Former Leeds Rhinos star Rob Burrow has thrown his weight behind a fundraising appeal to create a new centre for motor neurone disease in Leeds.
The ex-professional rugby player has inspired many in his own battle with the disease, now he wants to help others suffering from the life-limiting condition.
He's putting his full support behind a fundraising appeal by Leeds Hospital Charity, which is hoping to raise £5m to build the Rob Burrow Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Care Centre.
Mr Burrow said: “Imprisoned in the brutality of MND, my vision is that people diagnosed with MND hear the news in a calming and tranquil sanctuary.
"I envisage a beautiful, welcoming building that is user and family friendly. A place where patients feel comfortable to bring family members into a safe and homely environment for them, with signs of hope and optimism.
“For carers of those with MND it is important to know that their loved ones are in the best possible place.
The Leeds Rhinos Foundation has already pledged £50,000 towards the new centre / Image: Rob Burrow Instagram
"Something every MND sufferer and their families deserve. Although the news won’t be any better, it will be easier to come to terms with in a purposely built care centre that meets the needs of every MND patient.”
The Leeds Rhinos Foundation has already pledged £50,000 towards the new centre.
Rob Burrow is currently treated at MND at Seacroft Hospital, as well as around roughly 80 other patients in Leeds.
However, bosses have since decided that the facilities could do with an upgrade.
Mr Burrow has since set out a vision that the new centre will be a "calming and tranquil sanctuary” for sufferers, providing an elevated quality of care for those living with MND.
Rob Burrow recently released his autobiography Too Many Reasons To Live / Image: Rob Burrow Instagram
If proposals are effective, it will bring together all of the area's MND services under one roof - giving patients access to a range of different holistic support all in one place for the very first time.
This is set to include speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, diet and nutrition advice; with patients able to easily access consultants from Neurology, Palliative Care and Respiratory medicine at the new centre.
“We want to provide a safe haven for our patients and their families – a peaceful environment that reiterates to them that they have the best possible care, helping them ‘live in the now’, a serene place that instils hope and courage," said Dr Agam Jung, Consultant Neurologist who leads the MND team at Seacroft Hospital.
Feature image -National Television Awards.
Trending
‘Ugly, run-down’ and ‘untidy’ – Leeds named UK’s tenth best big city
Britain's 20 biggest cities have been ranked, and Leeds has done pretty well.
Although, you wouldn't be able to tell judging by the overwhelmingly lacklustre description we've been given.
The listing comes from The Telegraph and ranks Britain's 20 biggest cities from worst to best, taking into account visitor appeal and where offers most to tourists.
Leeds comes in at a very respectable number 10, however judging from what they've said about our city you'd think we were much, much lower.
Kicking things off, the description reads: "There’s an untidy quality to Leeds, borne of a patchwork of periods in its built environment and the fact that a lot of regeneration is underway (cranes rise at every corner)."
Image: Unsplash
Yep, not off to a good start but it's only down hill from there as Leeds is then said to have a 'certain shapelessness'.
But perhaps the worst part is yet to come: "There are some ugly, run-down streets very close to the centre, and while the Headrow and other high streets have a fair number of shops, there’s no real boulevard or grand square.
"The most atmospheric spaces are Queens Arcade and perpendicular Cross Arcade, and Thornton’s Arcade; Grand Arcade is also Victorian but looks and feels less uplifting."
By the end it starts to get slightly more positive, emphases on 'slightly': "Leeds’ strongest points might be its small size and its north-central location; it’s easy to walk everywhere inside the city, and a short ride away are Ilkley, Skipton and the Dales."
Our visitor appeal gained a 6.5/10, beating Cardiff, Sheffield, Brighton and Nottingham.
Taking the top spot was Liverpool followed by Edinburgh, Belfast and Glasgow. Read the full ranking here.
The Boots recycling scheme where you can get £5 off every shop
Thomas Melia
UK high street retailer and healthcare shop Boots has launched an innovative recycling scheme that entitles customers to £5 off their future shopping trips.
If you're still struggling to come up with a New Year's resolution, why not try a spot of recycling and earn some money off your next cosmetics shop while you're at it?
Started in 2020, the Boots Recycling Scheme allows Advantage Card holders the opportunity to get money while also being more conscious about how we recycle our used health and beauty products.
Their third party app Recycle at Boots uses a Scan2Recycle system where users can upload items from various beauty brands by taking a picture of the empty packaging before identifying its form.
This scheme takes items that can't usually be recycled at home such as lotion pumps, toothpaste tubes, lipstick, mascaras, travel minis, make-up palettes and more.
Images: Publicity pictures (supplied)
Once you have five items approved, head over to your nearest participating Boots store, drop off your empties and scan the QR code on the deposit box.
After you've followed all these steps, a voucher will appear entitling you to 500 Advantage Points when you spend £10 in-store, and not only do you have £5 worth of points with your name on it, you're also an eco-warrior.
There's even a dedicated section of the app to recycling empty medicine and vitamin blister packs which gives customers 100 Advantage Points, when you spend £5 in-store - This is brill.
Items dropped into these deposit boxes are taken to MyGroup, a recycling and waste management service which works around the clock to help divert waste from landfill.
These empties will be washed and traditionally recycled into a material called MyBoard, a construction board material most similar to plywood with lots of different uses.
Nearest Boots locations in Manchester running the Recycle at Boots scheme:
Leeds Trinity - 1 Bond Street, LS1 5EY
Leeds Kirkstall - Savins Mill Way, LS5 3RP
White Rose Shopping Centre - Lower Level, Leeds, LS11 8LL
Thorpe Park - Unit 3 The Springs, LS15 8GG
Birstall Retail Park - Batley, West Yorkshire, WF7417 9DT
If you're up for getting money off your next Boots splurge while also helping recycle cosmetics containers and more, you can download the Recycle at Boots app and find your nearest HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
7th September 2021 
