Our member orgs help to Tackle more Inequalities

In 2020 EMD UK was awarded funding from Sport England’s  £20m Tackling Inequalities Fund (now known as the Together Fund) which was made possible by National Lottery funding.

The funding enabled us to work with some of our partner organisations –

to support their projects linked to the Fund’s objectives – to help to reduce the negative impact of coronavirus and the widening of inequalities in sport and physical activity.

Following on from this, Sport England  worked with national partners, to support additional  projects and initiatives in 2021/22.  We are excited to be working with our member organisations again and here are a few of the projects currently underway –

Creative Fields’ Gwendolene Project (TGP)

This free exercise programme is aimed at helping older adults increase their activity levels.  The programme is aimed at over 50’s from diverse ethnic communities in London, but with particular focus on Haringey, Hackney, Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham boroughs.

The project provides accessible exercise classes that have been designed specifically for these groups and aims to work with this demographic within different settings – care homes, day care centres and community groups. The delivery methods will be tailored to each community to break down access barriers, including an Online Hub, DVD and in person classes when regulations permitted.  You can find out more about the project here.

BeLifted

BeLifted are a grass roots community-led organisation with a vision to uplift women and young girls  through the power of positive music, fitness and community-led interaction projects.  The project is aimed at from black or diverse ethnic communities as well as those from a lower socio-economic group.  The women may be survivors of domestic violence, single mothers, living in poverty, ex-offenders or generally at risk.  The aim is to reach out to women and girls in the Northwest London area, with a key focus on Brent, Camden and Barnet.

The project offers free of charge fitness sessions and empowerment sessions three to four times a week. The one hour sessions include body pump, body weight and box fitness classes followed by empowerment classes, giving the participants a chance to meet one another in a community setting. The empowerment classes consist of positive words of affirmation, understanding healthy eating habits and nutrition, and enable the women to have a conversation about their health journey.

The classes will help the beneficiaries’ physical and mental well-being and help to combat loneliness and isolation.

Currently, BeLifted sessions in Barnet and Camden are attended regularly by between eight and 10 women and young girls, and there are plans to put on more classes in the area .

We recently interviewed Jenny from BeLifted on our Instagram channel. Watch the video here.

Dance away Covid (Everyone Can Groove)

This project provided dance fitness programmes for NHS staff, carers and patients in selected London hospitals. Over the 12 weeks of the project, it helped NHS staff morale and improved their mental health, as well as that of their patients. Everyone Can Groove helped redress inequalities in one priority audience of NHS staff from diverse ethnic backgrounds who were more impacted by COVID-19.  The other priority audience was those living with long term health conditions.

At one hospital, 12 sessions were delivered over 12 weeks, benefiting more than 20 people, while two sessions per week over six weeks were delivered at a second hospital.  ‘Champions’ at the hospitals encouraged all levels of hospital staff to attend.  It is hoped to widen the project reach to allow for any staff shortages.

TheMOVEMENT Charity

The Charity works with women who have experienced multiple disadvantages, such as poverty, adverse mental health and persistent exposure to traumatic situations.  The women are often unable to access the many benefits of exercise due to lack of resources, opportunity and awareness of their needs – specifically the impact of trauma.

TheMOVEMENT Charity provides trauma informed exercise opportunities across London, training exercise professionals in a trauma informed approach, before matching them with partner charities where they volunteer weekly to provide appropriately led exercise classes. The Charity ensures participants have access to suitable clothing, footwear and equipment so they can participate safely and comfortably, increasing their wellbeing and sense of purpose.

There is currently a waiting list of fitness professionals wanting to volunteer and charities requesting their services.  Having reached full capacity, the TIF funding covered the staff costs to recruit, train and support 12 new volunteers to deliver the additional sessions being requested by partner charities.

TheMOVEMENT Charity currently supports 89 women through 16 classes running weekly throughout London. The additional trained instructors has enabled them to increase the weekly classes to 28, supporting over 60 more women.

And this is not all!  News of more projects coming soon . . .