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Beach wheelchairs let care home residents enjoy the sea

Words by Smiley Team

Sunny weather calls for beach trips, and that’s exactly what residents at Edensor Care Centre were able to do after a fundraising success allowed them to buy some beach wheelchairs.

With the support of Colchester Catalyst, Pickering Electronics LTD, and members of the public through JustGiving, the care home was able to buy two two beach wheelchairs for residents in Clacton-on-Sea.

The fundraising campaign was prompted when, in his final days, Simon Keyes, 34, who was at Edensor for end-of-life care, wanted to go onto the beach. Sadly, due to Simon's wheelchair not being adapted for the sand, this wasn’t possible.

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It encouraged the care centre ro raise enough money to secure these valuable new resources. The home is very close to the beach, says Lindsey Milliken, deputy manager at Edensor Care. “It's an ideal place for those who love the seaside to visit, however many of our residents are unable to wholly enjoy their surroundings as some are permanent wheelchair users and this makes it impossible for them to go on the sand and down to the water’s edge without specially adapted chairs.

"I was with Simon on his last visit outside the home and not being able to take him on the sand was a feeling I never wanted to experience again.”

Thankfully, through generators donations, the two new beach wheelchairs has now allowed everyone at the Care Centre to use the beach. The first resident to use a new beach wheelchair was Mary Wood, who was taken to enjoy the sand and sea on 20 July. 

“I have had the most amazing time and it brought back such happy childhood memories of visits to the beach,” she said. 

As part of their commitment to the community, the Charity Diagrama – who runs the Edensor Care Centre in Clacton on Sea – hopes to allow the local community to book one of the wheelchairs so that even more people will be able to go on the beach.

To find out more about the Edensor Care Centre, visit www.diagramafoundation.org.uk.

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