I love the summer, because even if the sun isn’t shining, I get away from my desk and commit to visiting as many of the activities as possible that are run in partnership with Active Essex. I am blown away by the fact that in just a few years, our HAF ActivAte programme has grown to over 200 clubs, with over 75,000 attendances in summer alone. It is just incredible. I am so proud of our HAF team and all of our partners who deliver free daily fun activities for the kids, along with healthy meals and snacks.
It is really uplifting and emotional to see the fun and joy on the faces of the children, and to talk to the parents who really value the free HAF clubs. They tell me that the clubs make such a difference, meaning the family can enjoy their summer, creating great memories. It makes me think of my own childhood, when during the long summer school holidays, I would play out all day, every day, with my friends. I didn’t know it then, but when I look back to those happy summer’s, they were so important to shaping me as a person.
My visits included a stop at Red Balloon club in Epping, Disability Forum SEND specialist hub in Epping, and Kids Active in Saffron Walden. I must say that the quality of the coaches and leaders of our providers is top class, demonstrating to me that they really care about the children attending their clubs, and giving them such a wide variety of fun sports and activities. Cllr Louise McKinlay is the Deputy Leader of Essex County Council, and she accompanied me to many of the clubs. It was great to see her join in with the activities, so she could experience first-hand the fun that the children were having.
I also visited the Find Your Active Basildon Festival, which is now in its second year, and attracts so many families for a great active day out. Basildon has an incredible community spirit, with so many partners working together to create a huge offer of sport and physical activities. One of the provides is Peaceful Place; a day centre in Basildon, which supports over 50 people of all ages with young onset dementia (YOD). Physical activity was central to their work to support their members, always delivered with passion and energy.
You can find out more about the groups I visited here:
Red Balloon in Epping https://www.rbf.org.uk/
Disability Forum SEND specialist hub in Epping https://www.facebook.com/WEInclusionProject
Kids Active in Saffron Walden https://www.kidzactive.co.uk/
Essex ActivAte programme https://www.activeessex.org/children-young-people/essex-activate/
Peaceful Place www.peacefulplace.co.uk
