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Community comes together to celebrate Active Burngreave

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Posted 24th July 2018

More than 200 people came together recently to celebrate the success of a pilot project aimed at getting more people in Burngreave physically active.

Active Burngreave, a Comic Relief and Sport England funded initiative delivered by Yorkshire Sport Foundation, aims to use sport and physical activity to empower a community to create social change and have a positive impact on social issues.

The Concord Centre played host to a showcase of the activities that have resulted from the project, including archery, table tennis, football and dance.

Over 1,000 people have been involved across the two years, either taking part in organised events or volunteering to run the events themselves.  The number of people getting their recommended 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week has risen by 16%.

An evaluation report by Sheffield-based consultancy, Shephard and Moyes Ltd, has stated that there is evidence the project is helping people lead a healthy lifestyle; peoples personal wellbeing has improved; and it is also supporting people to make new connections and to decrease loneliness.

Many of the activities will continue to run after the initial pilot phase while further funding is sought.

Almost 40 separate activity sessions have been created, including:

Reach Up
Female-only activities with teenage girls and adults. A mixture of Rounders, walking, fitness and basketball (as a result of consultation) activities are combined with education about diet, self-image, self-belief and will provide leadership and training.

Aspiring Communities Together
Active opportunities for BME elders over 50, including fitness classes, walking and running groups. The group also provide a -bi-weekly food cycle celebrating the cultural food and heritage of the area, and making and distributing food to individuals that are struggling financially.

Saalik/ Ellesmere Youth Project
Provide healthy provision for young people as well as workshops for young people and parents to promote education around social media, gangs, knife crime and sexual health.

Green City Action
Project is to support women from diverse communities who are experiencing food poverty, health issues, social isolation, language barriers and lacking pre-employability skills such as confidence.  The project will provide one drop-in yoga session per week at Abbeyfield Park House.

Safiya Saeed, Project Officer for Active Burngreave, has been at the heart of the pilots success. “It took a long time for the community to be heard and in control,” said Safiya.

“Active Burngreave is really empowering individuals, groups and organisations within the community.

“Each person involved added a great value to Active Burngreave. The future looks bright.”

Kathryn Mudge, Yorkshire Sport Foundation Development Manager, added: “It was fantastic to see so many people celebrating the success of Active Burngreave.

“It’s a truly community led project, which has been able to build on the existing strengths in the community and help more people get active. Local people have developed their skills and confidence to deliver activities in the way in which their community wants to access them.”

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