Hi all,

After an accident last year which resulted in me being diagnosed with a neurological condition, I am now fully wheelchair bound and unable to walk at all. I was in hospital for 5 months and during that period of time, many volunteers came and kept me occupied, teaching me how to knit, arts and crafts etc, and this reallt helped my mental state.

Since leaving hospital, I wanted to give something back to the local community in terms of volunteering. I searched for local charities and felt that Reach Out Ministries would be a great fit.

Reach Out Ministries is a local charity in Whitby Street, Hartlepool, which provide supported living residence for vunerable adults. They offer a rehabilitation programme which tackles both drug and alcohol addictions. Being from Hartlepool, I knew that although these issues have not effected me personally, it is a huge issue within our community.

At this moment in time, both myself and my good friend Rachel White volunteer every week and provide arts/crafts and team building activities at the centre. We find this to be really beneficial to not only the guys at the centre, but us too. At the minute there is currently no funding for these projects and we really want to keep these activities going.

On the 4th February 2019 I am going to do a sponsored swim in aid of this, to try and raise as much money as possible for the centre and keep these projects going for the next year. I have set a goal of swimming 2,500m, at our local leisure centre, Mill House. Anyone is free to come and watch - I am starting about 1pm.

Thankyou for all taking the time to read my story, and I hope you can all help towards this amazing local charity.