News
8-year-old Zinnia wins competition to design the fastest wheelchair in the world!
We’re delighted to announce that Zinnia Amaefule from Edlington Victoria Academy, Doncaster has won a competition to design a poster featuring the fastest wheelchair in the world!
I wanted to put rocket boosters on to make Grandad Wheels chair go at least 100 miles an hour!
The competition which is part of our 50th year celebrations saw children let their imagination run wild and put their design and colouring skills to the test. Now winner Zinnia and her family will visit a theme park to experience the thrill of going at high speed themselves.
The competition was the brainchild of Brian Abram from Halifax who is spinal cord injured and a full-time wheelchair user following a terrifying cycling accident which saw him nearly lose his life. As ‘Grandad Wheels’ Brian now travels around schools in the north reading to children from his books ‘The Adventures of Grandad Wheels’ whilst at the same time educating them about disability. So far, he has visited 171 schools and seen over 30,000 children.
Principal of the academy Emily Clark said:
“Many of our children don’t often get to meet a wheelchair user and when they met Brian they were absolutely overwhelmed by his attitude to life and his enthusiasm. It has made them more aware and have a deeper understanding of those with disabilities.”
The competition had lots of interest from the students and judging took place at the school on Monday 17 June. The judges who included representatives from SIA and legal firm Irwin Mitchell who help sponsor Grandad Wheels books were really impressed with the creativity and imagination of all the entries but in the end Zinnia’s design won them over.
Brian said:
“Zinnia’s design was just superb as soon as you saw it you knew this was the fastest wheelchair in the world with those incredible boosters on the back. Everyone that took part did a brilliant job, there were so many diverse designs from wheelchairs flying or hovering to onboard navigation systems, the creativity of the children was incredible.”
On winning Zinnia said:
“I wanted to put rocket boosters on to make Grandad Wheels chair go at least 100 miles an hour!”
About Grandad Wheels
The series of books entitled ‘The Adventures of Grandad Wheels’ by Brian Abram recounts the amazing adventures of a wheelchair user Grandad and his Grandson Charlie. These books show that anyone who uses a wheelchair, whatever their age, can still have fun and be fun to be with. Brian has generously donated all proceeds from sales of ‘The Adventures of Grandad Wheels!’ to Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) and Back Up.
Find out more about Grandad Wheels by clicking on the logo below:
