Teen overcomes disability to help others
A teenager who has overcome his own disability to help others into canoeing and kayaking has been nominated for an award.
Matthew Baines, 17, suffers from cerebral palsy but regularly volunteers at the 4A's centre – Adventure Activities for All Abilities – where he helps young people under 25 who are visually impaired, have physical disabilities or learning difficulties.
Matthew, of Edward Avenue, Newark, also helps raise cash for the club by bag-packing and writing presentations about 4A's work.
He volunteers at Newark Town Football Club and is an ambassador for disability sport within Notts.
The kayak champion has been nominated for a Young People of the Year award for his efforts. The awards recognise how young people go the extra mile to help out in their communities.
Matthew has competed at national and international level in kayaking. He achieved three gold medals and two silver medals at the National Championships at Holme Pierrepont in September, and is the boys champion for his ability.
He represented Great Britain at the European sprint canoeing championships in 2008 and, as a member of the para-canoeing squad, hopes to compete in the World Sprint Championships in Poznan, Poland, this August.
Matthew, who won Canoe England's volunteer award for impact on disability for volunteering to help others with kayaking, was nominated for the Young People of the Year award by Julie Lowe, chair and coach of the 4As.
She said: "He is always willing and al all-round helper.
"He is so enthusiastic. He wants others to get as much out of canoeing as he has done.
"He is a very good communicator who gets on with anybody of any age, regardless of any disability or difficulty they may have.
"He is an excellent ambassador for sport and for people with disabilities, and a great role model for other young people. A lot of the younger members of the club look up to him."
This is the fourth year of the Young People of the Year awards in Notts. Winners can receive £500 for their chosen charity and up to £1,000 for themselves.
For more information, see www.yopey.org
This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:
Young champion for disabled wins Lord Mayor of Leicester's citizen prize
A young champion for disabled people has been named the Lord Mayor of Leicester's Honoured Citizen of the Year.
Paige Murray, 16, who has cerebral palsy, is proud to speak out for the rights of people who use wheelchairs.
She is also an accomplished athlete.
Paige, of Braunstone, was one of 11 people invited to tea with the Lord Mayor Roger Blackmore during his year in office.
She was named the year's top honoured citizen and presented with a rose bowl.She said: "I'm a bit shocked about it really. But I'm very, very proud.
"I just go around making my voice heard and I keep myself busy."
Paige is on the Big Mouth Forum for disabled children, attending conferences and giving presentations on the work being done to address disability access issues.
She has also been involved in other projects, including the Streetvibe Youth Inclusion Project and Braunstone's youth panel.
She plays basketball, table tennis and various other sports and has represented Leicester at both the Stoke Mandeville Youth Disability Games and the Rotary Disabled Games, winning a total of 10 medals.
She said: "In the Big Mouth Forum, I've helped get new minibuses for disabled children and we deal a lot with how people see us.
"I speak out about what I believe in, my mum's taught me to do that.
"I have a lot to do with improving society for young disabled people, it's my goal in life. I want to be heavily involved in making a difference."
Paige's mum, Debra, said: "I'm the proudest parent on the planet.
"She never fails to amaze me and it is great to know that other people are seeing how fantastic she is."
This year's 11 honoured citizens were nominated by councillors and members of the public.
A panel of judges chose the top three.
Coun Blackmore said: "They are all people who have done something very worthy and we've had a very interesting variety of citizens. It's been a pleasure to meet them all. The judging panel had a very difficult job.
"The number of causes Paige champions are phenomenal and it's a particularly impressive achievement for someone her age."
In second place was Audrey Wilford, 74, from North Evington, who runs the Leicester Competitive Festival of Music and Dramatic Art.
She said: "I'm very pleased. This is a complete surprise.
"It was very nice to come and meet the Lord Mayor and I didn't realise this was a competition as well."
In third place was New Parks couple Serina Leeanne and Stuart Phillips, who run New Parks Community Boxing Gym.
Serina, 33, said: "It's a massive achievement. Our gym just engages with the children that hang around on the streets and it's helped bring crime down."
Other honoured citizens throughout the year included Ajmer Singh Basra, who organises fund-raising events at the city's Holy Bones Sikh temple, Diane Cank, of Northfields and Morton Tenants' and Residents' Association, who received £20,000 on Channel 4 TV show Secret Millionaire, and William Swinford, a 77-year-old volunteer from Evington.
Station improvements called for in Broxtowe disability review
A 20-POINT action plan has been drawn up to make Broxtowe more accessible for people with disabilities.
Broxtowe Borough Council has published the findings of a 12-month review which looked at how accessible the borough is.
The report calls for access improvements to platform two at Beeston railway station.
The recommendation follows a review of disability issues by the council's People and Places Examination and Inquiry Group.
Councillor Jacky Williams, who chairs the group, said: "Transport was one of the main issues. Hopefully improvements at Beeston station, certainly for platform two, will happen."
At present, passengers with disabilities have to get to the platform via a road footbridge in Station Road. The platform is the main stopping point for trains heading out of Nottingham to London, Birmingham and Cardiff.
The council's stance has been welcomed by campaigner Dean Thomas, of Beeston.
Mr Thomas, 39, who has cerebral palsy, said: "At worst the situation at Beeston train station is discriminatory and a disgrace, at best it's frustrating and a right pain.
"It's crazy that I have to go to Nottingham or Derby to board a train which often then stops at Beeston. Living in central Beeston this can often add an hour at least on to any journey I make.
"To make the station fully accessible it needs to be staffed at all times by at least two people and it also should have an accessible toilet."
The review was carried out between January and November last year, with the committee holding eight meetings with various groups.
Other topics covered included access to public conveniences, access to housing, community issues, employment, sport and leisure, and access to public buildings.
The report found 12 out of 19 council and civic buildings in the borough met accessibility standards for people with disabilities.
As a result, the committee has drawn up a list of 20 recommendations.
Suggestions include forming a disability access group of disabled residents to allow greater involvement with the council over disability matters; producing a leaflet informing businesses of their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005; and seeking to install an adapted "Changing Places'' disabled toilet as part of the Beeston Square redevelopment.
Mr Thomas last year campaigned for access to be improved in Beeston town centre. He said: "Access to Beeston town centre has been improved recently, mainly as a result of the new paving to the pedestrian areas which has made level access to more shops."
A spokeswoman for Network Rail said there were no plans to carry out work to improve disabled access at Beeston station, but that it would be willing to work with any partner organisations planning to do so.
