British Cycling visit Manchester services

We were delighted to welcome senior officials from British Cycling to two of our charity’s services across Greater Manchester on Tuesday 1st July, as part of British Cycling’s mass day of social impact activity. 

During the visits to our Somerset House and Griffin Lodge services, our special guests met with people we support, colleagues and our charity’s Chief Corporate Services & People Officer, Teresa Exelby.

They gained insights into the lives and aspirations of the people we support, learnt more about the social care sector and our incredible teams, and saw first-hand the impact that inclusive opportunities in sports and the arts can have on people’s lives.

James, a person we support, said, “It was so exciting to welcome British Cycling to our home. I loved showing everyone around and telling them all about my life, the things I enjoy, and the people I live with. I even got to share some of my ideas on how we could work together and provide more accessible opportunities.”

Teresa Exelby said, “It was a real pleasure to welcome the team from British Cycling and to share the incredible stories and talents of our colleagues and the people we support. The visits provided a brilliant opportunity to showcase the power of inclusive sport and creativity in empowering people to find independence, discover new passions, and make connections in their communities.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to British Cycling for taking the time to visit us and learn more about our charity and our brilliant social care sector. We’re excited to explore how we can work together to break down barriers and create truly life-changing opportunities in social care.”

Chris Brown, Partnership Development Manager, at British Cycling also was in attendance. He said, “Today was absolutely great. One of the biggest things I learnt was that the people who work in social care are so passionate and skilled about the people they work with and really getting to know them. In terms of British Cycling and Community Integrated Care working together, it’s really exciting to think about the world of possibilities – it will be brilliant to see how different opportunities come to life.”

Dr Nigel Jones, Head of Medical Services at British Cycling was amongst the visitors. Sharing his reflections on the day, he said, “[Social care] is a very underappreciated aspect of our society; we need to do more to ensure that [charities] like Community Integrated Care get supported by bigger organisations and that the work they do is really appreciated.”

Alongside the service visits, we also partnered with British Cycling to deliver a powerful day of creativity at Manchester’s National Cycling Centre. The event saw British Cycling officials and athletes come together with people we support and our colleagues to co-create artwork.