NABD - SURVIVING THE PANDEMIC
AS FAR BACK AS APRIL 2020, FOLLOWING THE CANCELLATION OF THE SCHEDULED 29TH YOU’VE BEEN NABBED RALLY, AND THE ONSET OF THE VERY FIRST COVID-19 LOCKDOWN, THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BIKERS WITH A DISABILITY (NABD) COULD SEE THAT CORONAVIRUS WAS GOING TO HAVE AN EVERINCREASING NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES AS USUAL, IN ADDITION TO HINDERING OTHER FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES, AND DRASTICALLY REDUCING DONATIONS.
IN June they made the difficult, but necessary, decision to suspend the Adaptation Grants system, and the Learner/ Loaner scheme, and to furlough one of the two paid employees to protect the Association from the foreseeable consequences of the pandemic. However, it was also agreed that, if and when possible, outstanding grant applications’d be processed where this wouldn’t pose an existential risk to the Association. Sadly, when the Government furlough scheme came to a close in the autumn of 2020, we had no choice but to offer redundancy to our furloughed Administrative Assistant and, knowing this decision’d been forced upon us by the existing state of affairs, she accepted the redundancy package in good grace.
As expected, general donations to the NABD took a nose dive, as did regular annual sponsorship, as everincreasing numbers of events were cancelled, and many people’s earnings were drastically reduced. Not being willing to simply accept this situation passively, we organised a number of online virtual events via Facebook, partly in a bid to raise much-needed funds, but also to keep up moral, and reassure members and supporters that the NABD was still actively engaging where it could. The first, the Virtual You’ve Been Nabbed Rally in May, was unsurprisingly chaotic, with a number of technical problems due to our inexperience of online events, but it was a lot of fun, and it raised a respectable £2519.66 over the weekend. Since then, we’ve organised three more (better organised) virtuals, each of which raised a respectable amount in online donations, but the jewel in the crown was undoubtedly the Virtual Nabdonia Rally in July that year, which raised a very gratifying £5604.89.
The proceeds of these virtual events certainly helped the NABD stay afloat over the past two years of pandemic pandemonium! Though general donations were massively reduced, they didn’t dry up completely, and it is with great pride that I can announce that we found ourselves able, on three or four occasions, to process the backlog of Adaptation Grant applications and, on each occasion, able to clear it! In total, since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the NABD’s managed to help a further 47 disabled people to have their bikes, trikes, sidecar outfits, or quadricycles adapted to suit their needs, with grants totalling £33,049.49. Personally, I call that a hell of an achievement, considering the prevailing circumstances!
More recently we’ve been able to reopen the Learner/Loaner Scheme, and Gordon Hooper (Learner/Loaner Coordinator) has been feverishly getting the bikes serviced and delivered to applicants, so that this other very important service can, once again, start showing positive results!
A lot of difficult, and sometimes painful, decisions’ve had to be made over the past two years, but the proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and those decisions’ve enabled the NABD to survive the pandemic where many other organisations haven’t. Now, as we look towards 2022 with a greater degree of optimism than we’ve felt since 2020, I’m pleased to say that the NABD is revved up, ready, and raring to go! Tickets for the long-awaited 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally’ve been on sale since December last year, and I’m pleased to say sales are going well.
On occasion we’ve been asked what the NABD’s policy is regarding coronavirus restrictions at the event and, though the answer may seem obvious to some, I thought it worth including here so that everybody understands the position. ‘The National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD), like any other event organisers, are legally obliged to follow the prevailing Covid-19 restrictions when organising and running events. Therefore, any and all events organised by the NABD will operate within the prevailing government regulations and/or legislation with regard to Covid-19 restrictions. Currently it’s impossible to make any realistic supposition on what, if any, restrictions may be mandatory for outdoor events at the time of the long-awaited 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally (6th-8th May) but, if any restrictions are imposed by the Government at that time, we will have no option but to abide by them.’ Obviously, it’s our fervent hope there’ll be no need for any restrictions to be in force, though we will, of course, be doing whatever we can to ensure the safety and comfort of all who attend.
Further details about the YBN29 rally are published in a full-page advert elsewhere in this issue of Back Street Heroes and, of course, on the NABD website at www.nabd.org.uk
Tickets are also available online via nabd.co.uk/shop3/6-rally-tickets or by telephone via 0161 749 7050, and the first 500 sold’ll be entered into a free prize draw to win a £100 cash prize, so get your tickets booked now! In addition, we’ll be featuring some of the finest live music and comedy you’re ever likely to see anywhere, and a Real Ale Festival, and you could also be in with a chance of winning a rather lovely Can-Am Spyder, too. Don’t delay, book your tickets today!
We could all do with a boost of joy this year, so You’ve Been Nabbed 29 would seem the ideal place to get your joy booster while partying with a most excellent of purposes!