Posted: 8 November, 2018
Why is cycling an important activity to offer to the people it cares for at Styleacre?
At Style Acre the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and the benefits this can bring are seen as key elements to people’s happiness and wellbeing. We are in the business of caring and we really care about the health of all people we support and our employees. Cycling is a really good activity which is fun and gets people active outdoors. Wheels for All enables everyone to get involved, as many of the people we support are not able to ride a two wheeled bike.
Why did you want to bring Wheels for All to the Wallingford Cycle festival?
The Wallingford Festival of Cycling has been going since 2015, aiming to engage people from all sections of the community. This year the organisers were keen to include people with differing needs with cycling activities, so they approached Style Acre, a charity supporting adults with learning disabilities and autism locally. Style Acre’s Community Fundraiser had previously worked with Cycling Projects so knew that their expertise would be perfect for the event!
Any individuals that impressed you with their cycling activity from the day?
We were really impressed with how many people came along, many of whom are not currently very physically active or willing to engage with sports and exercise. There was one young lady in particular who really enjoyed cycling on the side by side hand cycle with our Chief Executive, Chris Ingram. She was screeching with joy all the way around!
What are the plans for 2019? Styleacre and Wheels for All working more closely together perhaps?
Style Acre would love to work more closely with Wheels for All and explore ways to maximise opportunities for cycling amongst people we support. We have recently launched a ‘Ways to Wellness’ initiative to support people in our community to find ways to improve their health and cycling fits nicely into this.
Anita Powell apowell@styleacre.org.uk
