A fund to empower disabled people to enjoy the wide range of benefits of becoming more physically active has invested more than £390,000 in clubs and activity providers throughout the UK in the past 12 months.
The Toyota Parasport Fund is a partnership between Toyota (GB), ParalympicsGB, Sport England and the Home Nations Disability Sports Organisations. Launched in 2019 it provides training and equipment to enable disabled people to become more active.
Scottish Disability Sport delivered 14 workshops involving 222 participants which took place between August 2020 and March 2021 covering 12 branches across Scotland including two workshops postponed from 2019/2020 as a result of Coronavirus.
You can read about the great success of this programme here.
Agustín Martín, Toyota (GB) President & Managing Director said: “At Toyota, we are committed to creating a fairer and more inclusive society. The Toyota Parasport Fund is helping to break down the barriers that we know can prevent those with impairments from being able to participate in sport and activity, making a marked difference to communities across the UK”.
Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB, said: “The Toyota Parasport fund is a huge boost to ensuring activity providers are able to access the equipment and have the training they need to offer the best possible experience for disabled people.
“We want to thank Sport England, Mencap NI, Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sport Wales and Toyota GB for their generous support during these incredibly challenging times for the sector.
“We know disabled people are still far less likely to take part in physical activity than non-disabled people. That is why we relaunched Parasport in 2019. We want to ensure everybody has the opportunity to experience the wide range of benefits associated with becoming more active whether it be physical and mental wellbeing, friendship, or the joy of learning something new.”
Parasport.org.uk has more than 3,500 activities listed to help disabled people find inclusive opportunities in their local area and also promotes virtual classes and home workout videos people can use while activity providers are closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Media Enquiries
Please direct media enquiries to Paul Cox, Head of Communications at the British Paralympic Association, via: paul.cox@paralympics.org.uk 07766 991152.