At Bolton Cares, people we support are setting their sights high as we roll it up a few notches and move onto the next level.

In keeping with our spirit of adventure, we will soon be launching a new and exciting opportunity called ‘Keeping it Wheel.’ This initiative will see the people we support who use wheelchairs being pushed along by roller-skaters.

The scheme will be a great way to engage with people in a healthy outdoor activity. It will give wheelchair users an exciting rush of speed and a strong exhilarating sensory experience. Stephen who visited the London scheme said. “It was like flying.”

Through Sports England and our partnership with Bolton Arena we have secured a grant of £5,660 for the project. We have agreed the use of Leverhulme Park and Bolton Arena tracks for this activity allowing us to cover both sides of Bolton.

A similar scheme called ‘Wheels and Wheelchairs’ operates in London and is now in its tenth year. After speaking to them we had an amazing visit with the people we support to see how they operate and learn from their success.

Once launched, we will mirror their model and setup and use similar equipment. The wheelchairs will have a brake attached to the handles ensuring safety.  We will check the staff member has a good ability to skate, link them with a person who has good experience of pushing wheelchairs and let them work as a team.

Starting off with a small pilot we will aim to grow the offer and open it to other care providers and people across Bolton who may not use our services, but who use wheelchairs and would like to belong to a sporting group where they can meet new people.

Jill Lockett our Head of Service had this to say about the new scheme.

“It was amazing to visit the London scheme and let the people we support experience for themselves the rush of excitement as they were pushed along in their wheelchairs.

Our pilot will be a wonderful and fun addition to our portfolio of activities for the people we support. Through our use of community assets, it will further integrate Bolton Cares Group into the local community and create even stronger partnerships.

We can’t wait to get rolling and feel the wind in our hair and draught through our chairs.”