Active Cheshire funds three local women to climb Kilimanjaro as part of its My Mountain campaign.

Active Cheshire, a charity embedding physical activity into people’s everyday lives across Cheshire and Warrington, are funding three local women to climb Kilimanjaro in 2021.

Each of them has their own reasons for wanting to climb Kilimanjaro and are all stepping out of their comfort zone and breaking down barriers, both mental and physical to climb their mountain.

According to recent research from Public Health England, 1 in 4 (25%) women across England are classed as physically inactive. Almost 1 in 2 (42%) women are not active enough for good health, meaning they are active for less than 30 minutes a week.

Due to these shocking stats, Active Cheshire has done extensive research across Cheshire and Warrington through their vigorous application process. Through 100’s of applicants and interviews, they offered the opportunity of a lifetime and sponsored Sam Lyon, Emily Oakes and Phoebe Jay to climb Kilimanjaro.

The climb will be led by explorer, fundraising guru, and experienced Kili climber Nick Hopkinson MBE DL, and currently High Sheriff of Cheshire, who aims to raise £50,000 for the new OnSide Warrington Youth Zone. All three girls will raise £2,000 each to help achieve this goal.

Active Cheshire knows that everyone has their own physical activity mountain to climb. This could be doing Coach to 5K, going on longer walks or even some home yoga. This; however, is not always easy for many reasons. Whether your mountain is a triathlon or increasing your steps throughout the day, there is no “right” way to get active. Exercise is about finding what works for you.

My Mountain campaign wants to encourage women across Cheshire and Warrington to talk about their physical activity mountains, share their goals and celebrate their achievements. So that women can unite, support each other, raise each other’s aspirations, and grow confidence. Women can get involved by sharing videos, stories, photos, or quotes and using #MyMountain and tagging Active Cheshire on social media.

To show women the size of their support network, at the end of the campaign, Active Cheshire will be producing an outline of a mountain with the names of all the women who took part in the campaign.

As well as inspiring other women to find their active, Sam, Emily and Phoebe will be raising money for Warrington Youth Club, another local charity supporting young people’s development through an array of incredible opportunities and a wide range of programmes, enabling them to develop new skills, knowledge, and confidence. As part of its holistic approach to health and wellbeing, it also provides opportunities for the young people to be more active, for example, in its fitness suite or on its skate park.

You can donate here https://bit.ly/3e9NAkG

The National Partnerships and Contracts Manager at Active Cheshire, Amber Lomax, commented:

“The recent findings from Sport England’s Active Lives Survey suggested that during the pandemic the number of women being active remained fairly consistent. Women adapted to online offers and other recreational options.

I think this shows the resilience of women and the desire to remain active. It would be great to keep this going! We want local women to encourage each other to take on their physical activity mountains, even during the winter months!”

Meet Sam, Emily, and Phoebe, and see some of Active Cheshire’s staff and trustees ‘mountains’ here

https://bit.ly/3oI52lt

In the picture – Nick Hopkinson (High Sheriff of Cheshire), Sam Lyon, Emily Oakes and Phoebe Jay.

For more information please contact:

Eleanor Hanrahan eleanor.hanrahan@activecheshire.org , T: 07853583550

About Active Cheshire…

Active Cheshire’s mission is to embed physical activity into all aspects of everyday life by 2040.

Every day, British people can spend as much as 75% of their waking hours sitting down. The severe and harmful effects of prolonged inactivity, include an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes, cancer, heart disease and premature death. This has led to sitting being referred to as ‘the new smoking.’

Active Cheshire work with public health, local businesses, local government, education, environment, infrastructure and transport partners to name a few.

We help people take small steps to have a big impact on their quality of life.

www.activecheshire.org

Public Health England stats https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/physical-activity-applying-all-our-health/physical-activity-applying-all-our-health#:~:text=Around%201%20in%203%20(34,with%20age%20and%20life%20stage.