Help Rita get back to swimming and nature

Rita Mallinson-Cookson (AKA Rita Borg), whose life changed cruelly and dramatically just over a year ago, is the subject of this go fund me page. Rita

started the original Chellow dene swimmers what’s app group on 19th

August 2020, and this acted as a catalyst for me and many others. The

Chellow dippers band group is a direct descendant. I and so many others

have Rita to thank for the many friendships made over the past 2 years and the many hours of pure joy outdoor swimming with like-minded diverse

people has brought us. Rita loves life, and she lived it to the fullest. She is

widely travelled, having lived and worked in several countries; she has an

irrepressible spirit. She was an active and enthusiastic member of caving

and running clubs in London, Wales and Yorkshire. She loved the outdoor

life, caving, swimming, running and cycling. She makes friends easily, being a gregarious and outgoing individual with a warm and friendly spirit that

draws people to her.

In January 2021, she was sat at her desk working, when something

unexplained happened; she became desperately ill, was taken to hospital

and since has been barely able to stand. Rita also became severely allergic to many things that make even staying in a carpeted room for long a trial. After lots of investigations, doctors have not been able to ascertain what Rita’s problem is, so it remains a mystery, but some recent new medications have eased some of her symptoms, making her life a little more comfortable. She still requires full-time care and gets fatigued very quickly. Rita is still really ill, unable to stand long enough to walk to get herself a glass of water or make a slice of toast. Currently, she can’t leave the house alone (she can’t leave one room alone)

Recently Rita’s friends started a go fund me page to raise funds for an

electric wheelchair, specialised enough that Rita can manage to manoeuvre it for a short time on her own They also wanted an off-road function so that Rita could again experience the joys of being out in nature. Initially, our aim was to raise funds to go towards that goal, but amazingly that page

reached its target within a week. Imagine the excitement of that. It left us

with a bit of a dilemma, but on talking to Rita and her house mate/carer

Corin, it quickly became clear that they would require a much bigger; or an adapted motor vehicle in order to reach the potential benefits of accomodating a custom-made chair.

The chair and its motor are on order and should be with Rita by September this year. Our goal now is to raise funds to make it possible for them to buy a suitable vehicle to improve Rita’s life experience and levels of freedom.

We are looking to raise at least £3000 to equal our 2021 fundraiser swim;

obviously more would be really welcomed to enable the purchase of a

suitable vehicle as soon as possible

Rita has test driven her wheelchair and the joy on her face says it all! Just to have a tiny bit of control back is magic; she hopefully will be able to go to local shops under her own steam and do her shopping (something most of us take for granted). The vehicle, though, will significantly broaden her horizons. It will mean she can again travel to wild spaces and enjoy manoeuvring herself around and going for a ‘ramble’.

Chellow dene swimmers/Chellow dippers are now a sizable group, and any contribution these groups can make will be very welcome. My guess is if we can each raise £10 in Rita’s name each, we will exceed our target, so I hope you can all help with this and collect from family and friends and

importantly share the page widely.

As part of this fundraiser, a group of us are doing a swim exploration of the River Wharfe from Addingham to Burley in Wharfedale on June 25/26th.

This is over 7 miles of river which will be done in sections. It would be great if you can support us.

I hope I speak for all of us and hope all the recent joiners will soon experience the same spirit of adventure, support, and friendship that Rita started when she opened up the Chellow dene swimmers group hoping to find a couple of swim buddies on 19.8.20. It feels like much longer please help where you can by collecting and donating to this fund for an incredibly special lady.