Two important community focused organisations came together at Swindon’s Link Centre on Saturday.
Swindon Wildcats Ice Hockey team has been an important part of the town’s sporting success for many years and continues to provide exciting and safe entertainment for many local people on Saturday – and occasional other – evenings.
Also putting their best foot forward at the ice hockey match against The Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday were local learning disability and mental health charity Phoenix Enterprises.
Phoenix are a crucial safety net in Swindon – providing support, friendship and work experience for hundreds of local people who just need a little touch of kindness to help make their way in the world.
Tom has attended Phoenix for several years and has been looking forward to watching the Wildcats for weeks. He said, “I’ve been so excited all week – meeting with my Phoenix friends on a Saturday evening and watching the Wildcats play The Phantoms. I love Phoenix and I wanted to help tell other local people who might need a bit of help like me all about Phoenix. I’ve had a brilliant evening!”
Phoenix Chief Executive said, “I’d like to say a huge thank you to The Wildcats – and to Commercial Manager and Mrs Ice Hockey Sally Fox- Price for allowing us to have a charity day on Saturday and donating a signed team shirt for us to auction. Looking at the faces of the hundreds of fans and trying to contain the excitement of Phoenix colleagues all week has emphasised the importance of professional hockey to the town. Equally important to the town is our wonderful charity – every weekday for nearly 20 years we’ve provided a stepping stone towards paid employment for adults with learning disabilities or mental health challenges. If paid work is unrealistic, we offer an alternative to getting up to no good in the town centre or the depressing prospect of watching daytime television. Take Viv, he’s attended Phoenix for five days every week for nearly 20 years. In the early days we were told Viv was unable to speak and showed little or no emotion. We are so proud to say Viv is now a Karaoke star and laughs and smiles his way through his time with us. That is what Phoenix is all about!”
Sally Fox-Price added, “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Phoenix Enterprises to the game this evening, we can’t wait to see how much money they raised for this fantastic cause and really look forward to welcoming them to another game very soon.”
To find out more about Phoenix Enterprises you can go to www.phoenixenterprises.co.uk – they would love to hear from anyone willing to volunteer, fundraise or donate.
