After the success of the pilot, SBitC receive grant to carry the project for 5 years...
After it success as a pilot, the Sky Blues in the Community project ‘InForm’ has received a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to embed it in Coventry for the next 5 years.
The Big Lottery Fund is the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding across the UK. The Fund aims to enable others to make real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need.
To mark this award, Tony Nicholls, Funding Manager for Reaching Communities at the Big Lottery Fund attended the final Coventry City Football Club home fixture of the 2012/13 season. Tony presented Sky Blues in the Community with a cheque worth £292,571 on the pitch at half-time alongside former InForm participants and a number of local professionals and organisations who will be supporting and promoting the project in Coventry.
The InForm project essentially uses football and the power of Coventry City Football Club to engage local adult males in regular physical activity whilst advising, encouraging and supporting them in adopting healthier behaviours.
Men can attend free weekly football sessions lead by professional coaches along with health related workshops for up to 1 year – providing them with long term support to positively change their lifestyle and lead longer healthier lives.
The progress of those who participate is tracked over the course of the project with a variety of methods such as health checks and fitness tests so men can literally see the changes they are making.
Mick McGrath from the Big Lottery Fund said: “Improving the health and well-being of those most in need is at the core of our Reaching Communities programme, and we are delighted to present Sky Blues in the Community with their grant to do just this.
"The InForm project will help address health inequalities for men living in Coventry and we are pleased to be supporting such an important cause.”
In its pilot year, the InForm project proved very popular, operating over 3 sites with 96 men aged between 18 and 52 years attending weekly sessions.
Headline statistics saw 77% of participants improve their cardiovascular fitness, 69% lose weight and 96% report that the project had helped them to become more active on a regular basis.
David Busst, Joint Head of Sky Blues in the Community said “We are delighted to receive this substantial grant from the Big Lottery.
“The team have worked very hard on the initial pilot phase of the project, and the statistics highlighting the impact on individuals taking part speak for themselves. It is fantastic to get recognition of our success to date through the award of this grant for such a long period of time – this demonstrates that the Big Lottery really believe in what we are trying to achieve with the InForm project.”
The InForm project will see seven sessions delivered each week at five venues across Coventry. Four of the sites are open to any adult male aged 18 or over who are looking to become more active and get fitter – giving them the tools they need to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Three ‘specialist’ sessions will also take place each week for homeless males, males facing mental health challenges and job seekers – helping to develop confidence, independence and overall positive health and well-being.
InForm is set to launch in June 2013, to find out more information about the project please contact Hiedi Sloan by email: hiedi.sloan@ccfc.co.uk or by phone: 02476 786 313 or follow the project on Twitter @inform_ccfc