We are also still delivering our Frame Football sessions, if you are interested or know anyone who may be interested, please get in contact with us at info@goalsbeyondgrass.co.uk
We are still delivering our Multi-Sports club at GL1 in association with Rooftop Housing! If you are interested, please head over to our website and book on.
If you are interested in booking onto a bike session click below:
We would like to say a massive thank you to Steve from Unique Cleaning for his continued support for the charity, this half term he decided to sponsor the Accessible Sports Programme and Powerchair Academy meaning both programmes could go ahead! Steve and Marva came along on Friday and gave some of the sports a go themselves, they loved it!
Thanks again Unique Cleaning Group!
Over the summer we took on the HAF summer project as we delivered summer camps 4 days a week throughout August. The HAF project was very new to us and allowed us to adapt to situations as well as connect with new people and deliver fun sessions with numerous different activities for the children to enjoy.
One mum when speaking about her son has said “He loved playing loads of different sports and trying new things especially archery and dodgeball. He also enjoyed meeting new people and it built his confidence up around new people.”
We see the HAF Project as a success and we are looking at ways to make it even better moving forward.
We also continued with our powerchair academy throughout the summer allowing our powerchair football players to play more regularly throughout the summer break which all the players enjoy.
We would like to give a massive thank you to all these funders over the last few months.
Active Gloucestershire for funding our leadership programme.
Sovereign Housing for funding adult disability sessions such as PAN Football and Accessible sports.
£5,000 towards our Learning Disability & PAN Disability Football sessions in the Forest of Dean – The Bailey Thomas Foundation
£10,000 towards our core costs, day to day running of the charity. – The Openwork Foundation
Gloucestershire County Council & Young Gloucestershire have funded our summer and Christmas holiday activities!
Sirus Automotive are the UK’s leading upfront wheelchair accessible vehicle specialist. Since 2004, Sirus has designed and manufactured drive from wheelchair, internal transfer and wheelchair passenger upfront vehicles, giving their customers freedom, independence and social inclusion.
We hear from two Sirus customers today, who tell us all about their experiences sitting upfront.
“My name is Amy and I have been a Sirus customer for over eight years now. I’ve had two Sirus cars which are designed so I can sit upfront next to the driver. I play Powerchair Football for West Bromwich Albion Throstles and have done for the past 10 years. I travel to and from games and training in my Sirus VW. There is enough space for me to travel upfront in my everyday powerchair and also have enough room to transport my mobile hoist, shower chair, Strike Force Powerchair and my luggage. Sirus have added extra lockdown points in the back of the vehicle to ensure my Strike Force is secure at all times. My Sirus car has given me so much freedom to travel without having to worry about not having enough space to take everything I need. I often travel on short breaks and holidays so it is essential I have space to take quite a bit of equipment as well as my luggage. The Sirus team are always friendly, and no job is ever too much effort”.
“My name is Jenna, and I sustained C5/6 spinal injury in 2004. For five years I have worked tirelessly to get my life back on track. I have a Sirus wheelchair accessible vehicle where I can either drive or travel upfront in my wheelchair next to the driver. Being able to drive again has had a huge impact on my life. It has massively benefitted my mental health and wellbeing because I now have my independence back! Before I was able to drive again, I had a wheelchair accessible vehicle where I sat in the back. I found that sitting in the back messes with your head, I actually felt like a child again. It was so difficult to chat with anyone in the front as it was so noisy. It was extremely uncomfortable and any bumps in the road caused excruciating pain. With my Sirus car, when I don’t feel like driving, I can sit in the frontin my wheelchair which is absolutely amazing”
Sirus also specialise in Internal Transfer vehicles for wheelchair users who prefer to drive from a standard driver’s seat and bespoke adaptations for standard cars, including steering aids, seating solutions and boot hoists.
To find out more about driving or travelling upfront, contact Sirus Automotive on 0121 505 7777 or visit www.sirusautomotive.co.uk.
We need the support of our community, to help us on our fundraising mission to raise money for a Strikeforce Powerchair.
This project has been selected by the Calor Community Fund, to potentially be granted £5,000 towards the chair, however before they decide which charities they will fund we have to evidence the support we have from the community by accumulating as many points on our project page as possible.
To receive points, we need people to go to this link where they can like, share, and donate to our project. https://communityfund.calor.co.uk/gbgstrikeforce
We will receive:
1 Point per like
1 Point per share
10 Points per donation – This can be as little as £1, it will still give us 10 Points
All money raised on the Crowdfunder will go towards the project whether we win the £5,000 or not so every penny donated will make a difference and every point will push the project one step closer to receiving the £5,000 grant.
Due to the way the points system works, we are also asking people who are making a pledge of more than £1 to break the donation into as many pledges as possible. Please see the example below.
Example –
A £5 donation = 10 points
5 £1 donations = 50 points
Please ensure you share and like on the link, so that Crowdfunder award us a point. (If you just share a friend post on Facebook, Crowdfunder will not recognise this).
Thank you to everyone who supports us, we would not be able to make the difference to peoples lives without you!
The Coronavirus has brought a very worrying and uncertain time for everyone in society. Our main priority as always, is to support our participants, the powerchair football family and the wider community in the best possible way.
During this time, we have been keeping in touch with participants and their families, hosting zoom sessions, enabling the participants to not only stay in touch with us, but these weekly sessions also keep them in touch with their team mates and friends too.
It is only natural to feel isolated, lonely, or anxious but do not go through this time alone. We want everyone to know, that we are working hard to provide activities for individuals and families to take part in from the comfort of their homes. For example, weekly quiz nights, Fifa tournaments and we even have a Race Night in the planning.
GBG Get Talking is a new initiative which has hit the ground running, with our ambassadors having a significant impact on the community. Including three England European Powerchair Football Champions, our ambassadors have been zooming powerchair football players who may be feeling isolated, enabling them to discuss their journey to the top of the sport, but allowing many players to ask questions about how they are finding lockdown.
The feedback we have received so far has been superb and we are sure our ambassadors will continue to give people a much-needed lift as lockdown continues. After a zoom call, the participant is sent a GBG care package, with a few goodies to raise their spirits.
Our COVID-19 initiatives include:
– Weekly Zoom meetings for participants, families, and volunteers
– GBG Get Talking campaign with our Ambassadors
– Weekly Quiz Nights
– Weekly Fifa Tournaments
– A Giving Back campaign donating Chocolate, Socks, PPE, hand sanitiser, football kit and Toothbrushes to local homeless charities and front-line workers within Gloucestershire
Please do not go through this period alone, we are here to support you even if it is just to have a chat over the phone. We will be following Government guidance on when we will be able to deliver sessions again, however we know we will get through this period together, with the help and support of our community.
(Please note that the GBG staff are working from home, but if you would like to get in touch please email info@goalsbeyondgrass.co.uk)