The Back-Up Trust Scottish Dinner 2011
Friday 11th March, 2011
The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh
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The Scottish Dinner returns to the luxury and elegance of The Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh. The Dinner promises to be an evening of glamour, fine dining and entertainment, while also showcasing the work of The Back-Up Trust.
If you’re interested in taking a table or donating a lot for auction, please email Helen or call 020 8875 1805.
Thank you to all who attended our 2010 Scottish Dinner which raised an incredible £56,000.
Back-Up's services in Scotland
Every year around 100 people sustain a spinal cord injury in Scotland alone. The Back-Up Trust runs a range of services to help rebuild confidence and independence. We believe it is still possible to realise your full potential after a spinal cord injury.
At Glasgow spinal centre we run several wheelchair skill sessions throughout the year to approximately 50 in-patients. These sessions are peer to peer and delivered by trained volunteers who have first hand experience of life with a spinal cord injury.
We also run our City Challenge course in Edinburgh. This course is designed to give people with a spinal cord injury the chance to improve their skills, confidence and motivation in one of the most beautiful, yet inaccessible cities in the UK.
How our services change lives - Yasmin
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Yasmin was a participant on our 2009 City Challenge course. Two years ago her life changed forever overnight when a virus damaged her spinal cord, causing paralysis from the chest down. For a person who had always been the life and soul of the party and who was active, her injury completely took away her self-confidence. She said:
“When I was discharged from the spinal centre it was scary. I was left to my own devices and was finding even the simplest things difficult to do on my own.
"This is when I realised I should try a Back-Up course to build my confidence and independence. The City challenge course took place in Edinburgh, which was perfect for me as I did not yet have the confidence to travel far or abroad.”
Over the next five days Yasmin embraced the challenges of Edinburgh, particularly the steep cobbled hills and public transport system - things she previously thought were not possible in her wheelchair. She added:
"I began to realise that I could still enjoy life and have fun even if I was in a wheelchair. On the course your age, gender, injury level or even whether you were injured or not didn't matter. Everyone learned new things about themselves.”
After watching one of the more experienced spinal cord injured individuals take to the dance floor on a night out, Yasmin felt a pang for the life that she had previously had. She said:
“I used to love to dance, it was a huge part of my personality and seeing everyone dance made me sad. I thought that the other wheelchair users who went to dance were so brave.”
But within half an hour Yasmin found herself on the stage of the club, full of happiness and dancing away to the music.
At the end of the course, Yasmin came away feeling inspired by what she had seen and who she had met and had found a new sense of independence. Tthrough her experiences with Back-Up, she feels she now has the confidence to make a party come alive, just like she used to.
Events:
The Back-Up Ball
The City Dinner
14:15 23/02/2010