Sociable Life - an easier way to find accessible activities

Hi everyone! I’m Tom Harris, a 25-year old social entrepreneur and software consultant living in London, and the creator of Sociable Life – an interactive map of accessible activities. In my spare time I’m the chairman of a charity called Odyssians that runs an annual summer activity camp for young disabled adults at a campsite in Farnham.
When organising our camp, we’re always looking for new, exciting and accessible activities to do, but I struggled to find an easy way to discover them. Sociable Life is my answer to this problem. I’ve created an interactive map so people can find and share accessible activities for any disabled person, anywhere in the UK. So far we have over 140 activities from all over the UK, and that number is growing quickly. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of activities people would submit when I started this project but here are a few that I think are really exciting:
Paradance UK:
Paradance UK organises inclusive dance classes, promoting and developing wheelchair dancing as a sport and leisure activity across the UK. I spoke to their local organiser in Wales and they were very supportive and excited about Sociable Life. They often struggle to spread the word about their organisation, and I think we can do something to help people find them.
Beat It Club Night:
Imagineer CIC organise monthly nightclub events in Halifax and Huddersfield for people with learning and physical impairments and conditions to get together and just have some fun. This is a brilliant organisation that is helping so many people to experience the things in life that so many other young people take for granted.
Workshop CIC:
Workshop CIC is a small organisation in Stratford-Upon-Avon that provides activity sessions and work-based activities for adults with autism or learning difficulties. I really like the work they do as it’s incredibly varied; activities include wiring of electrical units for overhead lighting, and making recycled paper and dried flower petals into eco-friendly confetti.
There are so many other amazing activities being run all over the country and I’ve only just scratched the surface with what’s currently on the Sociable Life map. I hope to empower the community to share their activities and help others to discover what is possible.
While Sociable Life is starting out as a simple map for people to find activities, I hope that it can grow into a resource that will help people organise their own events and meet other like-minded people.
So do you know any activities that aren’t on our map yet? If you do, please visit our website and fill out the activity submission form so that I can add it to the map to share with everyone! If you're interested in knowing more, you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Has it been difficult for you to find accessible groups, or do you attend any great ones? Let us know how you look for activities!
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