The Charity was founded in 1999 when a player from the Lismore Rugby Club in Edinburgh suffered a serious spinal injury that left him paralysed. Having run a highly successful appeal, Lismore decided to widen its support to cover other players impacted by serious injury or illness. Thus, Hearts and Balls came into being, with the aim of ‘helping rugby help its own’. Since then, the Charity has provided support of over £200,000 to numerous players and families. Supports have included
Hearts and Balls has donated in the region of £200,000 to rugby players and their families since 1999. Through advice and advocacy, they also help them to raise money from other sources. Recent funding has included:
- new wheelchairs for players with spinal injuries
specialist mattresses for players with spinal injuries
adapting the home and garden of a spinally-injured player
car insurance for a specialist vehicle for a spinally-injured player
an additional carer to accompany a spinally-injured player on holiday
mortgage interest payments for the wife and young children of a player who died from a heart problem when playing rugby
specialist IT equipment for a spinally-injured player returning to study
legal costs of setting up a trust for an injured player.