Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation Beneficiary - November 2006 Technical Aid to the Disabled

"Riding in the Park" project

Technical Aid to the Disabled began in 1973 and now has 12 regional branches.

Their vision is to provide innovative technical solutions to enable people with disabilities and their carers to improve quality of life and greater community participation.

Hunter branch has 24 active members (largely retired engineers and tradespeople) who completed 125 modification projects last year including specialised chairs, wheelchairs, bikes, repairs and other specialist modifications.

Funds were sought to expand the Riding in the Park program which has been funded previously by the Foundation. This program provides bike clinics for seriously disabled children during school holiday breaks. To achieve this each individual child must have a needs assessment and any modifications made to the bikes to meet those needs.

Our funding largely covers materials and modifications as well as needs assessment by health professionals.

The aim of this program is to improve the self-esteem and generate greater independence for these children and allow them to join their friends and family in bike riding activities (ending the cycle of isolation many of these children suffer).