.	Lets Do It Anyway is a Registered Charity in England & Wales no 1155862

Our 2016 New Year Wish goes to About With Friends. Lets Do It Anyway will buy Walking boots & walking clothes & offer walking support and advice to the new #WalkingGroup in 2016 and beyond.

What is About With Friends?
About with Friends and are based in Cromer offering support to adults and children with learning disabilities and autism. They have a varied programme of trips out, swimming nights, chillout night at their Base with films, xbox, pool etc and respite holidays, a group have just been away to Harry Potter and some others to Spain.

About With Friends also have a Workskills service where members join to gain real work skills in real environment such as a fully equipped catering kitchen, gardening, production – bird boxes, candles etc and a community café in Cromer which opened last year.

And for those members who have more complex needs and require 121 support About with Friends have a bespoke programme which has gained a reputation locally for a high quality service with real outcomes for the members who are on it

As part of the social programme for 2016 and to promote a fit healthy lifestyle to About With Friends members, Tara, who delivers their adult social and transition activities would like to start up a walking club, initially once a month whilst interest builds. "We are confident we will get take up as our members, who always choose their own respite breaks chose Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Scotland last year and loved getting outside in the great outdoors, however we know that some members do not have the correct walking gear and this we feel may be a barrier to getting them started".

With the above in mind, we will be supporting the About With Friends Walking Group & initially we will buy Walking Boots & Walking Clothes & I will personally offer full support with Walks & Hikes for the Walking Group in 2016 and beyond.

This is an extremely exciting project, we can't wait to encourage the 'About With Friends' Walking Group to get started. Not only is Walking a fabulous exercise, the group will encourage 'Social Inclusion' and personal empowerment, which is so important.

We are really looking forward to a year filled of fabulous walks with a fabulous Group.

Sporty WCMX Wheelchair for Joel

Joel Connor-Saunders is such an amazing and inspirational young man. We previously surprised Joel with a New Year Wish in 2014. Joel has approached us again & asked for help in funding a Sporty Wheelchair. Joel is such a wonderful role model for young people, we want to help him with his own personal dream's and goals. Here's Joel's story:

Joel was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at the tender age of 14 months old . He was extremely isolated as a child but discovered Wheelchair Basketball at the age of 7. This changed his life and totally inspired him to help others. He took on a Leadership role and managed to take a Level One Coaching Course at the age of 14. He now coaches regularly (every Saturday) volunteering at the local Wheelchair Basketball Club . Joel has attended Disability Sports Schemes to help make sport inclusive . He has also achieved his GCSE P.E. exams even though he is a permanent wheelchair user . Joel is a Whizz Kids Ambassador, he helps with fundraising and went to Downing Street to deliver the generation inspired manifesto". More recently Joel has just finished his Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sports Fitness and Coaching as well as Gym instructing qualifications and is off to University to study Sports Coaching Sciences and Disability Sport from September 2016 after his gap year.

Joel doesn't let his medical condition stand in his way, he is always up for doing anything involving adrenaline from paragliding off a mountain in Turkey on holiday to Skydiving. Most recently Joel has found a new sport called WCMX. This is Wheelchair Skating. He has been using his regular day Wheelchair on the Skateparks but it isn't the correct specification, so it really is not comletely safe to do so. Sporty Wheelchairs are very expensive, in this case, the Wheelchair will cost around £3400. With this in mind, 'Lets Do It Anyway' is going to help fund a Mike Box Designs WCMX Sporty Wheelchair so that Joel can continue to inspire others & focus on his new found sport.

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The fundraising story so far

We are very pleased to say, that 'Lets Do It Anyway' has donated sporty wheelchairs and Sports Kit to the Lowriders Junior Wheelchair Basketball team and a Sporty Wheelchair to The Green Canaries Wheelchair Basketball Club. We have refurbished the Norwich Social Centre for the Blind with a new kitchen, paid for exercise classes for the ABC (After Breast Cancer) Exercise Group, donated funds for the building of a 'Safe Space' for beautiful two year old Daisy who has a rare genetic disorder. We have also donated equipment for Norwich City Power Football Club: 6 balls, player tabbards & court lines which will enable them to have home matches. We donated New Year Wishes on 1st January 2014 & 2015. We donated a stagerring £9001.14 to Norwich based Musical Keys, which funded special classes for children with special & additional needs. Earlier in 2015 we supported and contributed to a Sensory Garden for Residents of Ellacombe House, in Norwich, built by participants of the National Citizens Service Enterprise Group. We are in the process of funding a sporty wheelchair for Joel & we have 24 Advent Wishes to donate throughout December 2015 and our New Year Wish on 1st January 2016.