North West Tandem Club

Public benefits

The direct benefits which flow from purpose 1. To promote the health and mental and physical well-being of people within the North West Region of Northern Ireland who are blind or partially sighted or have hearing or balance loss is reducing social inclusion, health and fitness, encouraging confidence building, self esteem, motivation, capacity

building within the individual, raising aspirations and expanding horizons for our beneficiaries. Access to mainstream leisure facilities can be challenging for people who have sight loss or hearing and balance problems. The North West Tandem Club offers a secure way of accessing a leisure activity and encouraging positive physical well-being. These benefits will be evidenced through regular feedback from cyclists (stokers), participation in public events e.g. Derry/Londonderry Triathlon Event 2015 and the growing number of members to the club. The direct benefits which flow from purpose 2. To advance engagement with the wider community and reduce isolation of people within the North West Region of Northern Ireland who are blind or partially sighted or have hearing or balance loss will be to register sighted pilots as volunteers, offer visual awareness training and promote membership to sighted pilots and stokers who have sight or hearing loss. The charity's beneficiaries are blind and partially sighted people who are unable to cycle independently due to their vision loss. People with other sensory loss, i.e. hearing loss or balance issues are also beneficiaries. Anyone who could be enabled to cycle with a guide are beneficiaries of this club. Sighted guide cyclists (pilots) also benefit from being more involved in their communities, giving back by supporting others, becoming registered volunteers and learning new skills e.g. visual awareness and guiding skills. Our club meets the need for people who have sight loss and any other sensory loss to cycle. This facility does not exist in the area at present. The visually impaired community benefit by having access to tandem cycling and Sighted guides also benefit from engagement with the visually impaired community. The club promotes inclusion and equality for all members. These benefits will be evidenced through recording the number of people who have registered to volunteer, the number of people who have received visual awareness training and the number of club members registered and insured. When cycling on a tandem bicycle there is a small risk of a cycling accident on the pathways or roads, however this risk is reduced by ensuring all pilots are experienced and all members have insurance cover. This harm is outweighed by the benefits of being able to cycle with the support of a trained cyclist/pilot. The charity's beneficiaries are people with sensory loss who live in the North West region i.e. blind and partially sighted people who are unable to cycle independently due to their vision loss, people with hearing loss or balance issues. Anyone who could be enabled to cycle with a guide are beneficiaries of this club. Members of their family also benefit from the charity, whether they decide to be directly involved in the activity or to support them with respite. Sighted guide cyclists (pilots) also benefit from being more involved in their communities, giving back by supporting others, becoming registered volunteers and learning new skills e.g. visual awareness and guiding skills. A private benefit to trustees may arise from attending local training courses on governance, finance etc. Through this training trustees gain skills and experience which are transferable to other settings. These benefits are incidental and necessary to ensure the benefit is provided to our beneficiaries. No private financial benefit.

What your organisation does

Our club offers visually impaired people and people with hearing loss the opportunity to engage in the activity of tandem cycling on a weekly basis. We confirm with pilots their availability and offer people with sensory loss (stokers) an opportunity to get involved in a cycle. We provide and maintain tandem bikes.