A youth-led organisation in Sussex is providing a Healthy Heart service for young people to help them improve their health, thanks to a grant from national charity Heart Research UK.
BLUEPRINT 22 has been given funding of nearly £10,000 to help make positive life changes for youngsters including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Get Up Stand Up project will offer 120 different places over eight different activities including a walking treasure hunt, boxing and cookery demonstrations, with hopes to get people more active and to teach them the benefits of better food choices.
They will be offered other services such as blood pressure and BMI checks as well as expert personal trainers and qualified nutritionists to give them key skills to live healthier lifestyles.
Smoking cessation will be a heavy focus for the organisation as nearly all of the targeted participants are expected to smoke, a choice which increases their risk of heart disease.
A reward scheme will be put in place to praise positive progress in the form of gym passes, swimming lessons and healthy hampers which contain the right food for a healthy heart. Participants will be asked to document their development through social media.
The project hopes to reach up to 150 young people across Sussex, from Brighton through to Bognor-Regis and aims to give them the knowledge for a healthier future.
Blueprint 22 Youth Chair, Kirsty Smith, said: “Get Up! Stand Up! is an opportunity for young people to take part in sports and learn about healthy eating and heart health through workshops, activities and groups. This will give them a kick-start to having a healthy heart into adulthood and an understanding of how important this is.
“Get Up! Stand Up! is especially meaningful to us all as one of our core members passed away last year. She wanted to run this project after she saw young people damaging their healthy hearts so we are going to carry this out in her memory.”
Heart Research UK National Director, Barbara Harpham, said: “This “Get Up! Stand Up! project will hopefully make a difference and give these young people the right knowledge to help them live healthier lifestyles.
“Educating young people about heart health is an important part of their development and should teach them good habits that will last them forever.”
For more information about Blueprint 22, click here:
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