2 Feb 2024
CLIP have got people moving throughout 2023 thanks to £4,976 of funding from Sport England’s Together Fund. The ‘Keep on Moving’ project provided six weekly sessions of chair-based movement to music to assist those who find it difficult to be active, helping to support them to build strength and feel better both mentally and physically.
Sport England’s Together Fund existed to help reduce the negative impact of coronavirus and help community groups working with target audiences to grow and help more people. Active Lincolnshire, our county’s champions for the positive power of sport and physical activity for everyone, distributed the funding on behalf of Sport England and have been delighted with the impact that each project has delivered.
CLIP have been in operation since 1995 with the clear goal of widening participation in learning by people from rural, coastal, and isolated communities. They work across a wide group of people within the community from 16+ years, providing training and support for personal development, health and wellbeing, higher education and work skills. Following feedback from their customers that had a disability or long-term health condition, they identified that low impact sessions were not readily available.
Throughout the project, 120 participants engaged in the sessions increasing their physical activity from low or no physical activity to 1 hour per week. Sessions were delivered to groups of 10 people across Gainsborough, Market Rasen and Mablethorpe.
One participant said, ‘’I enjoyed most of the exercises and they were taught at different speeds to support all abilities. I feel active and I really enjoy it, it cheers me up as its good fun.’’
‘’Being able to move with my good arm has given me a sense of feeling accomplished. It has helped me heal.’’
Barbara Hancock, Wellbeing Services Manager at CLIP said, “In April 2023 we found out that we were successful in winning the Active Lincolnshire Together Fund, which saw us deliver the Keep on Movin project. This provided weekly sessions of chair-based movement to music across Mablethorpe, Market Rasen and Gainsborough. The programme ran for 24 weeks, between May and September. It was a huge success and helped individuals struggling with their movement, as well as improving mental health and wellbeing, with many feeling that the sessions had become the highlight of their week.
Soon after the project started, we realised that these individuals faced a barrier to entry, as those who were less active and in more rural areas of Lincolnshire struggled to make it into the centres. We decided to change to an outreach programme and deliver sessions in local care homes and venues to remove this barrier, supporting many more individuals in attending. The positive experience of these activities has lasted beyond the sessions, and we have now successfully acquired further funding for programme continuity. Further great news sees the model being considered elsewhere across East Lindsey District Council and beyond.”
