Tony Barnard Foundation

The Tony Barnard Foundation was formed in memory of Tony Barnard. Tony suffered a massive brain trauma and adapted to life as a disabled man for over twenty years. He endured several months of total blindness and he learned how to cope in his dark world. This equipped him with new and different strategies with which to face life. Tony had been a very successful business man prior to his trauma and was a great believer in the power of the marketing and networking tools. Having lost the use of 50% of his body Tony never allowed the disability to constrain his desire to continue to network and support, encourage and help others. Tony made often made friends of those who found friendship a struggle. He understood what it was to have your confidence shattered and your world shrink through trauma. It is therefore a fitting way to remember Tony by seeking ways to encourage and support those who otherwise would struggle with developing their life skills. ‘Opportunities for all’ is the motto by which we work. We seek through the Foundation to open doors for those who may have their opportunities to develop or enhance their life skills thwarted through lack of funds. We cannot do everything but we will do what we can. Tony was a ‘can do’ person and never let his disabilities crush his spirit or destroy his creativity. We seek to enshrine that characteristic in our work and activities. We will endeavour to involve the wider community in our efforts by raising awareness and through fund raising. The aim of the Foundation is to support in whatever way we can. The Foundation will raise funds that can be distributed to open doors for some and take the pressure off others. None of the money raised will go to employ people—all the money raised will be to offer direct relief or to offer individuals, groups or families opportunities to enhance their quality of life. We will aim to support those with a learning difficulty to enable them to be more independent and to have the opportunity to participate in the community in which they live