What a summer it’s been! We’ve had events, day trips and even residentials all across South Yorkshire. Local charities and businesses have come together to create some amazing experiences. We’ve even been pretty lucky with the weather (for the most part). Our members, friends and volunteers have been so enthusiastic – it’s been a joy to see so many faces and to meet lots of new ones. Can you find yourself in any of the photos?

A Couple of Adventure Days with SHASBAH’s Young People

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It’s seems like a long time ago, but our summer started of with a bang at Kingswood Adventure Centre. We had two groups of our younger members join us for some outdoor pursuits. It was glorious weather and there were opportunities to try archery, fire building and even a zipline! The parents were great sports for joining in and providing lots of encouragement too.

Day Trips on the Ethel Community Barge

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We couldn’t have dreamed of better weather when we organised the canal boat trips. Four boatloads of SHASBAH members took a day trip from Doncaster through the South Yorkshire canals. Such a great way to see the beauty of our local area, as well as enjoying time together in the open air. A massive thanks goes to Ethel Trust Community Barge, who run these accessible boats completely by volunteers.

A Residential Stay at Portland College

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Next up was a trip away for our older teens to stay for two nights at Portland College. They bravely came without knowing each other or what was in store, but it turned out to be a brilliant time together. Activities included team-building, campfire s’mores, wheelchair abseiling and bananagrams. By all accounts, the teens came away feeling inspired, empowered… and also pretty tired! It was amazing to see what peer support, new experiences and a fun setting can do for self-confidence and wellbeing in young people.

Our Whole Charity Wheel, Walk and Wobble Event

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Finally, we held our second annual Wheel, Walk and Wobble in Sheffield Botanical Gardens. We run it in partnership with The Little Urban Fox and Friends, who are the designers of our mascot, Shasby. This year we had a Treasure Hunt for the Missing Stones, which coincided with the start of the August rain. We were impressed with the turnout, considering the downpour!

After the stones had been found, we made a few announcements. Firstly, Julie B, one of our SHASBAH parents, presented us with the final amount raised from her lockdown bake sales. She and her son, John, donated a whopping £1500! Everyone was blown away, not only by the amount, but also by Julie’s creativity and dedication.

Secondly, we had some special presents to hand out to our youngest members. Jan, our beloved and recently-retired staff member, had organised a surprise. She’d brought along twenty little fox teddies, which had each been fitted with their very own shunt! These teddies were a gift for our children who have hydrocephalus, to help understand, explain and normalise having a shunt. 3dtoyshop are the brilliant creators of the shunts, which were lovingly stitched in place by SHASBAH volunteers. The foxes even got the attention of the BBC, who came down to film a piece for Look North.

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So, that’s our summer in a nutshell! We hoped you had a great time too and we’d love to see you at our upcoming events soon. Click here to find out what’s going on.