Licensed to help fund playground
Maidenhead: Altruistic driving instructors form charity
Driving instructors for a Maidenhead business have formed a registered charity to help the homeless and Thames Valley Adventure Playground (TVAP).
Ken Kang, the proprietor of Ace Drivewise, along with his team of employees and friends, have been supporting the homeless with food runs once every few months over the past two years.
“It’s been in the back of my head for some time, coming from a very poverty stricken background,” said Ken.
Once the Kang Charity got set up during the first lockdown, the volunteers moved into supporting the homeless every Tuesday in Slough, with the help of Slough Outreach and the West London Masonic Centre.
Now in the second lockdown, the team has moved
on to supporting TVAP, which provides outdoor activities for young people with learning difficulties.
Ken was motivated to help TVAP as his daughter has mild learning difficulties and works at Manor Green School, which has not been able to visit the playground since lockdown.
TVAP used to be open six days a week and at the moment can only offer weekend openings, Friday to Sunday.
“These guys have been overlooked by almost everybody. Because companies are suffering, no one is giving them the funds they need to keep going,” said Ken.
The initial donation to TVAP will come from money raised by the daughter of
Ace Drivewise instructor Khush Dhaliwal, Gurneet. She ran a virtual marathon, raising £500.
“As driving instructors we found ourselves unable to go to work and we wanted to help those that needed help,” added Khush.
“We have all had personal struggles but overcome them. Now all being happy and successful we wanted to put something back into the community.
“Guru Nanak (founder of Sikhism) teaches us to share and share alike,” added Ken. “With places of worship shut anyway, there’s no better time to remember him. We feel there’s not many causes more worth of our help than this.”
Donations can be made at: kang-charity.org/