Insight's Nominated Charity Shortlisted
for the Scottish Charity Awards 2014
by Liza Pern
When Insight decided to nominate a company charity to
support, some years ago, I put the case for
Sports Driving Unlimited – the charity I set up in 2007. As a Director of Insight with a long term
interest in all things ‘horsey’ I felt there were strong synergies between the
company and the charity. In my leisure
time I have volunteered at an equestrian centre in southern Scotland for the
past 20 years. Although Insight is based
in London, I have worked remotely from 400 miles away, very successfully, for
that time. Clients can sometimes be a
little bemused when the call the office, thinking it is just down the road in
the city, to discover that it’s actually run from my cottage! But the systems we have in place work well
and are a good endorsement for remote working.
The
recent fantastic news is that Sports
Driving Unlimited has just been shortlisted as a finalist in the Scottish Charity Awards 2014. This is seriously exciting as it is only a
small charity, still finding its feet in the voluntary sector. It specialises in making the sport of
carriage driving accessible to anyone with a disability, special need or terminal
illness. This activity is especially
good for people in a wheelchair or with a physical disability as they can be
wheeled onto the carriage and then take part in the same way as an able bodied
person would.
It puts them on a level playing field – many of the drivers
we support compete both locally and nationally with great success – often
beating their able bodied competitors, with the associated boost to confidence
and achievement.
SDU operates from two centres, one in Scotland and one in
the north of England, and participants and volunteers travel all over the
country to competitions. They enable
people of all ages, many with conditions like cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis,
autism, asperger’s, sight and hearing impairments, to enjoy the excitement and
exhilaration of an activity that they formally assumed was out of their
reach.
As
with most small charities these days, SDU is really struggling to stay afloat
despite the trustees and volunteers best efforts at fund raising and grant
applications. Winning this award would
make a huge difference, giving them a much higher profile for raising the funds
which they urgently need.
SDU is shortlisted in the ‘A
Sporting Chance’ category and also for the ‘People’s Choice Award’ which is
decided by the public.
You can give them a fighting chance by logging on to: http://www.scvo.org.uk/charity-awards/sports-driving-unlimited/
Deadline
9th May
