Learning to swim has been made easier for shire residents with a physical disability by the the purchase of a new water wheelchair to assist them entering the pool.
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The Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation provided YMCA, current managers of the Bellingen Shire Swim Centre, with funding to purchase the specially designed wheelchair for its SwimAbility programs.
Rhonda Wilson, spokesperson and community development adviser for YMCA, explained how the funding would help local residents.
“We are now able to offer the SwimAbility program to local community members who were previously restricted because of their mobility issues,” Ms Wilson said.
“The water wheelchair will help provide a sense of freedom and independence for people with a disability who can at times feel isolated from water activities.”
On handing over the wheelchair Michael Slater, Charitable Foundation chairman, said learning to swim was an important part of the Australian lifestyle and was a skill all members of the community should have access to not just those who are able bodied.
“The water wheelchairs allow people with a physical disability or mobility issue to be transferred from their normal wheelchair into the specially designed chair and then into the water,” Mr Slater said.
“Being able to move from one chair to another with ease, dignity and respect is important to enhancing confidence while swimming in the pool. The new water wheelchairs are also safer for YMCA staff and carers who do not have to carry the participant into the pool or use a hoist.
“The Charitable Foundation applauds the YMCA for their commitment to strengthening our local communities through programs such as SwimAbility,” Mr Slater said.
The YMCA wheelchair funding was part of a larger $69,000 grant that provided equipment for the SwimAbility program in aquatic centres in the Great Lakes, Wyong, Toukley, Raymond Terrace, Tilligerry, Tomaree, Macksville and Singleton.
The SwimAbility program operates across NSW and focuses on water safety skills, aquatic fitness and confidence when swimming.
Local charity and not-for-profit organisations are invited to apply for the next Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation funding round, which closes on Friday, October 17.
