1st June

Big shout out to Pedall – New Forest Inclusive Cycling
Gemma took a group of children from The Dorset Children’s Foundation to their New Forest base today for an inclusive bike ride. We had children with a wide range of disabilities and every one of them were able to experience the thrill of moving at speed on a bike with the wind in their faces. The squeals of joy from Oliver sums up the day. Massive thanks to the volunteers at Pedall for giving up their time to run these sessions and make it safe and fun for all.

13th June

I am so excited to share these pictures with you from The Dorset Children’s Foundation first ever residential outdoor activity weekend at Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre in the New Forest.

Those that have attended my workshops in the past will know I talk a lot about how Paddy and those like him can do so much more than people realise, when the right equipment and access is available. Avon Tyrrell is local to us and all Paddy’s brothers have been there over the years with school or scouts etc. it’s kind of a right of passage. Paddy had never been offered this opportunity before so we changed that.

We arranged for 10 families with young people with complex physical and medical needs to try canoeing, high ropes and the zip wire! We rented a lodge that had space for 7 wheelchair users with their carers to stay (3 more families joined us during the day). As we wanted this to be a chance for family groups to come together, we also had our own camping field adjacent to the lodge where the Dads and siblings set up camp. It was so lovely to see the siblings, who are young carers themselves, having fun together. Knowing that their brothers and sisters all have similar conditions, they all relaxed and felt completely at ease with each other and formed lasting friendships.
The pictures speak for themselves. We had the most amazing weekend. The weather was perfect, all the children enjoyed the activities using specialist equipment and being helped by the most professional and friendly staff. I cried happy tears multiple times as I watched all the young disabled people experience the exhilarating activities for the first time, the smiles just kept coming.
I am so thankful to all those who donated to the DCF Accessible 4 All programme and helped make this happen.

25th June

Can we please all send massive congratulations to our fantastic Ambassador Adam Sevenoaks. He has been awarded The County FA winner of The Spirit of Grassroots Football This is such a fantastic achievement.