What an ‘ice’ day: LiveBetter Accessibility Day a huge hit at Bathurst Winter Festival
Although the weather might be cooling down, the activities our disability customers are taking part in are heating up!
Amateur and budding skaters alike put their skates on and took to the ice on Thursday 7 July as part of LiveBetter Accessibility Day during the Bathurst Winter Festival.
This long-standing partnership between LiveBetter and Bathurst Regional Council aims to empower people of all abilities to be part of the Winter Festival and step outside their daily routine, try a new activity and have fun while doing it!
Between the hours of 10am-2pm, LiveBetter clients and other members of the wider community with disability took to the ice to skate circles around their support worker or simply shred some ice with their friends. Never has one seen such grace on the ice, since Dorothy Hammill in the 1976 Olympics!
Most importantly, skaters had the opportunity to enjoy the winter wonderland in a safe and supported environment with reduced capacity and volunteers on hand to assist.
The only thing more sizzling than the performances on the ice was the LiveBetter barbeque, serving up scrumptious sausages to warm the soul and build up an appetite to get back on the ice or for a spin on the merry-go-round. Our CEO, Natalie Forsyth-Stock, along with members of the Executive, got on the tongs to flip some snags!
But wait, there’s more!
LiveBetter client and Transition to Work participant, Ricki-Lee, gained employment at the Winter Festival, collecting and sanitising helmets as skaters left the ice, all while building her work-ready skills and self-confidence,
“I haven’t done anything like this before and is a new thing to do… I’m really enjoying working at the Winter Festival and working with Evelyn (fellow LiveBetter client, friend and support worker) is awesome!”
And as LiveBetter customer, Sophie, said when she left the ice, “That was so much fun!”
And so, the countdown commences until Winter Festival 2023!