The AGS foundation
The AGS Foundation is a grant making charitable foundation (Registered charity number 1173076). The foundation aims to provide relief to those in need due to a combination of mental or physical disability, or long-term injury as trustees to the charity. The foundation also seeks to promote equal rights for disabled people, and to advance charitable purposes in pursuit of this goal.
We primarily (but not exclusively) achieve this by:
1. Funding physical challenges and expeditionary adventures undertaken by members of the disabled community to provide focus, mentoring, and positive messaging both within and outside of the disabled community.
2. Providing financial support to members of the disabled community, on successful completion of a grant application process, in order to support the applicant to participate in extreme sporting or expeditionary challenges, gain qualifications towards a meaningful occupation, to live independently, and to participate in sporting and outdoor activities.
In 2024 the foundation will support:
5 AGS Beneficiaries on a Mt Denali expedition
7 Beneficiaries attempting the Grand Divide bike route
1 Beneficiary attempting the Tour Divide bike race
20 Beneficiaries on Glacial mountaineering training
40 Beneficiaries on our Cumbria challenge events
10 Beneficiaries on our IMS E-foil riding training
20 Beneficiaries on our New Forrest cycling event
10 Beneficiaries on our Artu Gravel biking event in Spain.
Multiple grant applications to beneficiaries and other disability organizations in line with our charitable objects
Beneficiary spotlight
Steph Quintrell’s Story
In July 2019, Steph’s life changed.
She suddenly became very unwell, and within 48 hours she completely lost the ability to mobilise, and became a full-time wheelchair user. Steph was diagnosed with neurological condition, and she has now lost all function in her fingers on one hand, and now has to live with regular seizures, chronic and acute pain, and cognitive issues.
As a devoted wife to a British soldier, a loving mother of a young boy with challenging additional needs, and a passionate horse rider, Steph felt like she’d suddenly lost all independence and that her life lay in ruins before her.
Always a beacon of strength and determination, Steph sought to return to her passion and conquer the considerable obstacles thrown in her path by random chance. Steph decided that she would not only ride again, but she would push herself even further.
Steph would take part in the Ride to Freedom expedition with Forces Wives Challenge, tackling the World War II escape route, following the Pyrenees trail from France to Spain on horseback.
Due to her unique needs, Steph’s normal wheelchair is bulky and heavy, and so would be an obstacle in itself despite the support it provides. Some research later, Steph discovered that she needed to upgrade her wheelchair to a QUICKIE Xenon 2, which could have each part adapted to her needs, and be folded for transit effortlessly.
Such a specialised and custom piece of equipment would normally carry an enormous price tag, but after meeting with Steph, Adaptive Grandslam decided to provide her with her new chair as she is the epitome of the AGS spirit: resilient, determined, and adventurous. With this upgrade, Steph was able to complete her Ride to Freedom, and has shared the story of her adventure with others.
It is a privilege for Adaptive Grandslam to help someone as extraordinary as Steph to complete her Ride to Freedom challenge in itself, and the fact that the new chair has allowed Steph to regain some independence and improve her home and social life.
Steph really is a shining example of everything AGS is about. After her world was rocked by a sudden disability, she decided to challenge herself, push herself, and complete something extraordinary. Along the journey, she remembered who she always has been and what she can do, despite what happened to her.
