Even more accessible events for our families over the summer holidays as we team up with Newcastle United Foundation for an inclusive fun day!

Hi Sunshine News Readers,

Last week, we told you about our highly successful beach day at South Shields, and we highlighted the importance of providing inclusive events for our Sunshine children, and giving them the opportunity to take part in accessible activities that they may not otherwise get to experience; whether it’s too expensive, isn’t worth the risk of a child not enjoying it, or if it isn’t designed for a child with additional needs.

This week, we were very excited to team up with the incredible team at Newcastle United Foundation, who facilitated an inclusive fun day for our families, jam-packed with lots of activities for our families to get involved in. We started the day with a tour of St James’ Park stadium, where we were shown around both inside and out.

We saw the changing rooms where our lads prepare for their matches, we got to see the pitch from various parts of the stadium, we were given lots of interesting history, plus we got to take some selfies in the media suite!

We were also shown some tactile graphic pictures that were specifically printed following feedback from one of our Sunshine kids, Freya, as pictured below. She pointed out that the badges printed on the walls inside the stadium were difficult to see for people with visual impairments, due to the large scale of them.

Newcastle United Foundation listened to this and wanted to fix this, so they were put in touch with North East Sight Matters (NESM), a local organisation that we have worked with, who support young people with visual impairments. We funded NESM a Zychem machine several years ago, and they let the foundation use this to print out the badges which are textured, so that people with limited or no sight can experience them, too.

Freya is never shy to highlight areas that could be made more accessible, as she has demonstrated plenty of times. She’s a huge advocate for youth voice and educating people on where improvements can be made, and what can be done to help her experience the same things other can, which is something we really champion here at The Sunshine Fund.

After the tour, we had a lunch break where some of the families got to experience the newly opened St James Stack. For a Monday lunchtime, the atmosphere was so lively and it’s a really great venue. With lots of different food vendors, our families were spoiled for choice, but it was a great opportunity for everyone to recharge before the next activity, and it allowed our families to spend time together, make new friends and hang out with old ones, too.

Once we’d finished lunch, we headed to NUCASTLE for an afternoon of inclusive football and multi-skills activities, which was led again by the fantastic team at Newcastle United Foundation. The team were so engaging with the kids and made sure everyone was able to take part and have fun, and I think I speak on behalf of all our families when I say it was a day filled with fun!

Not only did they ensure that there were plenty of activities for all the children to get involved in, but they also provided specialised medals for each child to reward them for their efforts, and these went down a treat!

We’re excited to continue our relationship with Newcastle Foundation United, and we already have some exciting plans in the works. We’d like to give a special shout out to Lewis James, who made this event happen, and for his continued support of our charity.

He and his team made the day extra special, and the whole day was fully facilitated by them, and we’re so grateful for all that they’ve done for us. We’ll be seeing them again at our Question of Sport quiz and dinner, where they volunteer their skills to mark our teams’ quiz sheets.

Thanks for reading!

Sophie X