MOVE Europe in New York!
15th July 2026
Earlier this summer term Chloe and our Chair of Trustees Louise had an incredible opportunity to fly out to New York to connect with our colleagues at Rifton and MOVE International. The trip which was very kindly sponsored and organized by Rifton began with an 8 hour flight from London to New York which passed quickly with lots of exciting conversations on all things MOVE!
Once Chloe and Louise arrived safely in the beautiful Hudson Valley in New York, the trip began with visits to some of Rifton’s key locations, Woodcrest and Platte Cove which is home to families and individuals from the Bruderhof Community. Hosted by representatives across Rifton, Chloe and Louise learnt more about Rifton’s fascinating history which dates back to 1977 when the Bruderhof Community were approached by Linda Bidabe, founder of the MOVE Programme who was seeking support with the development of specialist equipment to support children with physical disabilities and complex needs. As work between the Bruderhof Community and Linda began on the first custom built specialist chair, further requests quickly started to arrive and it was from here that Rifton Equipment began.
Chloe and Louise with members of the Rifton Team and our colleagues at MOVE International
Supported by Linda’s expertise and legacy which champions the importance of functional movement opportunities for disabled children, Rifton’s design team took time to explain to Chloe and Louise how each of Rifton’s products from the very beginning of their story right up to the present day, truly embody the MOVE ethos and key principles. Designed to encourage maximum independence, Rifton products have MOVE’s prompt adjustment approach at the very heart and provide a shining example of how and why prompts should be adjusted to each child’s needs.
Feeling truly inspired by Rifton’s origins and their ongoing commitment to MOVE, Chloe and Louise then had the opportunity to tour Rifton’s factory at Woodcrest and Platte Cove. It is truly difficult to capture in this short blog how impressive this experience was as Rifton pacers, trikes, standers and activity chairs were seen being assembled with an exceptional level of care, passion and dedication which ensures each product is made to the very highest quality. As Chloe and Louise continued to connect with various members of the Rifton team and wider community, they were extremely open to the many questions asked, whilst their underpinning values of love and care were evident to see.
The wonderful tours of the Rifton facilities and conversations with individuals across varying roles also provided an opportunity to reflect on how Rifton’s values closely align with our own values here at MOVE, particularly our Pursue Excellence value as Rifton strives to provide the very best services and products, informed by those accessing their services. Additionally, our Better Together value was clearly demonstrated as Rifton truly champion the importance of community and working together to ensure the very best outcomes for disabled individuals.
The importance of community at Rifton was demonstrated further when Chloe and Louise were invited to the community lunch at Woodcrest and Platte Cove. The community lunch is an opportunity for everyone to come together and share a home cooked meal which was an honour to attend. There was also the opportunity to share a brief presentation about our work and key achievements at MOVE Europe in recent years, highlighting some of our amazing success stories who have benefitted from Rifton’s equipment which was thoroughly enjoyed by the Rifton team.
Already full of inspiration and ideas to take back to the UK, the next part of the trip took Chloe and Louise to Langan School in Albany, New York, a MOVE Model site (similar to a MOVE Centre of Excellence here at MOVE Europe) to meet with our colleagues at MOVE International. Starting with a tour of the fantastic facilities at Langan School, Chloe and Louise were able to observe MOVE in action with students in kindergarten right the way through to students graduating later this year, reinforcing how truly transformative the MOVE Programme is on individual lives. There were also some great opportunities to share examples of best practice and learning opportunities with each other from our respective countries where these conversations are excitingly continuing following our team’s return to the UK.
Sharing some of our recent highlights and examples of best practice with the MOVE Team at Langan School, Albany, New York
A real highlight from the visit to Langan School was the opportunity to observe students in their specialist provision designed for children with very complex medical needs. Supported by highly trained medical teams, Chloe and Louise met children on their unique MOVE journey’s were staff were able to talk passionately about the wonderful progress they continue to make, truly embodying our ‘Can Do’ approach and Dare to Dream value. This really reinforced our passion that MOVE is for everyone and incredible outcomes can be achieved when expectations are raised and barriers are removed.
The time at Langan School concluded with the chance to observe a MOVE Training session. This also reinforced the inspiring link between the MOVE Programme and Rifton equipment and is a key takeaway from this trip that we can’t wait to celebrate and explore in more depth with our settings here at MOVE Europe.
Before Louise and Chloe knew it, their incredible week in New York was coming to an end but not before a quick trip to some excellent tourist spots in New York city! A walk around Central Park, the 9/11 memorial and the One World Observatory tower which provided some breathtaking views of the New York city skyline, was the perfect end to the trip and a chance to reflect on an incredibly inspiring and transformative week.
Some sightseeing fun to wrap up an incredible week!
Although a few months have now passed, the wealth of ideas Chloe and Louise have returned to the UK with to take our small but mighty charity to the next level, alongside the incredible inspiration and passion for all things MOVE is stronger than ever! We would like to say a very special thank you to our colleagues at Rifton for sponsoring such an inspiring and informative trip and for their incredibly kind hospitality, alongside our colleagues at MOVE International. We are delighted to have strengthened our connections even further and can’t wait to continue to work together into the next academic year and beyond to ensure even more disabled children and young people are able to benefit from everything MOVE has to offer!