An update from Andy Uttridge, Co-founder, Rooprai Spinal Trust – Exchange’s support continues to change lives

May 23, 2025

This update covers our activity through to the end of April, with a second update coming soon to share what promises to be a busy and exciting summer.

First and foremost, Exchange Chambers’ support is truly making a difference to our charity.

The Rooprai Spinal Trust is run by a small but passionate team of volunteers. Our work focuses on two key areas: raising funds and awareness, and – most importantly – connecting with individuals affected by spinal cord injury to help them access vital physiotherapy and share our own experiences and insights.

After a typically busy end to the year full of events, January often brings a surge of applications for physiotherapy support. Like many people, those living with spinal injuries start the new year with a renewed focus on their health and well-being – and we believe nothing should stand in the way of that.

Thanks to our partnership with Exchange Chambers, we’ve been able to offer real, life-changing support.

One such example is Tucker, a man in his 70s living with tetraplegia after a fall down the stairs left him paralysed and with limited support. We were proud to fully fund Tucker’s intensive four-week course at The Rehab Physio in Wirral – costing £6,800 – which would have been otherwise out of reach for him. We’ll be sharing more about Tucker’s journey at Exchange’s Charity Ball later this year.

We also supported Stefan through a four-week programme at the Motion Rehab Centre in Doncaster, and at the time of writing this, we have four more newly injured individuals lined up for support.

Beyond one-to-one rehab support, we’ve launched our new ‘Back to the Gym’ initiative in collaboration with VIM Health in Brighton. This programme is designed to help wheelchair users regain confidence and strength through gym-based exercise, and we hope to roll it out to other areas across the UK.

April was a standout month for fundraising. Our eight runners and wheelchair participants in the London Marathon raised over £23,000! For the first time ever, we also had 15 runners representing RST at the Paris Marathon – a fantastic event we hope will become a tradition.

We can’t wait to share more updates shortly, including highlights from our upcoming golf day at the stunning Woburn Golf Club and news about the brilliant Exchange PI Seminar.

To everyone at Exchange Chambers, thank you again – your support continues to change lives.

Andy Uttridge, Co-founder, Rooprai Spinal Trust