The weekend of 13th/14th March was weather perfect for Avon Tyrrell to host the Hampshire County Council Inspiring You Activity Festival for disabled young people and their families. The idea behind the weekend was to allow families who have a child or children with a disability to have the opportunity to experience outdoor activities together as a family and to encourage further participation in the future. There was the opportunity to stay at Avon Tyrrell or visit for the day and total numbers for the weekend was 600 participants.
This was a great opportunity for the families to do things together, a luxury not often afforded to families who have a member with a disability. It was marvellous to see brothers and sisters actually taking part in things together.
We had a full range of activities open and available from the zip wire to the climbing tower, high ropes and low ropes as well as water activities and bush craft. Outdoor activities were supplemented with external activity providers which included storytellers, arts and crafts, and Hampshire Libraries providing books and storytelling. There was a juggler on hand to entertain and a street dancer to show the families a few ‘cool’ moves.
Some of the quotes from families, who attended the weekend were as follows, and sum up for us why we did it and why the weekend was a huge success:
‘A fantastic weekend. It was so good to see my son attempting new things and discovering he could not only do them but enjoy them as well! Thank You’
‘A big thank you for the activity weekend. We had a fantastic time. All the family needed a boost like this and not just the member with special needs’
‘We were really impressed by the patience and helpfulness of the Avon Tyrrell Staff’
The staff of Avon Tyrrell and those from Hampshire County Council, who supported the event worked incredibly hard and long hours to make the weekend as enjoyable and rewarding as they could for those attending, and it was because they wanted to, and not because they had to. Their reward was the happy smiles of the children and their achievements.
We sincerely hope we will have the opportunity to run another weekend of this nature. Having talked to families we know there is a demand and we are sure other counties if they saw how appreciative and successful the weekend was, would also be interested in providing such an event for this community. We of course would be happy to help so if you are reading this and are interested please call us.
Remember… experience – learn – develop
