Aim

Help us provide therapeutic, life-enhancing and exciting lessons for disabled people who require adaptive equipment and special instruction.

We are seeking £15,000 to support one of our adaptive ski schools for a year. This will allow us to provide snowsport opportunities for many more disabled people, enabling them to actively access adventure.

This adventure will be provided through therapeutic, life-enhancing and exciting snowsports lessons for disabled people who require adaptive equipment and special instruction.

At the heart of our crowdfunding appeal is our desire to increase opportunities, fitness, mobility, freedom, social interaction, independence and skills of people with disabilities, and to identify and nurture the abilities of young potential athletes.

Who we are

We are Disability Snowsport UK, and we believe that skiers and snowboarders with a disability should be able to ski alongside non-disabled people as equals at all ski facilities and resorts.

The charity started over 35 years ago from a group of like-minded people who wanted to share the joy and exhiliration of snowsports with their disabled friends and family. From a small group, we have grown into a national charity, providing thousands of disabled people with snowsport experiences.

"DSUK is a fantastic charity which works to increase opportunities, mobility and freedom for people with disabilities. I am hoping to increase awareness of the incredible work the charity delivers" - Sir Steve Redgrave

We cater for all disabilities and all age groups. Throughout the country we have local groups run by volunteers and adaptive instructors at our centres at Cairngorm Mountain, Glasgow, Hemel Hempstead, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Tamworth and Castleford. At all of our adaptive ski centres, we run a purpose built adaptive snowsports centre providing individual and group lessons almost every day of the year. Not only do we cater for adults but we run a schools and youth programme where we provide individual lessons, a series of instruction or a full week.

"I am honoured to be supporting Disability SnowSport UK and as a keen skier myself, I feel very passionately about enabling those with a disability to experience the joy of skiing alongside non-disabled people" - Pippa Middleton

We also manage, train and select the British Disabled Ski Team. The Team won 5 medals at Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games, including Britain's first ever winter Paralympic gold medal. We spend more than £250,000 per year trying to achieve such success in order to provide an example and inspiration to the disabled community.

 We are, however, a small charity with a big remit.

What we are trying to achieve

Our mission is to promote equality and opportunity for people with disabilities to take part in snowsports. We aim to achieve this by providing life-changing snowsport experiences. Overall, we have delivered over 100,000 hours of adaptive ski instruction, many of which are the first, or only regular, social interaction our skiers and snowboarders have.

"Being able to swap my wheelchair for a sit-ski and experience ultimate freedom whilst surrounded by such wonderful, funny, inspiring and all-round selfless people leaves a permanent smile implanted on my face, and a happiness that's impossible to measure" - DSUK member

Your support can help us reach our goal.

Although proud of what we have achieved so far, we are continually striving to provide even more disabled people with the chance to participate in snowsports, as we see on a daily basis the immense enjoyment and pride that snowsports provides to our members.

Where your money will be going

Your pledges will support one of our ski schools for a year. Our ski schools provide one-to-one and group lessons for all ages and disabilities, helping towards our vision of equal access to snowsports and providing life-changing and life-enhancing experiences for disabled people. 

We are determined that the adaptive snowsports experience shall be a route towards acceptance, but we need your help to break down barriers, including funding, which may stop people from enjoying the physical and mental benefits of snowsports.

How your pledges help:

• £50 subsidises an adaptive ski lesson (a £40 indoor adaptive lesson costs us £90 to deliver)
• £150 buys ski tip connectors
• £200 buys a tow release, enabling a sit-ski to travel up the ski lift
• £3,000 buys an adaptive sit-ski
• £50,000 will run an adaptive ski school for a year

 We currently have a funding shortfall for ski schools of at least £50,000

The money raised through this crowdfunder appeal will go towards:

• Increasing delivered lessons by 20-40%
• Increasing clients by 15-30%
• Providing opportunities for snowsports to under-represented groups of disabled people

Exclusive LIMITED EDITION merchandise design:

Case studies

Amber Murphy

Amber is severely sight impaired due to having two rare eye conditions: Achromatopsia and Nystagmus. She also has Auditory Processing Disorder. Amber started skiing with DSUK in March 2014.

Amber doesn’t excel at sports and has struggled at school with P.E lessons. She doesn’t like ball games and is quite slow and cautious due to her visual impairment. Due to this, Amber is always the last to get picked for teams, which makes her feel inadequate next to other children. Before learning to ski, Amber lacked confidence and had quite a low self-esteem, so leading up to her first lesson she was quite anxious that she wouldn’t be able to ski but also extremely excited at the same time.

I could see by her face during her first lesson how much she was enjoying it, and for the first time Amber found a sport she loved. Gradually her confidence grew. Amber doesn’t have any fear when skiing, she loves to go fast and has said she feels 'free'.

Going forward, skiing will only help Amber gain more confidence within herself as well as helping her self–esteem and improving her concentration and co-ordination. I'm already beginning to see Amber more determined to push herself in situations where before she would take a step back and refuse to even try.

by Jo Murphy – (Amber’s Mum)

Jack Lazell

Jack Lazell is a very happy, adventurous and sociable little boy. He has lots of hobbies: he enjoys ice skating and swimming, going to the cinema, being read stories and playing board games.

Jack was born with Cerebral Palsy; this affects Jack in that he is not able to walk or talk. He has no fine motor skills, he also has Epilepsy which is well controlled by medication. He needs to have his food pureed to enable him to eat. He uses a manual wheelchair and a standing frame. He is learning to use an eye gaze machine which will help him to communicate.

Jack has been with Disability Snowsport UK now for six years. He started skiing because his friends were learning to ski and he found out that Xscape also had a ski school for disabilities with adaptive equipment that he could use. Jack also loves speed and was so very excited about zooming down the mountain. On Jack’s first time on the slope he found it very exciting and squealed the whole way down the slope with joy. It is now Jack’s favourite activity to do. Jack is now more co-operative when being strapped in to the sit-ski, has become more patient and is much more daring and confident. Everyone is amazed at how daring he is. He always wants to go higher and come down faster with jumps and rails if possible. His parents are so pleased and happy that Jack can do things with his friends now.

We would love to provide even more people like Amber and Jack with opportunities to take part in snowsports activities in our adaptive ski schools. With your help, we can make this happen.

Company Rewards

PLATINUM

• Full page yearbook advert
• Website links
• Social media links
• e-news coverage
• Large back logo on nearest ski school jackets
• Small logo on all other ski school jackets
• Logo on all sit skis at nearest centre
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Disability Awareness Training - 3 days
• Indoor snow/team building days  - 1 day
• Training with equipment - 3 days
• Activity weeks abroad helper places - 2 half price
• Invites to British Disabled Ski Team events on snow
• Reduced costs on First Aid courses
• Logo on all DSUK vans

GOLD

• Half page yearbook advert
• Website links
• Social media links
• e-news coverage
• Medium front logo on nearest ski school jackets
• Small logo on all other ski school jackets
• Logo on all sit skis at nearest centre
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Disability Awareness Training - 2 days
• Indoor snow/team building days - 1 day
• Training with equipment - 2 days
• Reduced costs on First Aif Courses

SILVER

• Quarter page yearbook advert
• Website links
• Social media links
• e-news coverage
• Arm logo on nearest ski school jackets
• Logo on all sit skis at nearest centre
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Disability Awareness Training - 1 day
• Indoor snow/team building days - 1 day
• Training with equipment - 1 day
• Reduced costs on First Aid courses

BRONZE

• Banner in yearbook
• Website links
• Social media links
• e-news coverage

This project closed unsuccessfully on 27th May 2015