SportsAble is a charity close to my heart because it has been
helping disabled people like my Granddaughter, Tia, to improve their lives through sport for more than four decades. 

We all love our sport, don't we? And I think we'll all agree that it's not just the fun and fitness that you gain from being involved in regular activity but the long lasting friendships that you make change your life for the better. 

There are very few sports clubs and facilities out there for disabled athletes but luckily we have SportsAble right on our doorstep in Berkshire and what a difference they have made to so many lives.

Every day they help hundreds of disabled people to reach their
personal goals  - be it learning to swim properly after failing elsewhere
- or taking up an entirely new sport like archery; for others they appreciate the chance to take to a sport like golf again after a debilitating illness or disabling accident; and for those who have been in wheelchairs for a long time, they challenge themselves to get fitter  through wheelchair basketball or table tennis. Others’ goals may be to simply gain in confidence and to break up the monotony of a life spent permanently at home. All these things are easily achieved at a place like SportsAble.

SportsAble specialises in good, grassroots sport, the kind that
gets people out of isolation and meeting people and having fun again. The charity also helps serious athletes on the road towards national and international competition. To date members have represented Team GB an incredible 46 times at every Paralympic Games since 1976.

The knowledge, expertise and specialist equipment that SportsAble has is unrivalled and they give each and every person a chance to become a better version of themselves. So many doors are closed in life to disabled people but organisations like SportsAble give people hope.

Tia had little access to sport and the socialising that comes with it before joining SportsAble. She was quite shy, had lots of anxieties and had stiff muscles from years of inactivity. Now, thanks to SportsAble, she is a bright, healthy and strong athlete and she has her sights set on the Paralympics. Thanks to SportsAble so many opportunities have opened up to her and she is now known locally (she won a Pride of Bracknell Award for her contribution to sport) and nationally as one of the top females on the boccia scene. 

Tia is now playing Boccia for the England B team and has high hopes for the future. SportsAble helps her with training, funding and equipment and they are there to guide her, help her, inspire her and to be a home from home. 

SportsAble has also helped my daughter, Melissa, see shades of light in the sometimes dark world of disability. She has made many friends there and enjoys the club for the support that she gets from other parents of disabled young people. SportsAble has also helped her to develop skills as a sports coach and she enjoys being a sports and fundraising volunteer. 

I think my life would be a lonelier place without basketball and all the great mates I've met over the years and my Granddaughter's life would certainly be very different without SportsAble. Sport is a leveller, a life-changer and it brings people together. 

I am happy to be celebrating my sixtieth with so many wonderful friends and I hope that you’ll do what you can to help us raise money for a charity that has had a big impact on my family’s life.

Thank you, 

from Kim, Darlene and all the family