Community Contributions Recognised
The schemes, which have together helped thousands of people to lead a healthier lifestyle, picked up Healthy Ambitions Suffolk community awards during a special event held at Ipswich’s Trinity Park.
A coveted gold award went to Ipswich Town Community Trust for its Activ8 IT scheme, which has encouraged thousands of children aged between seven and 16 to take part in a variety of sports and learn about a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet.
Suffolk Befriending Scheme picked up the silver award after delivering a series of healthy eating and lifestyle workshops to around 240 people with learning difficulties. The sessions were held in locations across the county and gave those taking part the chance to make their own healthy dishes, learn about healthy eating and exercise and find out how to read food labels. Many of the people who took part faced difficulties with their weight, but have started moving towards a healthier weight and improving their fitness as a result of the workshops.
A project to encourage around 375 young people who use the Eden’s Project youth centre in Sudbury to get their five a day and take more exercise was handed a bronze award. The scheme, which has seen a smoothie bar and Wii fit installed at the centre and the food menu overhauled to reduce fats and sugars, aims to reverse the trend which has seen more young people leading sedentary lifestyles.
Each of the projects received financial help to kickstart their initiatives after successfully applying for a Healthy Ambitions Suffolk grant.
Dr Peter Funnell, chairman of the Healthy Ambitions Suffolk board, said: “We were absolutely delighted to be able to recognise the impact which these fantastic projects have had on the health of so many people across Suffolk at last night’s awards ceremony.
“I would like to congratulate all of those people involved in these inspirational schemes for their tremendous efforts to improve health and wellbeing, and commend them for their enthusiasm and dedication.
“Healthy Ambitions Suffolk is proud to have been able to help both these projects, and others like them, to get off the ground through our grants scheme. We look forward to working with even more of the county’s organisations in the future as we continue on our journey of making Suffolk the UK’s healthiest county.”
In addition to the community awards, Great Cornard Parish Council was given a gold general award for its work to promote activity among villagers by installing an extensive open air gym, which is free for all adults.
Gold, silver and bronze accreditations were also presented to businesses across the county which have taken steps to improve the health and wellbeing of their workforce.
