Skanska Facilities Services, the company lending a hand to Alva’s Forth Valley Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), continue to carry out vital work for the charity.
As the Advertiser reported last week, RDA, which operate at the village’s Greenhead Farm, provide a vital service for disabled children, who benefit from therapeutic treatment when they ride on horses. The charity is in desperate need of funding, volunteers and support, which Skanska wanted to highlight through their Lend a Hand charity programme.
The helpdesk supervisor at the company, Susan Weir, gave an update on their progress. “We’ve put the lights up right along and inside the stables, so now they can see what they are doing,” she said.
“Alastair Henderson, who works for Active Mechanical, has been absolutely brilliant. He has been putting lights up and he has put the office desk in along with a filing cabinet [into the portable cabin].
“Hopefully we are also going to make an outdoor seating area for kids and parents as well.
“We are also going to put tiles down. When the cars come in it can get really muddy, so they don’t have any grip.
“We just want to raise their profile, hopefully we can get more people in and more people and local companies helping.” Susan added: “RDA is a fantastic charity and they don’t get much help at all.” By the end of this week, the helpers hope to finish all ground works and clear away the rubble. They also pulled down a damaged and unsafe shed where the kids used to wait for their turn during sessions.
Skanska is also appealing for any local company who would be happy to donate a ‘Forth Valley Riding for the Disabled’ sign, which could go outside the farm to make finding the service easier.
The charity operates with a waiting list, as they do not have enough volunteers to conduct more sessions. The children are expected to start this season’s sessions at the end of the month after Skanska finishes their work.
The company hopes to support the charity throughout the year through various fund-raisers.
Find RDA on Facebook and donate through JustGiving at justgiving.com/ForthValleyRDA. Email fionapatton@rocketmail.com.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here