“Both our boys have additional needs and we believe there is not enough in Northern Ireland to help families feel supported, especially during school closures.”
A Co Antrim dad is preparing for his toughest challenge yet this weekend after being inspired by his two sons.
Dad-of-two Daz Tweed, 36, from Ballymena is attempting to run 100km on Sunday, March 1 for an organisation close to his heart: a new community-led initiative, WAVES, that puts children with additional needs at the heart of everything they do.
WAVES (Welcome. Accept. Value. Enjoy. Shine.) was set up to help kids with additional needs feel accepted and included while also providing support to their parents.
READ MORE: ‘Our community paediatric care team has been a lifeline for our family’READ MORE: Co Down family rallies around ‘precious’ Paige battling one of the world’s rarest illnesses
Formed by a group of passionate parents and professionals in partnership with Ballykeel 2 & District Community Association, it was born out of a shared concern: children with additional needs were being left behind, especially during school holidays and weekends. With no inclusive local activities or safe spaces, families felt isolated and unsupported.
Determined to change that, the group began small—introducing quiet hours at community events and launching “Lads, Dads and Dames,” a monthly stay-and-play evening designed to support fathers and their children in a relaxed, welcoming environment.
The response was overwhelmingly positive; today, the initiative is much more than just a summer scheme, offering vital respite for families and a chance for children to thrive, connect, and shine.
This isn’t Daz’s first big challenge; on World Down’s Syndrome Day, March 21, last year he started to run 21km for three days in a row to raise funds for the Causeway Down’s Syndrome Support Group.
The 21km distance represented the third copy of Trisomy 21, the genetic condition known as Down’s Syndrome. This cause was also deeply personal to Daz, as his 14-year-old stepson, Jack, has Down’s Syndrome and benefits greatly from the group’s services. Daz and his wife, Amber, also have a six-year-old son, Mikey, and both boys attend Castle Tower School in Ballymena.
Daz told Belfast Live: “Both our boys have additional needs and we believe there is not enough in Northern Ireland to help families feel supported, especially during school closures. WAVES started with a summer scheme last year and it helped us massively as well as other families in Ballymena and surrounding areas. With a little bit of fundraising hopefully they can offer more in 2026 at Easter, Halloween and Christmas etc so I’m trying to raise money for them.
“I started training for this in December with something called the Advent Calendar Challenge where you run a kilometre for every day of the month so December 1st was one kilometre and 2nd was 2 right up to 24 kilometres on Christmas Eve. Then I had a week off over Christmas and in January I started an eight-week block which is finishing this week.
“The plan for Sunday is to start at 6am from the Ecos car park and do a 20 kilometre lap of Ballymena, and then I do 24 kilometre loops of the Ecos. It’s more for convenience for supplies and so that people can join in. I will be hoping to complete the 100km in 12 hours so it’s by far my biggest challenge yet to support an organisation that has helped our family and many others who have kids with additional needs.”
Daz has launched a GoFundMe page as part of his campaign, which has already raised over £500 towards the £2,000 target and you can donate here.
Want to see more of the stories you love from Belfast Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Belfast Live as a preferred source, simply click here.