Here is the story that inspired us to establish CWA in Launceston and Tavistock.....
Ole Kassow, of Copenhagen, Denmark, was riding his bike to work one morning in 2012 when he noticed an old, disabled man sitting on a bench outside a local nursing home. The man reminded him of his father, who uses a wheelchair.
Knowing the challenges that come with limited mobility in old age, and thinking about how deeply engrained bicycling is in Copenhagen culture, a thought occurred to him: The man likely hadn’t ridden a bike in a long time and, Kassow thought, he probably missed it.
“I couldn’t get that thought out of my head, that I needed to get this man back on a bike,”
Kassow acted on his idea the very next day by renting a rickshaw and offering rides to seniors at the retirement home. He ended up piloting a woman, who began telling him stories about living in Copenhagen as they rode around. When they returned, the facility’s staff were amazed at the woman’s energizing reaction to the ride.
These volunteer rides grew into what is now the nonprofit CWA.
The results of these rides have proven almost miraculous.
“It really has the potential to change people’s lives dramatically,” Kassow said.
Their evidence of this was anecdotal at first. But after conducting an impact study in their Singapore chapter, they discovered that these rides have the potential to improve participants’ reported mood and outlook on life by up to 80 percent.
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