Teacher uses pedal power to support Derwen Charity

Jo Lawson, a teacher in Hospitality and Food, at Derwen College, near Oswestry, is joining students who are taking part in a Derwen Charity sponsored walk and run on Saturday 27 May. Jo is a T10 paraplegic which means she has no movement in her legs, and uses a wheelchair to get about.

After tackling the bike challenge, she’ll be serving tea and scones in the College’s Orangery Restaurant for Derwen Fete!

This year, the annual sponsored walk, is being made more accessible than ever before, allowing participants to take the challenge in their own way. Walkers, runners and wheelchair users have been invited to complete either a 1k,5k, or 10k challenge and can finish the event in one go, or in manageable daily chunks.

Jo, who was left paralysed after a climbing accident in 2004, wants to support students and supporters by challenging herself. She has not used a handbike before, and says it is going to be an arduous task. She is aiming to travel 5km over the week and hopes to raise more than £500.

Jo trained as a teacher after a life-changing accident left her with a shattered spine. She spent many years recovering and going through countless operations.

Jo gained her teaching qualifications, and worked at Walford College, near Shrewsbury. She has worked as a Hospitality and Food teacher at Derwen College for five months, supporting students in their work placements in the College’s Garden Centre Café and Hotel 751.

She will start the challenge at Derwen Fete and Sponsored Walk day on Saturday, 27 May.

Jo says: “I love my job working with students in Hospitality and want to play my part to support them and Derwen Charity. People who know me will know how hard this challenge will be for me, but if it helps raise money to support students with learning difficulties and disabilities, then it’ll be worth it.”

You can sponsor Jo at https://derwen.enthuse.com/pf/jo-lawson.