A new shed in the Bundaberg Recreational Precinct will help the Riding for the Disabled Association provide rewarding experiences for locals with disabilities.
Bundaberg RDA president Amanda Morgan and secretary and coach Megan Wray said they were excited to officially open the facility.
“We’ve been waiting for this for two and a half years so we’re pretty happy it’s happening,” Megan said.
“Up until now, because of the size of the other building we had, a lot of our very expensive and specialised equipment had to be stored off site in people’s houses.”
She said that left one volunteer to lug in all of the equipment from various locations every riding day.
“It’s been really difficult.
“With this new facility we are actually going to have everything that we need all in one place.”
In addition to storage, the shed provides the group with an official office and meeting space for the very first time.
“This will allow us to function as a centre now and it means that our records and things we’ve finally been able to sort them,” Megan said.
“So now we have space, room to move and everyone can get around and do what’s needed to keep everything effective and working,” Amanda added.
They said the new Riding for Disabled shed was made possible thanks to the support of Bundaberg Regional Council, which owns the Bundaberg Recreational Precinct, and two separate grants from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund.
Riding for Disabled shed will allow group to continue great work
Bundaberg RDA currently has 20 riders that use their service, offering rides four times a month.
Amanda and Megan said their clients got so much out of the experience.
“The smile, the determination and the courage from our riders to keep going,” Amanda said.
“And they look down on us as volunteers instead of everybody looking down at them.”
The group is unable to take on any more clients until they find new volunteers and encouraged anyone interested to contact the group.
The volunteer to client ratio for an RDA session is four volunteers to one client.
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