For jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving I have chosen ‘Aspire’, a charity which supports people who have suffered a spinal cord injury. Such an injury can not only devastate the lives of those injured but also their family and friends. Life is never the same again! It is a charity close to my family’s heart as my sister, Katherine, was paralysed following a horse-riding accident and Aspire have supported her in many ways over the last couple of decades, helping her with wheelchairs and offering advice amongst other things.
Aspire offers not just financial support but also helps with legal matters, assisted living and enabling those with a spinal cord injury to live their lives to their full potential.
Aspire has now built a leisure centre in Stanmore, Middlesex which is the first fully integrated accessible leisure centre in Europe for both disabled and non-disabled people. It is attached to the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre so can also be used in rehabilitation for those who have been newly-injured. The effect that a facility like this must have on its users is fantastic, it means families can enjoy the leisure facilities together whether disabled or non-disabled.
