Bristol News

Free fitness classes running for Bristol children

Families with young children are being offered the chance to join a free fitness plan running in Bristol.

The MEND project is a national initiative aiming to get children fitter and healthier and stands for stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!

The course is targeting children between the ages of seven and thirteen who are above the healthy weight range for their age and height and aims to get the child’s whole family involved in making healthy eating and exercise choices.

Each place on the course is valued at £400 but a limited number of places are being offered for free.
The programme will take place after school twice a week for ten weeks except during half-term.

It will be held at Easton leisure Centre and runs from Thursday, May 6 to Monday, July 19 2010.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer and places must be booked in advance on a first come first serve basis.

MEND Programme Manager, Michaela Ellett said: “Previous families on the course have had a great deal of success and it changes family’s lives. Children become healthier and fitter and we have seen their self esteem and confidence increase greatly.”

“We are committed to offering families across Bristol the chance to improve their health with this fun and fantastic free course.”

For more information, please call 0117 922 3867 or email: MEND@bristol.gov.uk or visit the website.

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Sports-Clubs-and-Centres/mend.en

Chopsy Baby

Bristol-based Jen Smith is editor of Chopsy Bristol. Jen has a background in multimedia design and freelance journalism, writing news and features for national publications. She has also run marketing campaigns, created social media content and built websites for businesses and organisations in Bristol. Recently, she contributed to the book - Our City: Community Activism In Bristol - published by Tangent Books.