Wigan organisation's support thanks to new partners

A service user testing out the Electric Bike

AppleCast North West has teamed up with the Partners foundation to help provide more accessible equipment for wheelchair-users.

The partnership has already managed to raise the funds to provide an electric bike for AppleCast.

Based at Newburgh, the charity supports excluded young people and adults with special educational needs or disabilities, and began in 2006 when Cast North West was founded by Neil Farnworth.

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“By gaining this piece of equipment, it opens up our cycling track to more people with disabilities.”

Applecast met Partners foundation through a member of a service user’s family called Lynda Gavin. Lynda used the non-electric bike to take her son on the cycling track at AppleCast.

It became apparent that the track was not the perfect surface to carry the weight of a wheelchair and service users were struggling.

Partners Foundation is the registered social landlord for Lynda’s son house. The aim of the group is to provide tenancies and tenancy to support people with a disability who require quality good homes to improve their standard of life.

Lynda was a active trustee recently and knew about the good work that Partners complete for people with disabilities and thought they could assist with the problem.

Lynda introduced Partners Foundation to AppleCast in which a lot of similarities of the ethos became relevant. Due to this comparison more meetings have been planned to how more partnership working could take place.

Neil added: “We spoke about the problem of wheelchair accessibility and standard of the equipment.

“Through these meeting it was agreed that Partners Foundation would fund 75 per cent with Applecast covering the 25 per cent to purchase the Velo Plus Wheelchair bike.

“Since its arrival it has been used a number of times bringing happiness to service users.

“We hope to develop a long standing relationship with Partners Foundation to complete more joint work in the future.”

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