Readymix helps make life a TAD easier for kids with disabilities
Seeing the smile on a child’s face when they ride their bike for the first time is a precious moment for any parent; if the child happens to be disabled, the joy is extra special.
Readymix is sponsoring the unique bike clinics run by Technical Aid to the Disabled (TAD) to help put more smiles on the faces of young disabled children like five-year-old Alexander Graham [pictured].
This sponsorship enables TAD to conduct 12 clinics during the year, held in various locations around New South Wales, Australia, and helps build tailor-made bikes for young children like Alexander to enjoy.
The Custom Designed Aids Service at TAD has developed a strong and possibly unrivalled expertise in modifying bikes so that children with even quite severe disabilities, who may not be able to walk, can still have the pleasure of riding a bicycle. “A huge thank you for putting a smile of joy on Alexander’s face at the recent launching of his first bike. Not to mention the smile on his mum’s and grandmother’s faces,” writes Alexander’s mum Penny.
TAD is a unique charity where volunteers draw on technology and creativity to help people with disabilities. These volunteers, who are either retired engineers or similarly skilled and experienced people, give their time, skills, knowledge, tools and workshops. They design and construct devices for people with disabilities when there is no commercial product available, with many one-off products designed to meet peoples’ specific needs. Many former Readymix people are among the volunteers.
Rinker Materials gives to victims of Hurricane Katrina
Americans will never forget the spate of hurricanes that swept their nation in 2005. The devastation left behind was the worst seen in a century and the cost in damaged lives and infrastructure is still mounting. Of all the hurricanes that passed through, none was as lethal as Katrina.
Tearing across the gulf and smashing into the state of Louisiana, the city of New Orleans felt the full force of Katrina. Breaking several Lake Pontchartrain levees and flooding the city, the official death toll is over 1,000. With the damage reaching US$130 billion, Katrina is the most expensive natural disaster in US history. On top of this, over a million people were displaced - a humanitarian crisis not seen since the Great Depression.
Our people at Rinker Materials not only helped by organising clothing and food collections at many of their locations, they also gave much needed money to victims of Katrina - some who had lost everything. Employees donated US$107,000 and the company matched the first $100,000, for a total of US$207,000. All proceeds went to the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
