Take a minute to think about the everyday tasks that pose a real challenge to people in a wheelchair…
Getting up hills, grabbing a morning coffee and negotiating the weekly groceries – every day throws up new challenges.
Ride a Day in My Wheels is an annual event that helps to raise awareness of the daily challenges faced by people in a wheelchair. Currently, in its 9th year, the event is a fun way to engage the community, celebrate and raise awareness for International Day of People with Disability.
Ride a Day in My Wheels was created by Oliver House, a member of Studio ARTES, who wanted for people to understand the challenges that he faces daily.
The day entails members within the community strapping into a wheelchair and fulfilling a list of physical and mental tasks, under a time limit!
Not only does this event help people to see things from a different perspective, it also raises much-needed funds for Studio ARTES.
The 2019 event was held on Friday 6th December, with our very own Branch Manager – Dean Castell participating.
The challenge was set:
- Riders had to successfully overcome three hard surface obstacles in the wheelchair.
- They then had to then walk with a full cup of water around obstacles and not spill any liquid – wearing glasses that distort vision.
- Then wearing noise-cancelling earphones, they needed to lip-read what was being said.
- They needed to ride a wheelchair as far as they could around the Hornsby fountain in one minute.
- Order a coffee from a local café without talking.
- Finally, they had to paint their score from the above tasks using only a paintbrush attached to a headpiece.
This wasn’t Deans first experience in the Ride a Day in My Wheels event, but the new vision distorting glasses were a real challenge.
Thanks for being such a great sport Dean and for supporting such a worthwhile cause.
You can find out more about Ride a Day in My Wheels and watch Oliver’s promo video here:
https://www.studioartes.org.au/event/ride-a-day-in-my-wheels/
