we aren’t a single cause charity. We fund research across the whole spectrum of paediatric medicine, including childhood cancer, childhood arthritis, meningitis, club foot, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and all the risks associated with premature birth. These are just a few of the areas where Sparks-funded doctors and scientists are leading the race to save lives.

But no matter how successful our efforts are, we will always run out of money before we run out of deserving medical research projects seeking our help.  That’s a gap we’re determined to bridge and you can help to make it possible.  By choosing Sparks you can help us to prevent suffering, save lives and even eradicate conditions that affect children in both the UK and worldwide. 

Please support Sparks and join us in the fight to change millions of young lives.

		“My daughter Zoë’s life has been transformed by Sparks’ work. She suffers from Spastic Cerebral Palsy and benefited from ground breaking treatments funded by Sparks. She is now a world away from those heartbreaking moments of her birth when she was given the last rites and we were told she wouldn’t survive. Zoë’s goal is to grow up and play tennis at Wimbledon – thanks to Sparks this may happen.” - Caroline North, Zoë’s Mum “Thanks to Sparks and its supporters, every day doctors are carrying out vital pioneering work to improve the health of children in the UK and across the world. Without your efforts, much of this work wouldn’t even get off the ground.” - Professor John Wyatt, University College London “More than anyone, sportsmen and women appreciate the blessing of good health and the ability to play the games they love. That’s why we have a duty to help others grow up with the same opportunity in life. I’m honoured to be President of Sparks.” - Martin Johnson CBE, England World Cup winning Rugby Captain

The BG Energy Challenge 2008 - UK event is raising money for two specific Sparks projects:

Exploring Causes of Clubfoot in Europe and the Pacific
This pioneering 3 year project, which also benefited from monies raised at the BG Energy Challenge 2007, is currently being undertaken at the Medical Genetics Laboratories at Aberdeen University and is being led by the eminent research scientist Dr Zosia Miedzybrodzka.

Clubfoot is a common inborn lower leg problem of uncertain cause.  With Sparks funding the team has already established a DNA and information resource from >850 families in the UK, Netherlands, and Vanuatu - the largest such study in the world.  This resource together with the researchers’ expertise and recent advances in genetics and epidemiology puts them in a unique position to make discoveries that will lead to improved treatments and possibly prevention. 

The focus is now on investigating the role of the following in clubfoot:

1. A gene from the team’s work on samples from Vanuatu has been highlighted as a possible cause of clubfoot worldwide
2. Parental smoking and genes involved in how the body processes toxins in tobacco
3. Pregnancy-related risk factors 

Improving nutrition to facilitate growth and development in young children with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy affects 2 – 3 in every 1000 babies born worldwide. This vitally important project is being funded by Sparks at The Children’s Hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.  

Cerebral Palsy, caused by damage to the developing brain, can be a very disabling lifelong condition affecting every aspect of daily life such as walking and talking. Children with cerebral palsy may also be unable to eat adequately; poor food intake can cause malnutrition and lead to ill health and in turn further compromise neurological development.

Infants’ brains have some capacity for repair and regeneration. Recent research has shown that certain dietary components are essential as building blocks for the making of nerves and their connections within the brain. SPARKS researchers aim to optimise the nutrition provided to children with cerebral palsy in order to help improve their growth and development.

To find out more visit www.sparks.org.uk

Clubfoot
Clubfoot, also known as congenital talipes equinovarus, is a common disorder of one or both feet in which the patient cannot stand with the sole of the foot flat on the ground. In the most common form, the foot is twisted downwards and inwards so that the patient walks on the outer edge of the upper sole of the foot. The disorder is present at birth, is treatable but there is still no cure. Without treatment, a child would never  be able to walk or run.

Cerebral palsy
Cerebral Palsy can be caused by damage to the developing brain either through injury during birth, lack of oxygen before birth, abnormal brain development, meningitis or viral infection. It can lead to a wide range of conditions, from  lack of balance, impaired intelligence, posture and speech may also be affected to weakness of limbs and epilepsy; paralysis of the limbs being the most common disability.