From the 20th to the 22nd of Dec, inspire+ ran holiday clubs in Grantham and Stamford to help support local families in the build up to Christmas. Thanks to funding from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), the Holiday Activities & Food (HAF) programme was running to provide families signed posted from their schools with an activities club for their children to attend, free of charge and including a hot, healthy meal each day.
Inspire+ hosted the clubs at Gonerby Hill Foot Primary and Belmont Primary in Grantham and St Augustine’s Primary in Stamford. The clubs in total saw over 110 primary school children attend the 3 days. The clubs had a range of sporting and physical activity sessions along with practical workshops in cooking from Roots to Food and musical workshops thanks to the LCC Back to Music Programme. The Lincolnshire Co-op kindly donated a range of fruit and veg to each club which helped the children learn more about healthy eating. Children used the fruit and veg to make Christmas themed art before eating them! The final day of club was completed with a Christmas dinner! Other activities the children participated in included arts & crafts, dance, yoga, football, athletics, netball, cricket, and orienteering. The sessions were supported by the charity’s volunteers from the Sports Leadership Academy and Apprenticeship programme.
Parents commented on how much their children had enjoyed coming to the clubs, with making new friends and developing a range of their interpersonal skills. Operations Manager for inspire+, Chris Graves said “The clubs are a fantastic opportunity to support local families and give an unforgettable experience to the young people. We are delighted to be able to deliver these opportunities and it’s a huge thank you to LCC and partners for making them possible. To see how the children develop over the course of the clubs and interact with new friends and our staff is very rewarding.”
LCC have had confirmation that the HAF funding is going to continue for the next 3 years. Inspire+ is positioned to be able to continue facilitating these across it’s areas to serve the community. The charities #HealthyHappyActive sports camps also run alongside these clubs for children to attend to take part in a full day of structured sports coaching and competitions. Information on February’s clubs can be found at the charity’s website: https://www.inspireplus.org.uk/holiday-sports-camp/
Inspire+ would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a very healthy New Year!
