00:00Emma Ramos, a Gosses-based Pilates coach, has drawn on her experience as a parent of a child with complex
00:05additional needs to create Send Club,
00:08developing sessions designed to make physical activity more accessible to people who can be overlooked by mainstream fitness programmes.
00:15I'm at the Newcastle United Foundation to speak to her about their event, Send United.
00:20So Send United is going to be a huge event on the 7th of November here at the Newcastle United
00:25Foundation,
00:25and it's a huge supportive networking event for families, parents, carers, children, adults, young people, grannies,
00:34everybody you can imagine who has someone in their family with an additional need or a disability.
00:40So basically, the Send Club was developed from a kind of an idea that myself and my business partner had
00:46in our heads for a very long time.
00:48So myself and Leah, who is co-founder of Send Club, like me, we both have children with additional needs
00:54and we just felt that we kind of weren't really fully supported in a community.
00:59So we decided to create that community, hence why we've brought together the Send Club and Newcastle United Foundation
01:05to create a community where everybody can go and find their village, basically.
01:11Emma uses her experience as a Pilates instructor as well as her experience of having family with special educational needs
01:17to create inclusive sessions for people with additional needs and disabilities.
01:21That commitment also connects with Send United, a collaboration between the Send Club and Newcastle United Foundation.
01:28The event on the 7th of November brings children, young people and adults with special educational needs and disabilities
01:34together with their families, siblings and carers for an afternoon of shared activities and connection.
01:41So what we why we chose this venue was specifically because it has so many layers to the building.
01:47We've got sensory spaces, we've got breakout spaces, we've got something for siblings, we've got guest speakers, but it's all
01:53in different areas.
01:54So if one child wants to go one place and then a sibling wants to go somewhere else, they absolutely
01:59can.
01:59Or if someone needs a bit of time out, they absolutely can do that as well.
02:03But what we want to create, like I said before, is that village for every single Send family.
02:07And I just think that if you could speak to one person at this event, whether there was another family
02:12or one of our kind of expo spaces
02:15and something that's available for someone or do a little multi-sport, that's huge.
02:19You've gained something. You could potentially learn something that could be life changing for your family.
02:23I think if you can meet someone who's had a similar story to you, it might break down that barrier
02:28of things you can't access.
02:29We've all got those professional clinical spaces when we get a diagnosis where we need to go to appointments.
02:34But actually, we want to support you guys in a community feel and I appreciate that not everyone wants new
02:39friends.
02:40And it's not about that. But if there can be a signpost to a new space that that person can
02:44use, it could be life changing.
02:46For Emma, the aim is to make movement and well-being more accessible to families who may struggle to find
02:52activities suited to their needs.
02:54Send United offers another opportunity to bring those families together.
