Over twenty people who access care and support were encouraged to get active, follow their dreams and discover new confidence with the support of British Paralympian Bronze Medallist Jack Hunter-Spivey. Hosting an interactive online workshop with the charity Community Integrated Care on its acclaimed www.What-To-Do.co.uk platform, the star instilled belief and positivity ahead of the European Para Table Tennis Championships in Sheffield, 4-9 September.
The experience brilliantly blended table tennis themed accessible exercises, with motivational conversations. Describing how he has overcome adversity in his life to follow his passion for table tennis and achieve his greatest dreams, he encouraged the group with his motto ‘life is one big adventure’.
Community Integrated Care is one of Britain’s biggest social care charities, delivering more than 10 million hours of care and support annually across the UK. It’s What To Do website gives people who access social care incredible experiences every week, from accessible activity events to personal appearances by celebrity guests.
This experience was the latest effort by the charity to pioneer table tennis in social care. Community Integrated Care supported hundreds of people to enjoy the sport, creating table tennis hubs in many of its services and training support workers to deliver the sport in partnership with Table Tennis England. It was awarded a Pride of Table Tennis Award 2021.
World Number 6 ranked Para Table Tennis star, Jack Hunter-Spivey said, “I’m truly inspired by Community Integrated Care’s work in supporting people to live the best life possible. I couldn’t wait to be part of the session, to help inspire people to find confidence and self-belief. What To Do is an unbelievable platform that gives many people access to special opportunities, so it was great to be part of the community. It was fantastic to share my story and see the passion that so many have for table tennis. It was brilliant to see the appetite for the sport.”
Oliver Thomason, Sports Inclusion Coordinator at Community Integrated Care, led a warm up for the event, inspired by Table Tennis movements. He said, “It was great to work with Jack and to get to know him too. I loved discovering how he’d became a Paralympian. As someone who has a disability, I know the importance of having role models that inspire you. Jack has taught me that anything is possible.”
Lewis Webster, Sports Inclusion Communications Manager at Community Integrated Care, said, “Jack’s humour and unique ability to connect with people made for a brilliant session. His belief in the potential of every person was inspiring. For him to take time from his training camp in Slovakia to deliver this experience was a testament to his character. He truly is a star on and off the court.”
Community Integrated Care is one of Britain’s biggest and most successful health and social care charities. It supports over 3,000 people across England and Scotland who have learning disabilities, mental health concerns, autism, and dementia, employing 5,000 staff nationally.
What To Do (www.What-To-Do.co.uk) has been nationally recognised for its innovation, including being awarded the Best Business Initiative Award at last year’s National Care Awards.
Find out more at www.CommunityIntegratedCare.co.uk
Contact
Lewis Webster, Sports Inclusion Communications Manager, Community Integrated Care
[email protected] / 07734 569 833