The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth. The legacy of the games dates back to the 1930s and we are excited to be able to take part in this incredible celebration of human talent and diversity.
The Commonwealth Games 2022 are to be taking place between Thursday 28th July and 8th August.
Steps To Work is to be represented by Tara Ryan, who is going to be our Baton bearer during the Queen’s Relay.
The Queen’s Baton relay has started back in 2021, with Cyprus as a starting destination, and its mission is to symbolize unity and be an exemplar of diversity across different nations within the Commonwealth.
Tara Ryan is a visually impaired young lady who does not let her disability define her. She has over 10 years of experience volunteering for local charities, more recently over 2 years volunteering with The Samaritans offering emotional support to service users and as a leader on Call and a member of the Care Team supporting other listening volunteers. She has also volunteered for over 2 years with supporting ex-offenders back into employment. Tara has recently joined our BBO Evolve team as one of our Community Mentors. With a vibrant personality and we often encounter her with her guide dog, Swanny, in the office too!
She is driven by supporting others and loves to hear the change in their voices when she has assisted them to make the changes to improve their lives.
Tara is very positive and cheerful, she is also quite open to talking about her impairment and sharing her personal experience. She made a comment that “ Not all visually impaired people have the same experience. It’s quite a wide spectrum of what visual impairment is. In some cases, you couldn’t tell if someone’s visually impaired or not.”.
Tara commented on her nomination:
I feel very privileged to be a part of this massive event. I was very flattered when I was told that I had been nominated for a position as a Baton bearer, but really didn’t expect anything to come from it. I was shocked and in disbelief when I found out that it was successful. For me, living with my visual impairment is just normal, not exceptional, and even though I have always taken pride in the voluntary work I do, I have always felt that I could and should be doing more.
I am coming to understand just how much awareness needs to be raised for people who have been or are in my position. With this opportunity, I want to send a message out to people like me that they can reach their goals, even if they have to take a different path from most others to get there, and for people less familiar to not make hasty judgements about what we can and can not do.
Tickets for the games are still available here, and if you wish to volunteer, you can click for more information here.
