Transforming our adaptive sports centre

Aim: Raising funds to refurbish our clubhouse facilities so we can continue delivering life-changing adaptive sports and activities.

Help Access Adventures renovate our clubhouse changing facilities

After 40 years of continual use our facilities are showing considerable wear and tear. We are struggling with constant plumbing issues, damp, leaks and lack of space for our growing number of disabled participants to shower and get changed. We have an incredible adaptive community that rely on us having the right facilities to enable them to take part. We are passionate about adaptive adventure sports and believe being on the water is good for your soul. 

We want to create a space that our community can be proud of and that works best for them. We want our amazing volunteers to be able to focus on supporting the participants with activities not to be side-tracked by fixing our constant plumbing issues! 

Great news we are really excited to have been offered matched funding by Sport England.  

Who is Access Adventures? 

We are an outdoor adventure charity for anyone with a disability.  We inspire and enable people with physical, sensory and learning disabilities to get involved in adaptive adventure sports, like water skiing, wakeboarding, alpine skiing, kitesurfing, paddle sports and cycling. We make adventure sports accessible and affordable for all, allowing anyone with a disability the opportunity to gain from the transformational benefits of being active. We use adventure sports as a rehabilitation tool to improve physical and mental wellbeing. 

We believe disability should not stop anyone getting the most out of their lives. Thanks to our specialist equipment, instructors and volunteers there are not many people we cannot cater for. We work with individuals, disability organisations, groups and charities and support hundreds of adults children, and their families every year. 

Created by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. We have a team of over 50 active volunteers who help deliver our services. Many of our staff and volunteers have a disability themselves. Our user-led philosophy gives the charity a unique insight into the challenges, issues and benefits people with disabilities face when getting involved in adventure sports.

We know from years of personal and professional experience the powerful impact adaptive sports has on people with disabilities.  Just a short conversation with one of our participants is proof of the many benefits to be gained. We want everyone to discover the benefits of a more active lifestyle; meeting friends, building confidence and self belief, becoming more physically fit whilst improving mental wellbeing.  

Why are we crowdfunding?

Access Adventures took over the running of the Edge Adaptive Sports Centre at the end of 2019 after working closely with BDWWA for a number of years. We are lucky to have a clubhouse and accommodation, but over the years it has seen lots of action and is in need of some serious refurbishment. We want to make it fit for purpose and to create an enjoyable space for our many participants. 

Research has shown that three quarters of disabled adults suffered at least one barrier to playing sport. A Wheelpower study identified a lack of suitable venues as one of the top barriers preventing participation.

We are raising money to help cover the costs of refurbishing our clubhouse changing facilities to make them more inclusive. Over 40 years our demographics have changed and the run down changing facilities are no longer fit for purpose. The refurb will ensure our facilities can be enjoyed by our disabled participants, and their family and friends for years to come. We want to make the clubhouse and accommodation a beautiful space that reflects the quality of the activities we provide. 

This project will benefit disabled individuals, disability groups, clubs and organisations, in addition to the wider public who use the facilities during open water swimming sessions in the summer. 

How our project will be United by Birmingham 2022

This summer it was amazing to watch the largest integrated para-sports programme in the Commonwealth Games history. Many of our participants were inspired by the sports in action. We saw an increase in people wanting to try something new having watched the games. One of our main aims is to build a strong, social and supportive community. We are creating a space we can all be proud of that helps bring people together, where they are inspired to challenge themselves and push their boundaries. We are on a journey to bring people together, of all abilities, to improve their health and wellbeing. We are with our community and we want you to be too. 

How will we spend the money raised?

We need to modernise and improve our facilities in order to better support our participants range of needs to take part in our activities. We are committed to attracting new participants to the sports we provide, across all age groups and from a wide background. To do this we need to make changes.

The changing room refurb is expected to cost between £30,000 and £40,000. This is the latest phase of a larger project that has already seen the bedrooms and accommodation bathrooms all go through a full renovation. 

Our crowdfunding target is £15,000. This is a vital part of the overall funding strategy for this project that includes charitable trusts and foundations, business sponsorship and our own resources to get us over the line with your help. 

Sport England's places and spaces initiative have offered us match funding. They have pledged 50% of funding £7500, but we will need to reach our full target. in order to secure this!

We plan to completely revamp the men's, women's and disabled changing rooms. Which are all in desperate need of an upgrade. Access will be improved, making it easier for people with a range of disabilities to get changed in a functional space. 

• We will increase the number of options of toilets and showers for those that need extra space. 
• The project will involve replacing the showers putting in the correct grab rails, padded shower seats 
• Add proper padded changing benches for people who need to use them to get changed. 
• New tiles and floor. 
• We will replace the urinals. Creating a new toilet and shower.

This is a great time for us to make the changing rooms more energy efficient. 

• PIR light Sensors, Eco shower heads, TRV's on radiators, shower timers, underfloor heating and loft insulation. 

These are just some of the energy efficiant 

This funding will enable Access Adventures to make the much needed changes that will provide long term benefits for all those that use the Edge Adaptive Sport Centre. 

How can you help?

The are some simple ways that you can help us reach our target and make this project a reality:

• Share this crowdfunder far and wide and encourage others to share and donate. The more people we reach, the more support we will get!
• Make a donation & select Gift Aid if you are a UK tax payer
• Purchase one of our rewards 
• Donate a reward that we can offer to our supporters as an incentive. We will give you a shout out!

THANK YOU! We really appreciate your support.

Please visit our website to find out more about Access Adventures: www.accessadventures.co.uk

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