Beyond Words - Big Paddle 2022
ANTIDOTE TO A NATIONAL SCANDAL
There’s a hidden national scandal in the way mainstream society treats children and adults with learning disabilities (LD).
One million, or 2% of British people live with a learning disability. Impacting hundreds of thousands of families.
The learning challenges of people with Down’s syndrome, autism, and other learning disabilities result in isolation and exclusion from many of the things the rest of us see as our natural rights.
· People with LD are 5 times more likely to die in a hospital, end up in prison, or live on the streets.
· Mencap recently reported 60% of people with LD are lonelier after the pandemic.
· Only 5% of people with LD in the UK find work.
· Across the UK, only a quarter of people with learning disabilities attend social clubs and recreational activities.
The Beyond Words Antidote - Click to visit
The wonderful Team at Beyond Words are quietly revolutionising the lives of people with Learning Disabilities.
Beyond Words' mission is to empower people to understand and express their thoughts and feelings through the universal language of pictures. Our word-free picture books and community book clubs bring storytelling to people with learning disabilities, autism or who find written words difficult.
Stories aid our understanding of the world. Our picture books and resources cover everything from ordinary, everyday events to challenging subjects like death and domestic abuse. They make complex topics easier to understand, help to support conversations and enable readers to make their own informed decisions.
Beyond Words Community Book Club members meet physically or virtually over Zoom every one or two weeks.
Find out more about how Community Book Clubs work with these videos:
“Having fun at an online Beyond Words book club meeting ”
“What my book club means to me” :
To learn more about Beyond Words work and the people they support visit their website – Beyond Words
The Beyond Words Big Paddle Challenge website - www.bigpaddlechallenge.co.uk
Who are our paddlers?
We are a growing group of marathon kayakers & canoeists, sea kayakers, paddleboarders and surf skiers committed to supporting the amazing efforts of “Beyond Words”. This “Big Paddle” challenge aims to secure funds to support their efforts to grow a national network of “Beyond Words Community Book Clubs”. These book clubs make a huge difference to the happiness and well-being of people with LD, who don’t have the same opportunities to socialise and fulfil their potential.
Here's a quick look at our What, Why and How - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CaUqLQFl3Lb/?utm_medium=share_sheet
We aim to raise enough money to help Beyond Words support and build its growing network of Community Book Clubs.
· £100 will buy a starter set of books for a book club
· £145 will buy a professional Zoom subscription so book clubs can meet virtually. Meaning no one is excluded, whatever their location or mobility challenges.
· £250 will support venue fees and light refreshment
Our Big Paddle Challenge
To reflect the daily life-long challenge people with LD face we commit as a group to "Paddle the Globe one trip at a time". That's a total of 24,000 miles during 2022. A one-off event just didn’t seem to do these wonderful people full justice.
Members of our group normally paddle a few hundred miles each year. We commit to paddling at least double our personal annual average distances. Several of us have set individual targets of over 1,000 miles.
We are indeed used to paddling regularly. Some of us race. But none of us is a professional athlete. We hold down jobs, look after families and study. Some are well stricken in years with several in our sixties. Our new commitment will be difficult. Stretching us physically and mentally. All of us are committed to going above and beyond this year.
To give you an idea of the challenge, 1,000 miles involves paddling at more than 20 miles a week, rain, or shine. Paddling two or three times a week, every week during 2022. To keep going will seriously challenge our persistence and our mental and physical endurance.
Every month we will update each paddler’s cumulative mileage. We’ll include videos of some of our paddles as well as interviews and news from BW Book Club members.
JUNE 2022 - Total miles paddled
The Big Paddle Challenge Team has clocked up over 16,000 miles already!!!
What happens to your donation?
You can donate in support of a friend or relative on our Big Paddle Team. You can donate at the beginning, in the middle or wait until the end to see how well we do. We’ll keep paddling no matter what!
All new Books Clubs need a “Book Club Starter Pack”:
Library of Beyond Words books = £100
Virtual Clubs need a Professional Zoom subscription = £145 per year.
Contribution to venue fees and light refreshment = £250 per year
How to donate
There are several ways you can donate via this site.
1. You can donate a fixed amount.
2. You can choose to fully fund a “Book Club Starter Pack” for £500 or any individual component of the pack.
Or
3. You can donate any custom amount you choose.
We assure you every penny you donate will be spent in the creation and support of Beyond Words Community Book Clubs.
Why not join our Big Paddle Team
If you paddle regularly join us. You can be from any discipline. You can paddle 10 or over a 100 miles a month -
EVERY MILE MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
The more paddlers on the Team, the more cumulative “Big Paddle” Team miles we can shoot for. We’ll sort out all the admin work.
All you do is paddle further than ever before and send in your monthly mileage to us.
The bigger our Paddle Team the more miles we can accumulate and the more money we raise for Beyond Words to do their amazing work in the community.
To join contact Gary Coulton via [email redacted]
Spread the word
Our Challenge’s success and the number of Community Book Clubs Beyond Words can support depends on raising awareness. This is where you come in!
If you are a donor, a friend or relative of a “Big Paddle Team” member, or a paddler please spread the word via your favourite social media platform.
The Big Paddle Challenge website - www.bigpaddlechallenge.co.uk
Facebook
Our new Facebook Group - BeyondWords Big Paddle HQ will keep everyone up to date on our progress. and draw in more friends.
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/bigpaddlechallenge2022/
Please follow and share our posts whenever you see them.
BE THE DIFFERENCE1
We aim to raise enough money to help Beyond Words support and build its growing network of Community Book Clubs.
· £100 will buy a starter set of books for a book club
· £145 will buy a professional Zoom subscription so book clubs can meet virtually. Meaning no one is excluded, whatever their location or mobility challenges.
· £250 will support venue fees and light refreshment
Our Big Paddle Challenge
To reflect the daily life-long challenge people with LD face we commit as a group to "Paddle the Globe one trip at a time". That's a total of 24,000 miles during 2022. A one-off event just didn’t seem to do these wonderful people full justice.
Members of our group normally paddle a few hundred miles each year. We commit to paddling at least double our personal annual average distances. Several of us have set individual targets of over 1,000 miles.
We are indeed used to paddling regularly. Some of us race. But none of us is a professional athlete. We hold down jobs, look after families and study. Some are well stricken in years with several in our sixties. Our new commitment will be difficult. Stretching us physically and mentally. All of us are committed to going above and beyond this year.
To give you an idea of the challenge, 1,000 miles involves paddling at more than 20 miles a week, rain, or shine. Paddling two or three times a week, every week during 2022. To keep going will seriously challenge our persistence and our mental and physical endurance.
Every month we will update each paddler’s cumulative mileage. We’ll include videos of some of our paddles as well as interviews and news from BW Book Club members.
JUNE 2022 - Total miles paddled
The Big Paddle Challenge Team has clocked up over 16,000 miles already!!!
What happens to your donation?
You can donate in support of a friend or relative on our Big Paddle Team. You can donate at the beginning, in the middle or wait until the end to see how well we do. We’ll keep paddling no matter what!
All new Books Clubs need a “Book Club Starter Pack”:
Library of Beyond Words books = £100
Virtual Clubs need a Professional Zoom subscription = £145 per year.
Contribution to venue fees and light refreshment = £250 per year
How to donate
There are several ways you can donate via this site.
1. You can donate a fixed amount.
2. You can choose to fully fund a “Book Club Starter Pack” for £500 or any individual component of the pack.
Or
3. You can donate any custom amount you choose.
We assure you every penny you donate will be spent in the creation and support of Beyond Words Community Book Clubs.
Why not join our Big Paddle Team
If you paddle regularly join us. You can be from any discipline. You can paddle 10 or over a 100 miles a month -
EVERY MILE MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
The more paddlers on the Team, the more cumulative “Big Paddle” Team miles we can shoot for. We’ll sort out all the admin work.
All you do is paddle further than ever before and send in your monthly mileage to us.
The bigger our Paddle Team the more miles we can accumulate and the more money we raise for Beyond Words to do their amazing work in the community.
To join contact Gary Coulton via [email redacted]
Spread the word
Our Challenge’s success and the number of Community Book Clubs Beyond Words can support depends on raising awareness. This is where you come in!
If you are a donor, a friend or relative of a “Big Paddle Team” member, or a paddler please spread the word via your favourite social media platform.
The Big Paddle Challenge website - www.bigpaddlechallenge.co.uk
Our new Facebook Group - BeyondWords Big Paddle HQ will keep everyone up to date on our progress. and draw in more friends.
https://www.instagram.com/bigpaddlechallenge2022/
Please follow and share our posts whenever you see them.
BE THE DIFFERENCE1
Fundraising team: Big Paddle Fundraising Team (14)
Gary Coulton
Organizer
England
BOOKS BEYOND WORDS CIO
Beneficiary
Chris Sze
Team member
Kirsty MacEachen
Team member
Sarah Du Plessis
Team member
Jules Round
Team member