Posts tagged all-ability

Day 13 – Enough With The Planning, On With The Doing

Do something that both scares and excites you. This is day 13 of my 30 day Scare The Crap Out Of Myself Video Challenge.

Today is all about getting out there and doing. It was a big night tonight, where me and some incredible volunteers ran a Get Tech World Cafe event, bringing people together from all backgrounds and abilities to explore mobile technology with people with disabilities and older people. I have been holding onto this idea for 2 years, talking to epople in different settings. Today, was a great pilot event that helped me conquer my fear of doing…and doing some good while I am at it!

For the next 30 days I will post one video which will describe doing something that both scares and excites me, one learning point, and a take away. Join me through my ‘Hell yeah!’ moments and my ‘Oh Sh*t’ moments for the next 30 days and please do cheer me on!

Why on earth would you do this, Mel?

For Me: To bring some structure back in my life. To prove to myself that I can follow through. To document my journey at this scary time. To feel alive.

For You: Perhaps you are on a similar journey, thinking of making a change or needing to give yourself a kick in the bum to get going. I hope that following my journey will help you feel that you are not alone and inspire you to go out and do things that scare you too. Because in the end, it is by finding and doing something that makes you come alive that we truly start to make a dent in the world. Want to scare the crap out of yourself on film? Start your own challenge and let us know that you do! Share it on twitter with #stcoom (short for scarethecrapoutofmyself!)

Finally, Danger Lou, thank you so much for the inspiration. This is my journey towards Danger Me

Day 11 – Arrgh, sales…asking for money in a cape

Do something that both scares and excites you. This is day 11 of my 30 day Scare The Crap Out Of Myself Video Challenge.

Today, I was challenged to ask for money in support of You Can Bike Too, the incredible all ability cycling project who organised CamBikeFest. I really, really dislike asking for money. I really, really, dislike sales. But, I know I need to get better at it and find a way that I feel more comfortable. Today, I did it with the help of some geeky glasses, a cape, and some bike shaped cookies.

For the next 30 days I will post one video which will describe doing something that both scares and excites me, one learning point, and a take away. Join me through my ‘Hell yeah!’ moments and my ‘Oh Sh*t’ moments for the next 30 days and please do cheer me on!

Why on earth would you do this, Mel?

For Me: To bring some structure back in my life. To prove to myself that I can follow through. To document my journey at this scary time. To feel alive.

For You: Perhaps you are on a similar journey, thinking of making a change or needing to give yourself a kick in the bum to get going. I hope that following my journey will help you feel that you are not alone and inspire you to go out and do things that scare you too. Because in the end, it is by finding and doing something that makes you come alive that we truly start to make a dent in the world. Want to scare the crap out of yourself on film? Start your own challenge and let us know that you do! Share it on twitter with #stcoom (short for scarethecrapoutofmyself!)

Finally, Danger Lou, thank you so much for the inspiration. This is my journey towards Danger Me

An invitation to think about disability differently

From helping you find your spark and surrounding you with people that believe that you can, through to grouping you with others who are interested in similar things – this is our story. And with it, this is why you see people with disabilities in most things that we do. It is also why and how we are not a disability service. Let’s think about disability differently.

Are you in?

*To view this Prezi just click ‘start prezi’ in the middle of the box and then the play triangle on the bottom left. You should hear my voice taking you through our story.

Exploring the art of asking

Recently the amazing Vanessa Chase over at Philanthropy for All  shared a most incredible Ted talk by Amanda Palmer on the art of asking. I invite you to watch it and share your thoughts and experiences of asking.

What stands out to me in this video? She asks for help. She asks frequently. She isn’t ashamed. And she receives help, thanks people, and connects with them.

She speaks about the direct connection that you get with people through asking and receiving. That asking for help is not a shameful thing, nor is it a one way relationship. She tells stories of using the internet and tools like Twitter to enable this. How they give her fans the abilities to help her out with advice, food, and so much more and to feel valuable in return.

Is this fair?

Amanda gives the example of couchsurfing with a family who slept on their couches so that she and her band could take the beds. ‘Is this fair?’ she asked herself – and the response is incredible. In the morning, the mom thanks her for the music she sings, as it has truly helped her daughter. She thanks her for choosing their house to sleep in. The act of accepting help from this family was accepting a thank you. It was saying to them that they are incredible. Amanda and her band got a bed for the night but that family, they got just as much, if not more.

Independence

Independence, by flickr user dougtone

 

An obsession with Independence

And yet, so often people seem ashamed to ask for help, worried that we will be putting someone out, that they will only say yes because they feel they have to. And receiving help is often even harder. We seem to have a culture of independence first whenever possible – ‘no thanks, I can do that myself’. And yet, we seem to be avoiding the well known fact that the world, and all of us within it, are interdependent – we depend on each other. We forget that asking for help can in fact be a gift to that other person. By asking we are saying ‘I trust you and you have something of incredible value to me – you are important and valuable’. And then they give….and they feel good.

 

Why do people give their time, money, skills, food, beds etc? – Why wouldn’t we?                                                                                       When we give, we feel good….so we give more. 

With this in mind, by not asking for help (and showing much gratitude when it is given) do we not deprive people of the most amazing feeling in the world – to feel good about themselves?

What would happen if we starting asking everyone for help – even those who life has given an abundance of challenges?

And now let’s relate this to people ‘experiencing disadvantage’. Maybe they have a low income, a disability, mental illness, or have just had a rough time in life. How much do we ask them for help? We give it, yes, but when do we ask for it? ‘These people have so little, is it fair to ask?’. But by not asking what are we saying to them? Are we not inadvertently saying ‘you don’t have anything to give, you are not valuable’?

Asking is not begging – it’s about community

Begging is when we ask for something for ‘those poor people’. You give because you feel bad for someone, because you feel you have more than them and want to share. The feel good factor is not an even street.

Asking is different. It is about asking someone to share their valuable skills, resources, etc. Asking is an opportunity for both parties. Asking is about community. Each and every one of us asking, receiving and giving. All of us feeling good for it.

Why we are not a charity

Our Check It Out Team

In our Check It Out Team, everyone gives and receives

Unfortunately, often charities are associated with the begging definition above. We at The You Can Hub have purposely decided not to be a charity for this very reason. We feel uncomfortable with concept of asking or giving out of pity. We want to do things differently. We value community and believe that together, anything is possible. We believe that everyone can live a life we love but that to achieve this, we need to work together. We need to ask for help, give help, receive help and be extremely grateful for this whole cycle. We believe that everyone has something of value, something to give and that everyone needs a bit of help to get over life’s challenges. We are not us and them….we are just us.

We are always looking for new and wonderful ways to fund our work. So, slowly we are learning the art of asking. We are setting up crowdfunding tools like localgiving, experimenting with different campaigns and recently we have even started playing with a Give What You Like model with some our consultancy work.

 

Agree? Intrigued? Join us!

So we invite you to help us, join us. We want to connect with you. You are valuable. Your community needs you. And in return you will get smiles, and laughs and big high fives and thank you’s to no end…and we will help you feel comfortable with asking for help when you need it too. You give, you feel. You get, you feel. And isn’t feeling good what life is really all about?

Paralympic boost to cycling – as seen in the Guardian!

This great piece in the Guardian talks about all the things we’re finding at You Can Bike Too:

  • how incredibly flexible the bike is when it comes to catering for all kinds of abilities in fact, we have found that our bikes are great for people who just aren’t that confident about cycling
  • trikes work really well for those whose balance makes using a traditional bike difficult
  • riders with disabilities and able bodied cyclists can and often do ride together at club and coaching sessions

It’s great to see our supporter Ian Tierney quoted in the article too! Without Wheels for All Cycling Projects, we wouldn’t have come this far. Don’t forget you can come and try these bikes for yourselves! There are two options:

– Weekend family sessions for mums and dads to cycle with their kids – see here for full details

– Week-day adult sessions for any individuals who wants to give cycling a go – see here for full details

We look forward to seeing you there! And we’re pleased to report that so far, these sessions have been rain-free – though it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

We think it’s great that the paralympics are having such a positive effect and getting more people interested in cycling. How have the paralympics influenced your view of the world? What did you learn?

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

Ride, Laugh and Experience Cycling Together

You Can Bike Together Flyer

Have a go at cycling with your friends

What better way to get some quality time with your friends than jumping on a bike together.    As you might already know, it is possible to hire our bikes from Milton Country Park most days. (Just make sure you book ahead by calling 01223 420 060) But what about those people that are new to cycling or who may need an extra hand getting started? From September we will have times on many Tuesdays where there are instructors on hand for help and support. So come along and give these amazing bikes a try with a friend!

New family fun days at Milton Country Park

You Can Bike Too Family Fun Days

Be Inspired – Enjoy Cycling Together

Have all of these Olympics and now Paralympics given you the cycling fever? The catch phrase of these events were ‘Inspire a Generation’, so we want to do our part. From now until the end of December on the last Sunday of every month we will have instructors available to introduce you and your families to our adaptive bikes of all sizes and shapes. Then, you can have a go at cycling together. What better way to spend a Sunday morning together with your family?

Bikes are a-coming…

I feel like things have been a long time a coming!! But we have what Angela (Project team member) calls some “action!”

Wheels For All (Cycling Projects) have loaned Milton Country Park four adaptive bikes which nudges up our total to seven bikes….plus of course the two-wheelers that we have for parents or anyone else to ride alongside the child or adult that they are supporting.

So what You Can Bike Too will do is use these whilst we collect our own ‘family’ of bikes! (I feel like we have ‘fostered’ these loan bikes for a short while….!)

The project team are very excited at the prospect of more bikes….and also very excited at the up and coming events planned.

1. Big Weeked on Parkers Piece, Saturday 7th July – This is a really exciting event because the Olympic Torch is coming to town! Ashfield Bikes are bringing their bikes for people to try out and we will have our volunteers and instructors helping out with lots of information! (And it was such a hit last time, Outspoken are bringing their fantastic Smoothie Maker Bike along too!)

While the Big Weekend continues on Sunday, our team re-locate to Milton Country Park for the Big Bike Ride.

2. Sunday 8th July –  The Big Bike Ride is going through Milton Country Park. You Can Bike Too will have a presence in the park so riders and support will see adaptive bikes. There is still time to register to cycle as part of the event and there are two routes to choose from.

So that’s this weekend covered… what next?

3. Sunday 15th JulyPark Life at Milton Country Park. Loads more fun for everyone!! As well as being able to meet the bike project, there are lots of other activities…. canoeing, water walking and circus skills to name a few!

Looking Ahead to August…

August sees the Paralympic Torch arriving at Milton Country Park on Saturday 25th! There will be lots of activities to try including the bikes at You Can Bike Too  – we won’t be missing the fun, and we’ll have more information closer to the time…

So onwards and upwards!! A busy Summer ahead for the team getting ready for all these events… Which one will we see you at?

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

How to ride a bike… and other adventures

Gosh, it’s a very exciting time here at The You Can Hub. The You Can Bike Too project team supported by the unstoppable Ruth Brannan have had an amazing response to all of their hard work so far. The team have found that there are people out there who have never ridden a bike, don’t think they can ride a bike, or have ridden a bike in the past and think they’ve forgotten how to! And then there’s the people who just want to have a go at these interesting looking bikes! So how can I get involved, I hear you cry? I can sense your cycling legs itching to get started…

All you need to do is come along to the Bike Bike Day at Milton Country Park on Wednesday 4th April. There will be loads of different bikes to try, and all sorts of bike-related excitement to get involved with. Who knows what you’ll go home with? So come on, give it a try – fun for all the family!

Where have you seen our poster? Get involved with the poster-hunt over on our facebook page.

Thank you to… This event wouldn’t have been possible without our lovely partners, seen on our flyer above – not forgetting Cambridgeshire County Council!

 

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

Up a gear!

This week looks to be one that gets us going in the right direction! So much to tell you….where do I start?

News on the block

Tokens that have been collected on behalf of ‘You Can Bike Too’ were given in to Cambridge Building Society offices (and Cambridge News offices) by supporters of our fantastic project…the aim being to benefit from ‘Cash For the Community,‘ an idea from the Cambridge News (in partnership with Cambridge Building Society) which was about cutting tokens that were printed daily and given in….however there were 25 projects nominated for a share of £10,000. In total 39,000 tokens were given in for all the projects! So we are going to be allocated £394 which I think is brilliant – but better than the cash is the publicity that this will bring to this project!

So today Aaran (Project Team Volunteer) and I are going to the presentation at the Cambridge News offices in Milton…woooh! A photo opportunity I feel! (Honestly I just can’t help using exclamation marks!)

Instructor Training to take place

Monday and Tuesday – Wheels for All (Cycling Projects) are going to deliver 2 days of instructor training to about 14 people – including myself, the manager of Milton Country Park, a parent, a carer or two, a couple of professionals and 3 or 4 young men with learning difficulties…how cool and inclusive is that?! Thanks to South Cambs Council for paying for this and thanks to Milton Country Park for hosting this training.

Wheels For All Training gives individuals, carers and support staff the confidence to work with adapted cycles for their clients or family member so that all can enjoy the benefits of cycling in a sociable environment.

Once we have these volunteers trained up we edge closer to the day when we see All Ability Cycling take place in Cambridge!

Funding

On Wednesday one of the project team and myself are going to Guildhall in Cambridge to make a presentation to Cycling and Pedestrian Members Steering group ….they are going to decide if the project can have some funding for the next year, with an emphasis of making sure that the project team of people with disabilities are kept in the picture as this project develops. This is an essential requirement…the idea for All Ability cycling project  came from a young man with disabilities and we need to make sure that in our effort to get this off the ground that these amazing volunteers are at the front of this project!

And on the other days I’m off to my ‘day’ job!….my other life! Till next time…

Editor: Update to this post – here’s a photo of Aaran and Ruth collecting their Cambridge Evening News cheque!

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief