Celebrating Tom’s ingenious invention on International Volunteer Day
To celebrate #InternationalVolunteerDay today (5th December) and Brendoncare’s #BigGive, we would like to introduce you to our wonderful volunteer, Tom Tottle. Tom has played a big part in helping to get our members active through his special invention now being used in the Dorset clubs.
Tom put his engineering skills to good use, inventing an ingenious device to help the charity’s club members play a popular game. He has used a piece of drainpipe to make a skittles tube. Its main advantage is that it makes playing skittles accessible to all club members.
They simply line up the pipe, drop the balls into the tube so that they roll out and hopefully knock down the skittles.
It is an idea on which Tom, a Brendoncare volunteer for 12 years, has been working on for some time. Only now has he perfected it after years of trial and error.
“I started out making it like a ramp which did not seem to work. Then I found an old piece of drainpipe, which I cut and put some tape down on side of it to act as a guideline for players. The stabiliser at the end enables them to stand it up on the floor,” Tom explains.
“It is proving really popular. I hope even more club members will have a chance to use it.”
The skittles pipe is already being put through its paces at the Moordown Friendship Club which meets on Thursday afternoons at Moordown Community Centre.
Tom worked as an engineer and developed some of his skills from his father, a blacksmith. He worked on the portable, prefabricated Bailey bridges that were used successfully during the World War 2.
Supporter
He is now a regular supporter at the Moordown club where he supervises the skittles games. He started as a volunteer with Brendoncare’s former Juniper Jumpers Club in Christchurch then supported its Southbourne clubs.
Martine Martin, Brendoncare’s Head of Membership, said of his invention: “We are always amazed at the creativity of our volunteers and Tom’s skittles tube has been a big hit in our Dorset clubs.
“It enables even more of our members to participate in the wonderful activities that we offer in our clubs in and around Bournemouth.”
Brendoncare runs a network of 15 community clubs in the Bournemouth area. We would love to hear from anyone who would like to become a member.
Our Big Give campaign is running now until Tuesday 10th December.
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