Liverpool is limbering up to encourage people to get active thanks to new physical activity funding.
The city has been awarded £300,000 by Get Out Get Active – a national, ground-breaking project which aims to work with some of the least active communities or groups in the country, and give them the confidence to take up a physical activity and change their lifestyle for the better.
Liverpool City Council bid for the funding and will use the grant to focus on members of the LGBTQ+ community, students in higher education and those people who have caring responsibilities.
Aimed at both disabled and non-disabled people, the city council will work together with Merseyside Sports Partnership to develop programmes for each target group over the coming months. As well as the physical benefits, the aim is to improve mental wellbeing, strengthen community spirit and increase confidence.
The Get Out Get Active scheme began in 2016, and by 2023 it will have:
- Reached over 40,000 individual participants, with at least four in ten remaining active
- Engaged 1,500 volunteers’ support
- Supported 2,500 volunteers and covered the cost of staff training
For more information, please visit www.getoutgetactive.co.uk
Deputy Mayor and cabinet member responsible for sport and leisure, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “One of our priorities is to do as much as we can to ensure all communities across this city can engage and get involved with sport and activities.
“Making sport accessible to all is key, and this funding means we can focus on three particular groups of people who may not currently experience the many benefits of having a more active lifestyle.
“There will be a real emphasis on working with these communities to find out what they perceive is their barrier to taking up an activity and then creating a programme which will help to remove these obstacles so that positive changes can be made.”
Strategic lead for Business Improvement for the Merseyside Sports Partnership, Kerry Stewart, said: “MSP is proud to have been able to support Liverpool City Council in successfully bidding for the Get Out Get Active funding. “We’re very excited by its potential to reach people who experience greater barriers to participation. So, we’re looking forward to supporting the project further by using our insight expertise to help demonstrate the positive impact of the fantastic work being planned.”
