SPORT IN MIND 

We need funding to provide free weekly sport/physical activity sessions to help improve the mental wellbeing of young people. Sessions will be interactive, confidence-building and lots of fun!

Training and Volunteering for adults with mental health issues and adults from the local community to support our weekly Buckinghamshire sessions.

The grant will be used to contribute towards 3 weekly activity sessions in locations in Iffley Fields, Cowley and St Mary's wards of Oxford (venues likely to be outdoor but we may look at indoor as ....more

The grant will be used to contribute towards 3 weekly activity sessions in locations in Iffley Fields, Cowley and St Mary's wards of Oxford (venues likely to be outdoor but we may look at indoor as well depending on the COVID situation). One football, one yoga and one Pilates. We have recently started piloting these sessions to gauge demand and interest and to date we have a minimum of 8 people attending each session. Each session is one hour long. We are using the feedback from these pilots and the need in the area to be able to tweak any changes and attract funding to continue them from March onwards. We will run Pilates and yoga during the daytime to attract more older adults who are more likely to attend a less 'active sport' type session. Through this we will be looking to target the 65+, living alone who have a higher probability of loneliness. These sessions will give them an opportunity to socially interact with people, during the day whilst also engaging in some gentle activity tailored to suit their needs. We will also run a football session to attract men (and women) with mental health issues who are currently not working, claiming personal independence payment, so this will also be run during the day. From our experience of running programmes for over 10 years, many men are reluctant to engage in traditional mental health services, however, sport and physical activity is something they are generally comfortable with. Though, in their current situation they are also unlikely to join a mainstream football session. The Sport in Mind session will be a relaxed, welcoming friendly environment. Each participant will also receive a Sport in Mind Wellbeing Journal. Research shows that keeping a journal can help us gain control of our emotions and improve our mental health. The journal is A5 ring binder style, and references the evidence based Five ways to Wellbeing: Connect, Be active, Take notice, Keep learning and Giving. It includes information on improving physical wellbeing, eating healthily, sleep habits and being more active. Each section provides an opportunity to write points down that are positive, worries, fears, activity goals and activity tracker amongst others. We hope through the journal it will help people prioritise problems, identify negative thoughts and behaviour, fears and concerns and focus on the positive. We also encourage participants to track their activity progress and associated moods. to start to notice how activity improves their mood. The grant will go towards the cost of the coach/instructor for 40 weeks of sessions in 2022 and enabling us to continue offering all our sessions at no cost to participants.

Our aim is to use sport and physical activity groups to help people who are experiencing mental health challenges.

Positive Moves

Sport In Mind - Training and Volunteering Project

Core funding contribution to assist the organisation which uses sport and exercise to promote mental well-being and enrich the lives of people experiencing mental health problem

Sport in Mind delivers sport and physical activity programmes in a supportive environment to help improve both the mental and physical health and wellbeing of adults suffering mental illness (with a ....more

Sport in Mind delivers sport and physical activity programmes in a supportive environment to help improve both the mental and physical health and wellbeing of adults suffering mental illness (with a core focus on those with serious conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia). “Home to community” is a new Thames Valley based recovery-focused mental health and physical activity programme, utilising desensitisation to support people whose mental illness has been exacerbated by Covid-19 (causing leaving home to become an insurmountable challenge), to become active at home and support transition into community provision. The grant will be used to pay for: Get Active Packs (sports equipment - skipping rope, balls, rackets), Activity booklet, Activity DVD, person centre plan, Community Sports/Physical Activity sessions - cost of instructors and printed resources/photos/videos about the venue/coach/session and transport information (including Government Covid-19 guidelines) to help desensitise people to any fears that may exist about engaging in the session. The most significant difference this project will make is to improve mental and physical health by creating active habits, combat social isolation and help 250 adults with severe mental health issues to transition back into community services after months of isolation due to the pandemic.

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more

"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public services.2) To ensure essential services are provided to vulnerable people, both in the short and long term through increased community support through the work of charitable organisations."

The organisation will use funding to recruit new volunteers to support their Sport in Mind programme, which aims to improve the lives of adults experiencing mental health issues by delivering sport ....more

The organisation will use funding to recruit new volunteers to support their Sport in Mind programme, which aims to improve the lives of adults experiencing mental health issues by delivering sport and physical activity programmes.

We want to provide supported sport and physical activity groups to aid the recovery of local people suffering mental illness.

Funding under Sport England's Core Market Open Fund funding programme for a Revenue project titled Core Market Open Fund 1. This project is a Sport and Physical Activity project, with a focus on ....more

Funding under Sport England's Core Market Open Fund funding programme for a Revenue project titled Core Market Open Fund 1. This project is a Sport and Physical Activity project, with a focus on beneficiaries with a disability.