THE world is a much bigger place for a young disabled Warrington girl thanks to the generosity of local people and charities.
Four-year-old Kate Banks from Great Sankey has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, is visually impaired and has significant learning difficulties. She attends Foxwood Special School, is in a wheelchair and requires the help of others for all her personal care and feeding needs. 
With her two able bodied siblings, Gregory who is six years old and her twin, Jess, all the children love to get out and about to beaches, cycling, on walks in the forest and in the hills. Access to such locations was becoming increasingly difficult as the wheelchair Kate has from the NHS was not suitable for such challenging terrain.
Kate’s family therefore decided to raise funds for an All Terrain Buggy, so that she could continue to enjoy the outdoor life with them.
Her dad Simon said: “We try our best to include Kate in all family activities, but we found it increasingly difficult to access many places we wanted to go. Getting on a beach, going on country walks or just getting around areas that are not flat and paved is a challenge. So, we decided to do something about it and looked at All Terrain Buggies. As you can imagine, due to the specialist supportive seating Kate needs, these are not cheap.”
Kate’s family contacted a number of local charities for assistance including The Butterfly Project, Rainy City Motorcycle Club, Round Table 74 and Warrington Lions. All of these organisations made a contribution to the funds for the buggy. Family, friends and work colleagues also gave their time and money to support the fundraising effort.
Kate’s Mum, Vicki, added: “We were overwhelmed by the contribution from local charities and all the people who know and love Kate. A number of us were sponsored to take part in the Liverpool 5k Santa Dash in December, which was the first race many of us had run for some years. We were shattered at the end, but it was absolutely worth it. We cannot thank people enough for their kindness and support.”
Kate plans to get out in her buggy as soon as possible around Delamere Forest and on Formby Beach.
Picture shows Kate with her twin sister Jess with parents Vicki and Simon and Ian Robinson from Warrington Roundtable taking the new chair out for its first spin.
