A scheme to be launched in September for disabled youngsters has received a welcome boost from local new and used car dealers Lloyd BMW, with a cash donation following their end-of-season game on Brunton Park helping with the purchase of specialist sporting equipment.
United’s Community Sports Trust are launching their new project for disabled youngsters across the county later in the year and CST manager John Halpin was full of praise for the assistance received from his local partners.
“We’ve been looking to hold sessions and events for disabled youngsters for a while and this is a massive step forward for us,” he explained. “We’ve just employed somebody to look after that area for us, so this has come at exactly the right time.
“Lloyd BMW have stepped in and their help has made it possible for us to purchase equipment which means we can hold everything from football sessions for the blind to cricket and golf for people with all kinds of disabilities.
“It’s support from businesses like this that make things so much better and easier for us.”
“It’s fantastic for us because we’re now able to do things with the kids that we weren’t able to do before,” he continued. “Youngsters of all abilities will be fully involved in the sessions we run and that will help with their physical and mental well-being, which is brilliant for everybody.
“There are children we work with at schools at the moment who are actually fully blind, but who will now be able to take part with us because of the footballs we’ve been able to buy.
“As things stand we’ll be able to run golf, cricket and football sessions, but it’s a new project and we’ll be driven by what people want. We’ll get it up and running, but we think it’s important that the people who come along decide what it is they need from it.”
“It’s something we think will build and grow as we go along,” he concluded. “We’ve done some work with Children in Need, and they’re also going to provide finances to support it.
“It’s a brand new project so if people feel their children would benefit from being involved, or if they think they would want to try us out, then get in touch and we’ll point them in the right direction.”
And it was revealed by Transaction Manager Phil Howe that the help given to launch the scheme had a special meaning for Lloyd BMW, and for colleagues at Carlisle Landrover, who had taken part in the game at the end of the season.
“We have a game on the pitch each year at Brunton Park in memory of Scott Cameron, a colleague we lost a few years ago,” he said. “A lot of people were very close to Scott and that was why we wanted to keep playing the game every year, as another way of remembering him.
“He loved his football and he played in the Sunday leagues for years with a lot of the people he worked with. It’s a proud moment for everybody that Scott can be linked with something like this. So many people were very close to him and we all know he would be delighted about it.”
“We have to thank John Halpin and the Community Sports Trust,” he commented. “We’re very keen on working within the local community and this is a scheme that strengthens the link between Lloyd BMW and Carlisle United, particularly the CST.
“When we spoke to John about our game he helped us out by arranging for us to use the pitch free of charge. The lads who played then made donations, which we gave to the CST, and they’ve used it to get equipment to help them to launch their new disability project.
“We think that’s absolutely fantastic. It’s great for us to see this all come together, with Scott as part of it. We have a strong belief that it’s always nice to give something back to the community. This is a great way for us to do that.”
To find out more about Lloyd BMW, click HERE.
For more information on the CST Disability Project contact John Halpin on 01228 554 169 or email fitc@carlisleunited.co.uk