Now the long summer holidays are over and children everywhere are back at school, the school run being undertaken on scooters is, once again, a familiar sight. With nearly 1 million Micro Scooters having been sold in the UK in the last five years, the little three-wheelers have become an icon of modern childhood. But what happens to a scooter once a child has outgrown it?
Not a lot – until now, that is. Micro Scooters UK is launching Scooter Aid.
The company is encouraging people to send any Micro Scooters no longer in use back to their UK HQ. Each scooter will then be safety checked and refurbished before being sent to the Tumaini Children’s Home in Kenya.
Tumaini is an orphanage for children whose parents have died of aids. Many of the youngsters also suffer from the disease themselves. The children have few, if any, toys and spend 365 days a year in the same location following the same routine.
Micro Scooters took a scooter to the orphanage earlier this year. Not only did the children love the Mini Micro, they even fought over the packaging because they are so deprived of playthings. Their plight touched everyone at Micro Scooters UK.
The company is planning to ship 60 scooters at the end of the year ensuring each child at the orphanage has their very own to play with. Micro Scooters UK will also host Tumaini’s first-ever Christmas Party at which the scooters will be handed over by Santa himself.
Micro Scooters UK is encouraging each family that sends a scooter to include a letter to the children at the orphanage adding a personal touch to their donation. If the scheme proves a success, Micro Scooters UK will roll it out to children’s homes in other third world countries.
Commenting on the scheme, founders of Micro Scooters UK, Anna Gibson and Philippa Gogarty, said:
“As mums ourselves, we know how invaluable scooters have been for our children. We hope that Scooter Aid can help less fortunate children rediscover their childhood through play – a gift no child should be without”.
Anyone who has a Micro Scooter they wish to donate to the scheme can visit www.micro-scooters.co.uk/community to download a postal return slip to send their scooter completely free of charge.
