We are delighted to award Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) a Travelling with Confidence Grant totalling £800,000 for over two years.
Why are we funding SIA?
The grant will allow 4,000 disabled people to receive support in making journeys in the first year of their SIA’s spinal cord injury (SCI) Travel Confidence Project.
SIA will work with the SCI community to support them to travel independently and confidently, through one-on-one support, building on digital resources available and increasing public awareness.
SIA Travel Confidence project
The grant has been used to:
- recruit several specialist roles, including therapists, a project advisor, project lead, and an administration assistant.
- build on their digital resource, the SCI Knowledge Hub, to boost the information available for the SCI community specific to active travel and making journeys.
A grant to support their members with travelling confidently
Mark Ridler, SIA’s director of programmes said: “Confidence to travel is a major prerequisite to engaging with family, access to a livelihood, maintaining a social life and, in other words, living a fulfilled life.
“This relies on knowledge and the necessary tools and access. This amazing award will enable SIA to greatly enhance member education, access to wheelchairs, and public awareness.
“We seek to transform the lives of 4,000 people in the first year and through systematic change, ultimately tens of thousands of people accessing all the travel support and advocacy they need.”
“Helps us to make an immediate difference”
Lisa Jones, our Director of Charitable Operations, said: “We’re delighted to award Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) with this grant to work with the spinal cord injury community to support them to travel independently and confidently.
“SIA will build on their SCI Knowledge Hub, to embed travel support and confidence building, which is essential in enabling disabled people to live independently.
“Awarding grants to important local organisations like the Spinal Injuries Association helps us to make an immediate difference to the transport needs of disabled people.”
Learn more
Read more about our Travel Confidence grant and how to apply.
