Health Lotto's £10k boosts disabled children
A WHEELCHAIR basketball team has been able to launch a project promoting sport in schools thanks to a grant from the Health Lottery.
The Leicester Cobras was awarded £10,000 which it will use to take roadshows around the county’s schools and colleges.
Club chairman Ian Trott said he hopes to raise awareness of wheelchair basketball among disabled and able-bodied children.
He said: “This is a really good way to get able-bodied kids joining disabled children and playing basketball. It is also important for teachers to see that disabled kids enjoy and benefit from playing the game – so often they get left out or end up just watching.
“Without the Health Lottery grant we wouldn’t have been able to do this.” Mr Trott said he hopes the visits will help lift the “stigma” of disability among other children and school staff.
He said: “Able-bodied and disa- bled children will be able to play on the same team. Disabled kids are continually overlooked when it comes to sport, many schools just aren’t able to deal with it.
Without the Health Lottery grant we wouldn’t have been able to do this
Taking this roadshow into schools is a way of really empowering disabled children.”
The club, which is looking for a sponsor, has two members, Danny Higgins and George Bates, both 17, who aim to compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Mr Trott said: “We are on the verge of great things. We need to keep all the players and coaches.”
The roadshow funding was raised by HealthBelief, one of the 51 society lotteries that constitute The Health Lottery.
● For more details you can log on to: leicestercobras.org.uk