On the 6th October, with only 4 weeks notice, a group of 7 strangers from Neath and the surrounding area will be running the Cardiff Half Marathon in aid of Gig Buddies Cardiff. Antony, Alan, Jake, Madison, Rhydian, Richard and Zack have been brought together from a range of backgrounds and abilities with the common cause of helping those less fortunate than themselves. The group will be looking to raise as much as we can in this short period of time and will hope to promote the good work done by Kylie and the team at Gig Buddies.
Gig Buddies pairs up people who have a learning disability (and/or autism) with a volunteer who has the same interests and passions. This enables people to be able to access activities that many of us take for granted, and with a person who shares their passion. Gig Buddies specifically focuses on events that happen in the evenings, such as concerts, in order to break the many barriers that stop people with a learning disability going out at night and staying up late.
These barriers include lack of support, or inflexible support that forces people to leave events early. Other obstacles include transport, confidence, safety, and accessibility of venues and events. Most importantly, Gig Buddies are free to choose what their gigs are and when and where they want to go.
A "gig" could any activity such as a music concert, watching a musical, going to the cinema or bowling. Gig Buddies is a temporarily funded project (until March 2020) and we would very much like to raise this money to help it to continue and for them to be able to facilitate more friendships.
You can find out a lot more by visiting their website at www.gigbuddies.org.uk
We and the Gig Buddies team would very much appreciate any donations!
