Sarah-Jane Allsopp is taking on the Land’s End to John O’ Groats virtual challenge to raise money for Castle Douglas’ new inclusive playpark.
While travelling from one end of the country to the other is strictly prohibited right now, End to End Run allows participants to log their miles online as they travel from Lands’ End to John O’ Groats. Sarah-Jane, the Project Development Officer for the Castle Douglas Development Forum, has taken on this 874-mile challenge in the hopes of raising money for the new inclusive playpark in Castle Douglas. Castle Douglas Development Forum, along with the local council, is a lead partner on this project and hopes to raise the funds needed for the project once events can be held safely.
The new playpark is being designed as an inclusive space for Castle Douglas and the community, accessible to everyone no matter their age, ability, or need. After consulting with the community on how the playpark should be a facility that benefits everyone, the creation of the playpark is intended to be a space where everyone can run, walk, wheel and play, but also rest, relax, and contemplate. So, this project benefits everyone it has been designed to fit the social model of disability, meaning there are no barriers to play and no one is expected to adapt in order to enjoy the space. The new playpark will also have Changing Places facilities. This project is expected to cost £375,000 pounds most of which will need to be fundraised by the project
Like many others, Sarah-Jane has been kept inside and working from home during 2020 and saw the new year as an opportunity to get out the house and raise money for the inclusive playpark.
Having already completed the first two months of her yearlong challenge Sarah-Jane has
completed a quarter of the distance (210 miles) and raised over £500 towards the project and has no intentions of slowing down. She aims to complete at minimum two and half miles a day to complete the Lands’ End to John O’ Groats challenge and hopes to raise at least a thousand pounds. She says: “Hopefully my blisters won’t be too bad, and I can raise some money for the cause”.
Castle Douglas Development Forum is extremely proud of Sarah-Jane and the work she is putting in to see the playpark built, however, there is still a lot of work to be done and money to be raised and CDDF looks forward to further fundraising events once Covid-19 restrictions start to be lifted.
In the meantime, if anyone would be interested in supporting the inclusive playpark or
sponsoring a piece of equipment please contact: [email protected] or check out Sarah Jane’s fundraising page: https://www.facebook.com/donate/689503071762333/
