A group of people and a man in a Lion suit pose with cycles

A roar of thanks for Eastleigh Lions

In July, we had a nice surprise as we were lucky enough to be chosen by Eastleigh Lions to receive £1,500 towards our Cycles4all project.

The donation will help expand our fleet of adapted cycles which run from our inclusive venue on Fleming Park, helping to ensure that people with a wide range of access needs can experience the joy of cycling together.

We are really delighted with this donation as it will help us meet our funding target to purchase a specialist platform bike so adults and children who use wheelchairs can experience the thrill of riding a bicycle, quite often for the first time.

Platform bikes, similar to most bespoke equipment for disabled people, are sadly very expensive and cost in the region of several thousands of pounds, so this money will significantly help the Cycles4all project to achieve its fundraising goal.

Cycles4all is one of a range of inclusive activities run by our charity (Eastleigh Youth and Community Trust) at Pavilion on the Park. Earlier in the year we were lucky enough to be awarded £30,340 from the People’s Health Trust to help fund our activities over the next two years. The Eastleigh Lions cheque donation tops up the funding pot for the new platform bike and moves us to within a wheel turn of being able to purchase it.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to the Eastleigh Lions for their generous donation. Community spirit and support such as this is what makes Eastleigh such an active, flourishing, and connected place to live. As an inclusive charity this is what we are all about, and to prove it, our incredible staff team will be completing the Three Yorkshire Peaks Challenge in September to raise the final few hundred pounds needed to purchase the platform bike for the Cycles4all fleet.

If you’d like to support their GoFundMe campaign, please visit: https://gofund.me/66e3661b