10 things you need to know about WheelPower

You may have heard about the 2021 MKFM Tour de Vale Bike Ride on your radios lately - The event on Sunday 19 September is organised by the charity WheelPower and raises vital funds for the disabled people they support across the UK.

Today we wanted to find out a bit more about this fantastic charity and the life changing work they do from their home at Stoke Mandeville Stadium:

1.  WheelPower is the national charity for Wheelchair Sport in the United Kingdom.
2. WheelPower supports disabled people of all ages and abilities to achieve, enjoy and fulfil their potential through sport & physical activity.
3. The charity’s history dates back over 70 years and to the pioneering work Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann did at Stoke Mandeville Hospital who encouraged injured soldiers returning from WWII to take part in wheelchair sports as part of their rehabilitation.
4. WheelPower hosts the annual National Junior Games and the Inter Spinal Unit Games for young disabled people and newly injured adults the opportunity to take part in a multi-sport event. Past attendees include Ade Adepitan, Samantha Kinghorn, David Weir and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson … to name a few!
5. WheelPower needs to raise £1,000,000 per year to continue their life changing work.
6. Our royal patron is HRH The Prince of Wales.
7. Our CEO Martin McElhatton is a former Paralympian who represented GB at the 1984 Games in Wheelchair Basketball. In 2020 he collected an OBE for services to disability sport.
8. During the Covid-19 pandemic our WheelPower Workouts have been watched over 45,000 times by disabled people across the world.
9. WheelPower has gifted over 550 sets of resistance bands to disabled people across the UK to help them to stay active from their homes.
10. The Tour de Vale Charity Bike Ride has been taking place since 2003 and has raised over 800,000 for WheelPower, supporting disabled people to lead healthier and more active lives.

Find out more about WheelPower by visiting their website and give them a follow across all social media channels.

To find out more about the 2021 MKFM Tour de Vale charity cycling event and to sign up please click here.