Grassroots CIC - A year on

Grassroots CIC is a community interest company created to provide benefits to the Sowerby community. Located in the heart of the village at St Peter's Community Centre, it is ideally placed to support residents, many of whom face health inequalities, have few nearby amenities, and limited access to essential services and support.

Grassroots CIC’s main goals:

• Build a welcoming and inclusive community space with additional opportunities to help improve the health and wellbeing of residents, e.g. monthly menopause cafe, weekly exercise, arts, crafts and social groups and classes

• Develop the garden area in the centre’s grounds and the village with a core group of volunteers

• Recruit and train a paid active champion to build Grassroots' capacity

  
  

In May 2024, Grassroots CIC secured funding to launch a programme of affordable, co-designed physical activity classes for residents, ranging from yoga and belly dancing to orienteering, making it easier for everyone to get moving and have fun together.

A community event took place to launch the project with tasters, plus healthy food options and social activities incorporated into the day. With sunshine and music, the event was a joyful success.

The journey hasn’t been without challenges, such as a provider moving away and gaps in classes during holiday periods. Grassroots have worked hard to ensure local people can continue accessing activities and feel supported, even during times of change.

In January 2025, a new gentle exercise class was introduced to run alongside the popular Community Lunch on Fridays. The class is led by Carolyn, a former nurse and passionate advocate for staying active at any age or ability. She was trained in the Move It or Lose It programme through Active Calderdale in 2024. Since launching, Carolyn’s upbeat, inclusive, and fun sessions have steadily grown in popularity, with a consistent number of participants attending each week.

Following this development, Grassroots co-designed a proposal for a part-time staff member to help promote the centre's activities, talk to the local community and support people to be active in whatever ways work for them. With investment approved, they have recently recruited Carolyn in this role – an excellent choice for building on the relationships and positive energy she has nurtured over the past six months at the centre.

Grassroots now have a valuable opportunity to further develop their offer and a wide range of activities to benefit their community’s mental and physical health.

The impact over the past 12 months has been significant. A more cohesive community has grown with people contributing to looking after their local area outside the local shops; events and activities at the centre are truly intergenerational, with young people developing skills and helping out alongside older adults. Plans and funding are also underway for a community garden in the centre's grounds.

A key team of volunteers has developed with heartwarming stories of improvements to lifestyles and personal health, which is having a wider positive impact on the community at the centre. People who reported doing zero days of physical activity a week are now exercising two or three days a week, regularly and enjoying it. Almost fifty newcomers have come to the range of classes on offer over the past year. Now, with the addition of a new staff member to support the team, more opportunities will become available to benefit the local community.

Kate Auker, Grassroots CIC Lead:

From saying they did not exercise, three of the centre's volunteers now go swimming on Sundays with their children and took part in the local Bowling Club's recent taster session. They also join in with the weekly Retrobics sessions.

Recently, the teacher, Carolyn, couldn't make the session, so one of the volunteers (Diane) stepped in to cover. She was a great hit - Carolyn is off for a couple of weeks soon, so Diane is going to lead the sessions again.

Another volunteer's teenage daughter is getting work experience and learning Move It or Lose It training with Carolyn too. Investing time and energy in these volunteers is having a huge positive impact on the community and the centre.

One regular attendee is a young woman in her 20s who has had a kidney transplant. Another is a 19-year-old man on the autistic spectrum, whose mum had struggled to find an activity he could truly relax and enjoy—until he discovered yoga. He’s now ‘fallen in love’ with it and comes every week.

Grassroots CIC at St Peter’s Community Centre is growing week by week and has blossomed into a truly warm, welcoming and joyful place to be with a future full of new opportunities.

For more information and to keep up to date with all things Grassroots CIC, visit their Facebook page.