Be Well needs your help to continue its intergenerational work

A Glossop community interest company is appealing to the community for help to ensure its vital intergenerational work can continue.

Be Well works across Glossopdale providing gentle exercise sessions at no or low cost, but has also branched out in recent years to work closely with local nurseries, schools, care homes and residential homes.

This involves breaking down barriers to build relationships between the younger and older generations, which has made a tangible difference to the lives of many local people both physically and mentally.

Be Well relies on grant funding and, for the last three years, its intergenerational work has been funded by the National Lottery.

Be Well's intergenerational work has had an impact on people of all ages in the Glossopdale community 

However, due to Covid-19, the project had to be compressed into one year. The funding has already been extended but will run out in April, meaning the work will sadly come to an end as it stands without financial support.

“Of course we’ve applied for grants and continuation funding but the money just isn’t there,” Vicky Murphy, Be Well’s Intergenerational Project Manager, told the Glossop Chronicle.

“We’ve never done a crowdfunder before and it’s quite a daunting thing to do. It’s obviously a big ask of the community but we’re doing it to try to enable us to carry on the work that we do because otherwise the work just disappears.

“We’ve worked so hard to build these relationships, we really don’t want it to just stop.”

The Glossop community interest company works closely with local nurseries, schools and residential homes

Be Well is looking to raise £10,000 through its GoFundMe page, which would allow existing connections between three local nurseries and residential homes to continue, as well as forge a new partnership with Duke of Norfolk CE Primary School.

“We want to get involved with two other primary schools but we would probably need another £5,000 for that,” Vicky said.

“Any amount donated through the crowdfunding page would make a big difference. We’re not for profit so every single penny goes into making these projects successful. We want to up the visitation to twice a month which would double the planning of sessions.

“We want to make these relationships strong enough so that we’re involved for a year and then they can be self sustainable and run without our interaction going forward.”

Vicky at Be Well's office in Whitfield House, off Whitfield Avenue

There has already been a generous response, with local businesses, residents and politicians getting behind Be Well’s campaign, but more people need to get involved to achieve its goal.

In a final message to the community, Vicky added: “I want to thank everyone for their support. Even if you can’t donate, sharing the GoFundMe page would be really helpful. I’m hoping to get some QR codes put up around the community to make that easier.

“I really want to save this work and I think it’s really important. Everybody has been saying that they don’t want this to stop so we need to work together to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Anyone who wants to make a donation can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-intergenerational-work-in-the-community

You can find out more about Be Well, its work and latest sessions at http://bewellglossop.co.uk or via its Facebook or Twitter pages.

LISTEN: You can hear our interview with Vicky below