Carers Active April is back again in 2023! It’s a month-long campaign to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity for carers and highlight the benefits to carers of moving more. We believe that carers should be able to be active in a way that’s achievable, accessible, and affordable. Carers often face a challenging time, and many have seen their own health and wellbeing impacted by their caring responsibilities. Finding ways to improve carers’ health and wellbeing is crucial.
We need your help to ensure that we can support the UK’s 5.8 million unpaid carers to become more active this April and beyond. We want organisations across the country to come together this April and run physical activity events such as walks, online yoga or dance sessions for unpaid carers. Or you can get involved by sharing information and advice on how to become more active and look after your wellbeing as a carer. If you've already planned your activity, make sure to let us know about it here!
Why support Carers Active April?
Around three-quarters of carers do not feel that they are able to do as much physical exercise as they’d like to do and want to know how to build this into their busy lives. We also know that:
- Only 14% of carers are active, compared to 54% of all adults.
- Nearly 75% of carers don’t feel able to access local sport and leisure facilities.
But physical activity has huge benefits for carers' physical and mental health:
- 73% of carers said that being physically active makes them feel good about themselves.
- 67% of carers said doing a range of physical activities helped them to feel more connected to other people.
- 58% of carers said being active helped them to learn more about the importance of looking after their health.
“It’s not just about the exercise for me. It’s about time on my own. I quite like not having to do things for people and just having the thoughts to yourself.”
“I really enjoy activities because they give me a sense of wellbeing and of physical achievement. They also contribute to my feelings of independence and happiness.”
“I love yoga. For me, it’s more of just trying to do something that makes me feel better in my head, makes me feel less stressed.”
How you can support Carers Active April
We would love organisations and individuals to get behind Carers Active April and there are a range of simple ways to do this. Here’s how you can make a big difference to carers’ health and wellbeing through supporting Carers Active April this year:
● Run an activity for carers during April
● Offer a free or subsidised product or service to carers during April
● Promote the Carers Active Hub
Run an activity during April
Carers Active April is an ideal time to provide opportunities for carers to be more active! Before deciding what activities you want to carry out, it is important to consider the resources you have and what you want to achieve.
Key questions to consider:
- Will my activity be virtual, or will I be able to host an in-person event?
- Can I reach local carers who cannot access an online event, for example over the phone?
- How will I promote the event to local carers?
- What other organisations in the local community might be able to support the event?
- Do I have the funding I need?
Social media toolkit
Our social media toolkit has everything you need to support the Carers Active April campaign on your channels, as well as promoting your own events and activities. Download it to access graphics and suggested copy for your social media.
Weekly themes
Each week of Carers Active April 2023 will have a theme, which you may find useful when planning your activities or communications.
Week one, w/c 3rd April: the outdoors and being active in free open spaces
Week two, w/c 10th April: being active at home
Week three, w/c 17th April: leisure facilities in your local area
Week four, w/c 24th April: nutrition and wellbeing for being active
Need inspiration?
There are loads of activities you can run that encourage carers to be more active. If you need inspiration, here are some examples of activities that organisations currently run for carers:
|
Dance session |
Local walk and talk |
Tai chi |
|
Group cycling |
Walking football or netball |
Boxing exercise |
|
Gardening challenge |
Aqua aerobics |
Step class |
Add your activity
Whatever you decide to do, don’t forget to tell us all about it!
Adding your activity helps us get the fullest picture of what's going on across the UK during Carers Active April. The more we know about who takes part and the events and activities taking place, the more we can help signpost carers to them tailor our resources and support through the Carers Active project.
Offer a free or subsidised service or product to carers during April
April could be an opportunity for you to provide a special discount or offer for unpaid carers so that they can access your facility or services.
Promote the Carers Active Hub
There are also other ways to support the campaign month, including promoting our Carers Active Hub. The Hub has loads of resources and support for carers to become more active, including:
Resources
A logo for you to use in any promotional materials, newsletters or social media posts. Download here.
Our social media toolkit has everything you need to support the Carers Active April campaign on your channels, as well as promoting your own events and activities.
Download graphics for use on your social media channels here.
Download our template press release here. You can use this to promote your event or activity in local media - just make sure to add in your own details!
Download our suggested copy for your newsletter here.
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