The Friends of Ty Gwyn charity is trying to raise £50,000
A CHARITY trying to raise £50,000 to buy a third wheelchair-adapted minibus for the students of Ty Gwyn Special School says it is struggling for donations.
The Friends of Ty Gwyn has raised £21,000 so far but Hayley Mulkerrins, 40, the charity’s secretary, has said that getting further support is proving tough.
“Nobody seems to want to help, there are severely disabled children and to get help from anybody has been really challenging,” said Miss Mulkerrins, whose two sons attend the school.
“The children have life-limiting conditions, [the minibus] it’s a little bit of independence for them and gets them out in the community to be able to have some fun and learn some life skills.”
The school has four minibuses, two of these are adapted for wheelchair use. The third adapted minibus will allow the school’s pupils who use wheelchairs to become more active in the community.
The school would like to be able to take the pupils out to supermarkets and teach them essential independence and life skills, such as how to scan and pay for shopping.
A third minibus would allow the school to take more students out to enjoy these experiences.
The minibus would also help the children go on trips to the beach, parks and enjoy trips with their friends and teachers.
In September, parents, staff and students of the school raised £7,000 by riding their bikes from Merthyr to Cardiff.
The charity is currently seeking donations of raffle prizes for the school’s Christmas Raffle as part of the fundrasing.
The school caters for children with a wide range of learning disabilities from the ages of three to 19 and aims to improve the quality of life and give them the best education possible.
During holiday periods, The Friends of Ty Gwyn always give an extra treat to the pupils, whether that be an easter egg at Easter or a fairground trip in May.
Students are also given either a selection box or a bubble wand, for children who are unable to have chocolate.
For the Christmas period the school has arranged for two donkeys – kindly provided by Mike’s Donkeys of Mynyddygarreg, Carmarthenshire – to visit the children on Monday, December 2.
Mike’s Donkeys will also be bringing some smaller petting animals for children in wheelchairs.
The Friends of Ty Gwyn are only able to give the children these treats thanks to donations from members of the public.
The charity has asked local businesses to help provide the 196 selection boxes and 77 bubble wands this year but have so far received nothing.
Miss Mulkerrins has taken over the role as the charity’s secretary this year but has said that the lack of donations is an annual problem.
“It’s just unbelievable the fact that we’ve got to actually fundraise to get a minibus which is vital for our children to be able to access the community,” she said.
Wayne Murphy, Executive Headteacher of the Western Learning Federation, said: “Investment from the school and the Local Authority ensures that pupils from Ty Gwyn can access a wide range of provision and experiences and our fleet of four mini busses enables pupils to enjoy educational visits as part of our curriculum offer.
“The school is grateful to the ‘The Friends of Ty Gwyn’ charity who support the school with extra funding, enabling us to purchase additional items and supplement resources. Their commitment to fundraising for a fifth adapted minibus is welcomed and will further enhance provision at the school.”
- Anyone who wants to help the school with donations can contact Hayley at FriendsofTG-5@Hwbcymru.net.
