Headway Sefton summer getaway!
10 August 2022
2 minute read
We spoke to Carol Hopwood, our Head of Serious and Catastrophic Injury, about the latest summer getaway with Headway Sefton members!
"On the 4th of August along with 27 Headway Sefton members and volunteers we headed up to Lake Windermere for our 4 day annual summer getaway. Thwarted by Covid for the past 2 years everyone was really looking forward to getting away to Tower Wood which is an outdoor adventure centre on Lake Windermere. The centre accommodates all levels of disability.
All of the members who came along have an acquired or traumatic brain injury and for some this is their only holiday each year. It is four days of encouraging people to step outside their comfort zone and do things they didn’t think were possible. It is amazing what people can achieve with the right support, equipment and teamwork. Tower Woods instructors are amazing.
We did kayaking, canoeing, stand up/sit down paddle boarding, abseiling, sailing and rib rides. Everyone joined in and disability was no barrier to any of it. Tears were shed when one of our most seriously injured members was helped by 5 others into an adapted kayak and enjoyed a great morning on the lake with everyone else. Evenings were spent on karaoke, board games, and charades – lots of good fun. This is so important for people who live alone or feel isolated after their brain injury.
Our members tell us that the experience they have at Tower Wood does them more good than any medication or counselling. Their sense of achievement, support from their friends, laughter and fun lifts the mood and they realise that they can do more than they think.
The cost of the trip is around £10,000 and we are totally self-funded so every little bit of fundraising and donations are so important to us. Carpenters Group have been so supportive, allowing time away to run the group, covering the cost of the newsletter as well as financial donations. If anyone is interested in helping to raise funds towards the cost of summer 2023 trip then please do let me know.
If you have any clients, friends or family in the Merseyside region who are living with a brain injury – please do give them our details. They will find support and understanding and people who get what they are going through. We offer a whole range of activities and events at a monthly drop in at Marine FC on the last Thursday every month from 11.30 – 1:30. Lunch is included. There is a £1 charge. The brain injured members also meet every Wednesday for a social breakfast at Wetherspoons, South Road, Waterloo."
Meeting Place
Marine Football Club
College road
Liverpool
Merseyside
L23 3AS
United Kingdom
Telephone:
07736 774 496 Cathy Johnston
07866 367886 Carol Hopwood
Email:
Website:
