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Reflecting on Community Strides Our Community Strides project concluded in January, with a period of reflection on what had been achieved over its two years, and planning to ensure those achievements would continue into the future. The project, backed by the Changing Lives Fund, aimed to bring the benefits of jogscotland to people from a greater diversity of Scotland’s communities.
The Charter International Run Club
Saheliya
Dundee International Women’s Centre
The first stage of the project was all about building relationships with partner organisations, community groups and participants, including, Dundee International Women’s Centre, The Charter in Glasgow, and Saheliya, a charity in Edinburgh for black, minority ethnic, asylum seeker, refugee and migrant women and girls. Project workers Andrea Gavin and Laura Kirkland initially spent several months getting to know the charities and their work, and especially some of the people who use their services, finding out about their motivations and challenges around getting active. For many, there was a real fear of being seen exercising outside, of stigma from peers and others from the community, a lack of confidence and fitness that at first had them reluctant to get involved. Like many who come to jogscotland for the first time, there were some participants who had never taken part in physical activity in their adult lives. We looked at ways to break down the barriers that prevented participation – we arranged a shoe and clothing collection across the jogscotland network to provide kit for those who didn’t have it; found a sewing group to modify some of the garments continues over jogscotland magazine
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Issue one 2021
