A new project, funded by NHS Lothian’s Health Improvement Fund, aimed at mums on lower incomes to incorporate physical activity into their lives and ensure that their children enjoy active childhoods, is helping a group of young Leith mums to stay active.
Working in partnership with Dr Bell’s Family Centre, a charity supporting families in Leith, to reach those mums most in need of support, ‘Active Mums’, is taking place at Leith Victoria Swim Centre and is being delivered by Edinburgh Leisure’s Active Communities team.
The mums are participating in eight weeks of free group fitness sessions by qualified instructors, with activities ranging from dancing, outdoor boot camps, circuits, and swimming. Each session is followed by a wellbeing workshop over a cuppa to help the mums develop strategies to stay active.
They also receive an Edinburgh Leisure card, which gives them six months access to gym, swim and fitness classes for £1 to encourage them to continue exercising as friends. The group also takes part in six active play dates with their children to focus on how they can support them to enjoy active childhoods and make healthier choices for life.
Sara Kemp, Community Development Officer at Edinburgh Leisure, said: “There are so many barriers to overcome in being and staying active, which can include lack of money, no childcare, lack of time for themselves, lack of confidence and no-one to get active with. However, by supporting this group of mums, we’re hoping that it will kick start them to make habits that will last a lifetime.
“We’ve made a great start with our first group of 10 mums and it will be interesting to see how they feel at the end of the course and what changes they have made to ensure they carry on being active for themselves and for their children.”
There is funding for a further three Active Mum courses to be run in other parts of the city in 2019. If you’d like more information about the project, contact 0131 458 2260.
For more information on getting active with Edinburgh Leisure, visit: www.edinburghleisure.co.uk
As a charity, Edinburgh Leisure is passionate about creating opportunities for everyone to lead healthier, more active lives. Their Active Communities programme delivers a range of projects that support people most in need by removing the barriers they face to getting active.
From April – September 2018, Edinburgh Leisure’s Active Communities programmes have helped 9,010 people get active, with 72,989 visits made to Active Communities programmes of which 3,091 referrals were received from health & social care professionals. Every penny Edinburgh Leisure’s customers spend with them is used to further their work and their Active Communities programme, which relies on fundraising to help them reach more people that need their help.
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