_.png){kind=logo}
Hi Sunshine News Readers,
Rachel here, I can’t wait to tell you all about our fantastic time at the beach on last Thursday. This is our second family fun day at South Shields beach; but our connection to the coast as a charity goes back ninety-six years.
In October 1928, upon his visit to Newcastle to attend the official opening of the Tyne Bridge, King George V donated £15 - in today’s money, that would be almost £1,200 - to facilitate a trip to the seaside for disadvantaged children living in the city. The editor of The Newcastle Chronicle newspaper at the time then decided to continue this philanthropic mission and thus The Sunshine Fund was born.
For hundreds of years the seaside has been considered to have calming and healing qualities; and was precisely why King George was so keen for the children he met to experience the restorative benefits of the coast. However, in Summer 2023, Team Sunshine decided to bring some adventure into the mix too!
This year, we’ve reunited with our marvellous friends at South Shields Surf and Beach Access North East to offer a range of inclusive activities - adapted surfing, general surf sessions and rock pooling, beach explorer sessions and the opportunity to test out some adapted beach-friendly wheelchairs. Holding true to the philanthropy of 1928; we’ve ensured as a charity that access to the beach day activities are fully free of charge to our families.
We couldn’t do this without Nick and his team at South Shields Surf - who provided funded 1:1 adapted surf sessions for 10 children and young people. Another big thank you goes out to The National Lottery Fund, who through granting us their Reaching Communities Fund, has meant we can cover the costs of running the additional surfing and beach explorer sessions. This is vitally important; as it means the siblings of the children accessing specialist sessions can participate in their own session too.
Our top priority is always making sure that everyone is included, and no one is left out. It can be really difficult finding activities that can accommodate a wide range of disabilities and needs; and harder still, finding ones that can also include siblings who don’t have any additional needs.
That’s where South Shields Surf really shines as an inclusive and accessible organisation and why we love them so much here at Team Sunshine. South Shields Surf run lots of different sessions over the holidays and during term time, so check out their website or social media for more information.
Nick’s fantastic team of instructors meant that young people got personalised support to allow them to access the water in a safe and exciting way. For many of our children and young people, this was their first ever time experiencing the sea and it appeared to be a resounding success for everyone who did it!
Being able to use the adapted wheelchairs from Beach Access North East (BANE) was a vital part of the day - if you’ve ever had to drag a stroller or a pram along the sand, I’m sure you can imagine how challenging it is for a standard wheelchair! These specialist chairs gave children and parents the chance to explore the beach and go into the sea for a paddle; something so many of us might take for granted. Huge thanks to Steve for facilitating this for us. If you wanted to give the adapted wheelchairs a go, head over the BANE webpage and socials to find out more.
As much as I adored beach day from start to finish, I'll be totally honest, one of my favourite parts was joining in with the Coastal Explorer sessions. Nancy from South Shields Surf team blew me away with her vast amount of knowledge.
Our exploration of the beach was peppered with fascinating snippets of ecological, historical and geological facts - I felt like I was in an episode of QI (especially when I came home and shared said facts with family and friends!). The children learnt about how crabs shed their shells to grow, discovered mermaid rings, how to spot pirate glass and met some friendly starfish in the rock pools, and much, much more! All the sessions were underpinned with information about how to stay safe whilst enjoying the beach.
After all this adventuring; everyone was ready to return to the Sunshine Beach Base, hungry and thirsty. Luckily our lovely friends from Irwin Mitchell were set up and ready to go, handing out donated bottles of water from Tesco, and delicious fruit pots donated by Greggs - so a big thank you to both.
Irwin Mitchell also donated goody bags for all the children and young people who came along, and very generously, donated the use of their company gazebo so that we had some shelter and shade. This means a huge amount to us at the charity, as it saves us money on purchasing one, and instead we can put it towards funding even more equipment and activities.
We loved having Rowan, Megan, Lauren and Nicole join us! Rowen Cobb at Irwin Mitchell shared that “Irwin Mitchell are privileged to have been a part of the amazing Sunshine Fund Surf Day! The Sunshine Fund are an incredible North East charity and it was our pleasure to provide a gazebo, goodie bags and volunteers on the day.
"It was clear to see how much the families appreciated an accessible day at the beach with the whole family. We look forward to continuing to support the charity with future events!”
I’m sure you’ll agree, a trip to the seaside is not complete without an ice-cream, and the wonderful team at Minchella’s generously donated an ice cream or ice lolly to all our families – the cherry on top of a brilliant day!
Next week we’ve got another amazing family event planned, this time with the wonderful team at the Newcastle United Foundation where families will get the chance to take part in a variety of activities and a tour of St James’ Stadium.
Thanks for reading!
Rachel X
Comments