A donation of £5,000 is helping a community get active, build strength and make new friends.
Residents at Benedict Court are benefitting from sessions which focus on movement and physical activity, organised by The Foundation of Light.
The sessions have been funded by Vistry North East, part of Vistry Group – the UK’s leading provider of mixed tenure homes, which is building 265 new homes at West Park Quarter, on the site of the former Sunderland Civic Centre, nearby.
Benedict Court is a luxury apartment complex with communal spaces, home to 62 people over the age of 55. As Mollie Russell, Health and Wellbeing Delivery Officer with The Foundation of Light explains, the sessions are valuable not just because they promote good physical health, but for the social interaction they have also encouraged.
She says: “Our Health and Wellbeing team have worked with the residents to develop a range of sessions which best suit their needs. These include seated chair exercises and work with resistance bands to music. Becoming more active can help people build strength and conditioning for a better general health and stretching exercises can improve mobility and help with stiffness.
“We have also worked with our falls prevention team to incorporate activities based around posture and lower body strength, with a view to reducing falls. It has also been great to see how the sessions have brought people in the building together, fostering and creating friendships and combatting loneliness.”
Resident, Audrey Dougall, added: “Many of the people living at Benedict Court have difficulties with their walking, so these sitting exercises have been really popular. We all look forward the sessions and our fitness coach, Mollie, tailors them to suit people’s individual capabilities perfectly.
“Many residents have told me of the great sense of achievement they feel after taking part in the exercises and through the activities – and the post session refreshments we enjoy afterwards – they have brought people together and really enhanced our little community.”
The donation will enable the Foundation of Light to deliver the sessions, which have been taking place every two weeks.
Natasha Hunter, Development Manager, Vistry North East, Said: “When we heard about the opportunity to support this excellent initiative we were only too happy to help. Encouraging physical activity and bringing members of the community together, this is a wonderful example of how a small investment can make such a big change to people’s lives.
“As we move forward, creating a new residential community in the heart of Sunderland, it is great to be involved in something that is supporting people already living in the area as it transforms.”
Work is well underway at West Park Quarter, which is creating a vibrant city centre community of 265 homes. The first homes were released for sale via the Linden Homes brand in September last year and the development will also deliver properties for both private and affordable rent.
The homes will be set around scenic, public green spaces and will offer excellent cycling and pedestrian links to both the high street and to local transport infrastructure.
In addition, part of the project will see the recreation of Saint George’s Square – bomb damaged during the Second World War and lost to redevelopment in the 60s – with the Grade II listed Saint George’s House as its focal point.
The developer behind the project, Vistry North East, is part of Vistry Group – the UK’s leading provider of affordable mixed tenure homes. A young and dynamic business with a partnerships-led approach – delivered through the Countryside Partnerships brand – the group is building thousands of homes every year for the rental and private marketplaces. Its retail brands, include Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Countryside Homes.
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