Rochdale Freemasons grant over £2,000 to help local family

Doug Smith (left) and John Taylor (right) of Rochdale Freemasons with the Wardley Family - Chris, Roxi-Blue, River, Jenni and Ocean

Rochdale District Freemasons have recently stepped in to help a Littleborough family whose son suffers from a life-threatening genetic condition.

Chris and Jenni Wardley, from Littleborough, secured a new home suitable for their family’s needs after a grant of £2,295 from the East Lancashire Masonic Charities was provided to them, with the help of Rochdale Freemasons.

Their son, River Wardley, suffers from an extremely rare mutation on his CNK SR2 gene. This causes seizures and intellectual, attention and language deficits.

River also has central and obstructive sleep apnoea, hypermobility syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder, autism, ADHD and uncontrolled epilepsy.

Rochdale District Chairman, Doug Smith, commented: “When we heard about River, we wanted to do something positive by helping Chris and Jenni move to a home appropriate for their whole family.”

With the grant of over £2,000, the family can now move to a new home in Milnrow where their quality of life will be greatly improved.

Rochdale District Charity Steward, John Taylor, added: “We really do like to help those in need, and it is clear just how much this means to the whole family.”

Rochdale Online have followed River's story in the past:

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/news-archives?type=News&Criteria=River+Wardley