As we head into the month of March, we would like to welcome you to our first ever monthly recap. We wanted to create a way of documenting the journey of our fantastic DOSportUK community, celebrating our milestones, and shedding light on the individuals who continue to inspire us through their resilience and determination.
Our brilliant community of members, volunteers, and sponsors is what allows us to step closer towards a more inclusive society for everyone. Your support fuels our commitment to creating a world where everyone, regardless of ability, has the chance to enjoy the sport they love. With that said, let's take some time to reflect on the month of February.
Welcoming Positive Horizons
We would like to begin by welcoming our newest brand partner - Positive Horizons. Partnering with a brilliant like-minded organisation not only provides us with the funding necessary to provide sporting opportunities to everyone without exceptions, but also empowers our mission to create a more inclusive society for all. Positive Horizons provide and promote provisions for adults with a learning disability to live independently within Derbyshire. So, we are delighted to work together towards our common goals and are very grateful for their generosity. Partnerships such as these allow us to provide the best opportunities possible to our members.
Derbyshire and Manchester Training Days
This month, DOSportUK had the pleasure of hosting our training days in Derbyshire and Manchester. These were fantastic community events to bring all our members together, learn new skills and have some fun:
Manchester Training Day:
Sunday 4 Feb saw our Greater Manchester teams come together for our health themed training day. Funded through the Cancer & Inequalities Fund 2024 we used the day to not only work on our basketball skills but speak to our members and support networks about the importance of health, knowing what to do if there are signs and symptoms of cancer, and how to be proactive in keeping fit and healthy to avoid cancer and other health conditions later in life!
Derbyshire Training Day:
Sunday 18 Feb saw our Derbyshire teams come together for a day full of fun and basketball. DOSportUK were working with UPS who used the day as a launch event for the DOSportUK x SOGB competition series across the 2023-2024 season. The players had a series of training, skills challenges, and some even went home with prizes brought by the wonderful people from UPS!
Volunteer Spotlight - Colin Dunlop (Chesterfield Sabres)
At the heart of our mission is our brilliant community of individuals and volunteers who make what we do possible. So, we wanted to shine a spotlight each month on a particular individual, whose journeys inspire the way to a more inclusive society.
Say hello to Colin, who is a volunteer at our disability basketball sessions for Chesterfield Sabres. Here’s what he had to say about volunteering for DOSportUK: “What I love most about volunteering is just coming every week, seeing the same people, seeing the joy on their face. It makes people who have got learning disabilities or special needs feel human.”
This amazing generosity and commitment from our volunteers like Colin is integral to not only providing our members with great opportunities, but also providing them with a supportive and joyful environment to socialise.
Colin added: “It’s a way of communicating and getting to know other people. It’s a way of giving them a way of playing sport, getting a bit fitter, learning something new, and being part of a team.”
Colin’s words reflect the profound impact of sports in fostering social connections and creating a more inclusive society. We are so grateful to the heartfelt dedication of Colin and all our other amazing volunteers at DOSportUK that creates a brilliant sense of community and inclusion at our sessions.
What’s coming up for DOSportUK?
With Spring just around the corner, there is lots to look forward to in the upcoming months and we cannot wait to share what our brilliant community gets up to in the month of March. We’re excited for our next basketball competition taking place in London on Saturday 30th March, in partnership with Special Olympics Great Britain. And, hopefully this helps to get our shooting boots going for our 5000 baskets fundraiser in the month of April, when we plan to collectively shoot 5000 baskets in 5 hours.
We would also love to get some more community involvement on the blog. So, if you would like to be featured, please get in touch with adam@dosportuk.co.uk or you can use #docommunity in your social posts and tag us. We always love hearing what our community has been up to!
We would like to express our gratitude for your continued support to help make sporting opportunities available to everyone and look forward to sharing our next recap at the end of March!
In the meantime, you can follow us on our social media platforms for more regular updates around what’s happening in the world of DOSportUK.