Messing around on inflatables and painting may seem an unusual
way to recuperate from a Women's Rugby World Cup matchday, but
for players from Australia and Scotland it was all in good cause.
The Disability Challengers centre in Guildford's Stoke
Park was the latest stop for tournament's legacy programme,
with Australia's Margaret Watson and Megan Shanahan together
with Scotland's Ruth Slaven and Tanya Griffith getting a close
up look at one of the many charities to benefit from the
outstanding fundraising work of Wooden Spoon.
The visit was part of the Rugby Football Union for
Women's ongoing campaign to ensure a lasting legacy from the
Women's Rugby World Cup 2010, and gave the players an
opportunity to learn more about Wooden Spoon, as well as getting
down to some serious play time with the disabled children at
Challengers.
Conceived in 1983 in Dublin, Wooden Spoon has come a long way
since its first charity golf day in Farnham, which raised £8,500.
It has since blossomed into one of the UK and Ireland's
fastest-growing charities, committed to improving the lives of
disadvantaged children.
Over £25m in donations
So far, Wooden Spoon has donated over £25m to a
variety of worth national projects, with its Surrey Region
providing essential support to charities such as Disability
Challengers.
"We do try as hard as we possibly can to spread our
field of activity as wide as possible. There is so much need in so
many different areas out there that we feel that would like to help
as many different places as possible," said Wooden Spoon
Chairman, Surrey Region, David Jackson.
"We haven't as yet had an awful lot to do with
Women's Rugby, but I know there are people who are trying to
develop that relationship and I think this was an ideal way of
doing it on a regional basis."
Disability Challengers provides an invaluable service for
children with a range of disabilities, including Autistic Spectrum
Disorders, Down Syndrome and mental and physical impairments.
It helps to reduce the burden on families by providing a
place where disabled children can go and have fun in a secure and
safe environment outside of school and home.
The charity's aim is to develop the children's social
and communication skills and hand-eye co-ordination through play,
with playing is seen as key to their development.
The importance of fun
Hence fun is at the heart of the centre's
philosophy, as the players from Australia and Scotland discovered
when they soon found themselves playing on the Wii, demonstrating
their skills in arts and crafts and dragged into the soft play
area.
The charity doesn't just cater for children, though, as
it also offers activities for people with disabilities up to the
age of 25. Here, the role of Challengers is geared towards engaging
them in the community, society, further education and employment,
and providing them with the skills they'll need in later life.
Wooden Spoon first became involved with Disability
Challengers in 1998, funding the building of a chalet, opened by
John Inverdale two years later, which doubles as an office and
quiet area for the children.
The Guildford centre can accommodate 30 children per day,
while its sister centre in Farnham, which first opened its doors in
2008, can take 45, although that number is set to rise to 60 in the
near future.
Wooden Spoon contributed nearly £200k to the Farnham centre
and now the small local charity with big visions has plans to go
nationwide, and if that goal is realised then Wooden Spoon will
know that they played a significant role in making that dream a
reality.
Generous supporters
"Wooden Spoon have been very generous
supporters of us. It's so important to have an organisation
that not only fund us these large amounts of money, but understands
what we do and takes our message out into the community. It's
support that we can rely on," said Jessica Klepacz,
Communications and Fundraising Officer for Disability Challengers.
Wooden Spoon draws its support from the world of rugby,
although its good work is far reaching and stretches beyond the
game. It raises its money by laying on events such as Balls, golf
days and dinners featuring guest speakers.
It's a national charity run on a regional basis, of which
there are 43, with each region tasked with the simple remit of
making as much money as they possibly can and then distributing it
to projects in their area, such as Disability Challengers.
"It [the players visit] just gives the children
something to look forward to. When they heard the rugby players
were coming they were so excited. They are excited to see someone
new they can play with.
"The difference of such visits is it makes them more
confident in different situations, meeting new people, gets them
involved in the activities and it just makes the day more memorable
for them."
Fun for players
Scotland's Slaven said: "It was great. The children
were great, jumping about and the soft play area was my favourite.
We got to throw ourselves all over the place and slide down the
slides. Much more fun that training!
"All the volunteers there do a great job, and the
kids just seem to love it. Their faces lit up every time you
starting playing or chatting with them. It was a really good
experience.
"We are so fortunate to be at the World Cup and to be
able to meet people and talk about the Women's Rugby World Cup
and trying to promote it, and these kids were asking us about the
World Cup and what we did. It was really good."
This was a sentiment echoed by Australia's Shanahan.
"It was great fun seeing all the kids there, and the structure
and funding of the place was very interesting. It was a good
experience, I'm glad I did it.
"It's great to get out and lift the profile of
Women's Rugby, but also individually it's good to get out
into the community and see what we can do."
