Little Hulton Healthy Heart Club is celebrating after receiving more than £4,000 in funding.
The club will use the funds to cover the costs of overheads such as room hire, sessional staff to deliver dance exercise, tai chi, relaxation, stress management and holistic therapy classes, while also contributing towards publicity materials.
The funds were awarded to the club by the Coalfields Community Investment Programme delivered by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, the only organisation dedicated to supporting former mining communities.
Co-ordinator Serena Rice commented: “Collectively, heart and circulatory diseases cause more than a quarter of all deaths in the UK, accounting for more than 161,000 deaths each year.
“Through cardiac rehabilitation which includes education, psychological support and exercise we can reduce the risk of a further heart attack by approximately 29%.
“Without our support many people suffering from ill health as a result of heart problems would not have access to the specialist care and rehabilitation they need to get better. In some instances, this really is a life or death situation.
She adds: “As a charity that relies solely on funding and the help of volunteers in order to continue to function, the Coalfields Regeneration trust has given us a lifeline. This money allows us to continue to help members of the community that need it the most and we cannot thank them enough.”
Andy Lock, Head of Operations (England) for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust said: “Deprivation and ill health is a serious and common problem within coalfield communities and in part this can be down to something as simple as having regular access to specialist organisations just like Little Hulton Healthy Heart Club.
“As well as improving the health and wellbeing of its members, the club may also be the only social interaction that some of these people have outside of their own homes. As a result, without these services people can become isolated which has a huge impact on their general health and wellbeing.”
He adds: “Little Hulton Healthy Heart Club is just one of many organisations that we are proud to support, however with 5.5 million people living in coalfields communities we know that there is still a job to be done.”
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