Clarke Willmott helps to launch World Encephalitis Day campaign

Clarke Willmott joins double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington to launch World Encephalitis Day campaign

Clarke Willmott joined double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington at the House of Commons to launch a new campaign aimed at raising awareness of a devastating brain condition.

Chris Thorne, Partner & Head of Personal Injury & Medical Negligence, and Partner Phil Edwards were on hand to support the Encephalitis Society as it unveiled its BrainWalk smartphone App last week.

The App, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play, is the centrepiece of the charity’s World Encephalitis Day campaign on February 22 and is designed to get people moving, get people thinking and reduce the often overwhelming sense of isolation that can follow encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain) and other acquired brain injuries.

The charity’s ambition is that users of the free App will have walked 52 million steps – the equivalent of walking around the world – by the end of World Encephalitis Day on February 22.

Chris, who heads a team familiar with the problems caused by encephalitis, said: “It was a privilege to join Rebecca and the Encephalitis Society at the House of Commons and to meet so many Members of Parliament who, like us, came to learn more about the plans for World Encephalitis Day on February 22.

“We have supported the Encephalitis Society for many years now and they share our values of innovative thinking, hard work and dedication to clients and supporters.”

Chris and Phil were also invited by the Society in thanks to Clarke Willmott’s hard work in the charity’s Accumulator Challenge in November.

A total of 14 teams were each given £30 and asked to use it as a stake to raise as much money as possible in 30 days. A total of £14,000 was raised by the end of November – making it one of the Encephalitis Society’s most successful fundraising schemes.

Chris added: “We had a lot of fun with the Accumulator Challenge. It was something new for our team to get their teeth stuck into and I am delighted to say we were able to add to the significant funds we have raised in 2017 which will go towards helping people affected by encephalitis.”

For more information about World Encephalitis Day, visit www.worldencephalitisday.org