About Rides For Disabled
After growing up with a severely disabled son, we understand how difficult it can be to communicate and find things that interest them. For our family Thomas always loved going fast, so from a young age we brought a buggy and took him for rides along a track behind our house every weekend. We have always had a love for vehicles, whether it be fixing them or driving them in the middle of nowhere through muddy tracks.
Finally, we have enough time to create this organisation and share with others our love for a fast and furious experience. With your support we hope to purchase more vehicles and equipment to accommodate all types of disabilities so more people can enjoy our services, and eventually expand Rides for Disabled across Australia.
Finally, we have enough time to create this organisation and share with others our love for a fast and furious experience. With your support we hope to purchase more vehicles and equipment to accommodate all types of disabilities so more people can enjoy our services, and eventually expand Rides for Disabled across Australia.
Our Mission
There is a gap in the community for fun activities specifically designed for people with disabilities and through this program we will bridge that gap.
Meet the Inspiration Behind Rides
Having a severely disabled son who can’t communicate and as a result has behaviours of concern, it has always been very difficult to find activities that he can enjoy and improve his quality of life while also including the whole family.
It all started when my old man lent me his moped with a large shopping basket tied on to the front handle bars and said to me “why don’t you put your kids in the basket and take them for a spin up and down the dirt track at the back of your place”. So I did, and low and behold they both loved it. From that point on we graduated to a ride-on lawn mower before moving on to a two-seater 150cc buggy and from there the sky was the limit, we knew we were on to a winner.
Quite often I would ask myself “who’s doing good things for disabled people in the community?” because I wanted to help in any way I could make the quality of life for my son as great as it could be. I noticed at the special school the bus that picked up my son was donated by the Variety club, and I thought that was fantastic.
I did some more research into the wonderful things that variety had been doing for the disabled children in the community and that was what inspired me to support and become a member of the variety club. 20 years later and having been involved in many of the variety fundraising activities from the adults bash to the brats bash I felt it was time to take all these unique experiences and formulate them into a model that can benefit all people with disabilities.
I was taking my son to his final horse ride at the RDA (Riding for the disabled association) at the age of 15 because he became too difficult to support while riding. The trainer called me and said they had to cancel the horse rides due to the rain. The children were devastated, so I asked the trainer if I could take all the kids for a spin in the paddock in my variety club bash car for a bit of fun, and she agreed. So off we went, kids in the car, lights flashing, music playing, slipping and sliding around the paddock and the kids had an absolute ball. From that point on I knew that what my son loved so much, other special needs children did as well.
The concept of Rides for Disbaled was born and it was time to make a difference.
It all started when my old man lent me his moped with a large shopping basket tied on to the front handle bars and said to me “why don’t you put your kids in the basket and take them for a spin up and down the dirt track at the back of your place”. So I did, and low and behold they both loved it. From that point on we graduated to a ride-on lawn mower before moving on to a two-seater 150cc buggy and from there the sky was the limit, we knew we were on to a winner.
Quite often I would ask myself “who’s doing good things for disabled people in the community?” because I wanted to help in any way I could make the quality of life for my son as great as it could be. I noticed at the special school the bus that picked up my son was donated by the Variety club, and I thought that was fantastic.
I did some more research into the wonderful things that variety had been doing for the disabled children in the community and that was what inspired me to support and become a member of the variety club. 20 years later and having been involved in many of the variety fundraising activities from the adults bash to the brats bash I felt it was time to take all these unique experiences and formulate them into a model that can benefit all people with disabilities.
I was taking my son to his final horse ride at the RDA (Riding for the disabled association) at the age of 15 because he became too difficult to support while riding. The trainer called me and said they had to cancel the horse rides due to the rain. The children were devastated, so I asked the trainer if I could take all the kids for a spin in the paddock in my variety club bash car for a bit of fun, and she agreed. So off we went, kids in the car, lights flashing, music playing, slipping and sliding around the paddock and the kids had an absolute ball. From that point on I knew that what my son loved so much, other special needs children did as well.
The concept of Rides for Disbaled was born and it was time to make a difference.
Our Values
Giving and receiving support for people with disabilities, creating an inclusive community
Creating a positive experience for everyone involved
Family driven through real life experience of living with disability
Knowing and understanding the difference the program can make
Raising money to provide activities for people with all kinds of disabilities
Vehicles specifically made to be safe for people with disabilities
