How Surrey Twisters Sunshine began

Surrey Twisters Sunshine is a branch of The Surrey Twisters Programme. This was always a dream of Georgie’s to set up and it wasn’t until the passing of her Uncle John who was mentally handicapped in January 2012, that really spurred her onto setting up this team in his memory. None of this would have been possible without a very important part of this programme - that is a lady called Sue Mills, who backed Georgie and helped make the dream become a reality! Sue works with children with Special Needs in schools across the Borough of Sutton.Since Sunshine began in September 2012 it has gone from strength to strength. Our athletes now perform at competitions 2-3 times a year and also take part in community and charity events.

The main aim of the Sunshine Programme

The main aim of the Sunshine Programme is to create an environment that allows children with special needs to grow, learn skills and feel a sense of achievement and belonging. Over the 4 years that Surrey Twisters Sunshine has been running we have seen so many incredible achievements happen. We have managed to outreach to many Special Needs schools and teach cheerleading to the children there. We have also managed to incorporate cheerleading as part of schools enrichment programs. We have also managed to get the Sunshine team to perform at many competitions across the U.K.

It is truly incredible to see a child who is autistic stand up on stage and perform, a child who is visibly impaired be able to perform a full routine with different places to stand, a child with Down Syndrome to be able to stand on stage and dance to music. For an entire team of Special Needs Children with all different types of disabilities and needs come together, to work as a team and make friends and look forward to seeing them week in week out is something magical, for me it reaffirms why I love doing this so much.

Sunshine not only helps out Special Needs Children it also helps the parents of Special Needs children. Having a child with a disability can often be a lonely place, Sunshine allows parents to meet other parents who have children with a range of disabilities. Through Sunshine parents now organise a annual monthly curry night, coffee mornings and play dates! Its not only the athletes that have made friends!

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