FIT RAMS gives Carrie the ability to live the life her and her family deserve.

/in , , /by

Prior to starting FIT RAMS with Derby County Community Trust, Carrie had tried many times to lose weight and get healthier but had found herself struggling to stick to diets and weight-loss plans.

“Before I started FIT RAMS had no confidence and felt no self-worth. I felt that everything I did I failed at as I had done with so many diets in the past. I was so morbidly obese, with a terrifying BMI that I worried constantly about leaving my children behind with no mother.

“I was unable to walk very far without feeling very tired. I had no energy and absolutely no motivation. I knew I wanted to make changes so much but just couldn’t see a way out of the cycle of binge eating and depression.”

Getting out of this cycle was exactly what Carrie needed to reach her goals and that is where FIT RAMS came in to help.

“I love the fact there was no pressure to make any changes to our lives and it was all on our own terms. This helped massively with the previous cycle I have felt from other classes of feeling like you’ve failed so continuing on a downward spiral. The SMART goals are really good for helping with this. This for me was so much better than being given an unrealistic eating plan and being dictated to.”

FIT RAMS was a revelation for Carrie, who committed herself to the course every week and enjoyed the process.

“I have learned so much by coming to the classes every week and have really enjoyed them. I’ve never missed a class and that’s because I looked forward to coming and didn’t feel judged or daunted by an intense exercise class that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with.

“The classes were so varied with quizzes, small group activities and full group discussions that I never felt under any pressure to contribute more than I felt I could. This variety made the sessions more interesting and helped to maintain my attention. I also felt our group was very friendly and supportive and I never felt silly asking any questions in front of anybody there.

“The exercise classes were amazing. They started off at such an achievable level that I didn’t get scared off after the first one! Every week Jon made them a little harder and that was perfect for me to keep my enthusiasm going and I also felt like I had really achieved something in each class.”

Average weight loss statistics for the FIT FANS programme are impressive and exceed those of many other programmes. On average women lose well over 3kg and men over 5.5kg by the end of the 12 weeks. We also have evidence that lifestyle change and weight loss are sustained over the following 12 months. More than 90% of men and 85% of women lose weight during the programme with many losing a clinically significant amount.  Our data shows FIT FANS helps people to increase physical activity, and reduce sedentary time, leading to weight loss, a significant reduction in reduction in blood pressure, and improvement in self-reported mental wellbeing measures.

By the end of the course, Carrie lost an amazing 10.3kg and 13cm off her waist and feels like she’s making steps forward thanks to FIT RAMS and the support she received.

“I finally feel like I can succeed on my journey now and that’s down to Jon and Ben. They have helped me to start living the life I deserve and have helped me to feel like I am worthy of investing my time into. I will always be grateful for the time and planning they have put into the sessions and their attitude towards people like myself who just need some help to get back onto the right path.

“I can’t thank you both enough and am looking forward to attending the maintenance classes regularly.”

To find out more about your nearest FIT FANS programme,  please contact your local Club using the list below.

    * Please Choose Club

    Your information will be sent to a member of staff from your chosen club who will call or email information about FIT FANS. You are not committing to joining FIT FANS just to receiving further information. Your data will not be used for any other information without you consent. Please see our Privacy Policy for more details on how we manage your data

    NCS’ers Launch Project to Combat Period Poverty

    /in , /by

    Recognising it as a problem that gets overlooked in society, an inspiring group of 9 young women on NCS launched a unique project named ‘Padded, Protected and Proud‘ this summer to combat period poverty.   Read more

    The EFL Trust launch ‘Headstart’ to support children’s mental health

    /in , , /by

    Year 6 children to receive mental health support to reduce NHS strain.

    The EFL Trust, alongside four Club Community Organisations (CCOs) in Lancashire, are aiming to support children and their mental health through a new two-year project, Headstart, funded by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity after successfully applying for an NHS Charities Together Grant. Read more

    Making the unnoticed, noticed, “Many of us felt that the homeless go unnoticed in society and we wanted to give them a voice.”

    /in , , /by

    A group of inspiring young teens from Sheffield with Element Society recently set out on a unique mission to impact their local community during their time on the National Citizen Service programme (NCS).

    The mission… To help the homeless.

    Following a week of adventure which included rock climbing and raft building, the group of 13 young people set to work on improving their community with the delivery of a social action project. Young people on NCS get the opportunity to complete a social action project as part of their experience, where they are given a taste of independence, mix with new people, take on exciting challenges and work on meaningful projects.

    For their project, the group agreed that poverty and homelessness is a big issue within the city and felt that it was important to do something about it.

    Naming the project ‘Th3 Unnoticed’, the group wanted to acknowledge the lack of awareness of homeless people within the city and started off by handing out food and drink for the homeless people of Sheffield. This was coupled with heartfelt messages and personalised cards of motivation, leading to some tearful emotions of gratitude from the homeless people.

    Jon Dennis was one of the young people involved and gave more detail of what the group got up to:

    “Many of us felt that the homeless go unnoticed in society and we wanted to give them a voice. It all resulted in a project that we were proud to be a part of.”

    “We spent a week spreading awareness through social media about the struggles and misconceptions of rough sleepers in Sheffield. We used our £100 allowance to buy 15 meal deals and hand them out to the homeless in the city centre. We also talked to the homeless and asked them about their experiences of sleeping on the streets.”

    Not slowing down, the group then set out a unique social experiment, involving one member of the group acting as a homeless person and then asking the public for help, to see whether anybody showed any concern. The group then gave £10 back to members of the public who did show concern as a sign of appreciation.

    The groups endeavour went from strength to strength, as they also created surveys for the public, to gain their perspective on homelessness. The idea behind the surveys, was to help the group to gain some important data on the public’s perspective of the homeless within Sheffield, including how many members of the public would be willing to a help a homeless person, when encountering them in the city centre.

    Emily Broadbent, another member of the group had this to say about the project:

    “Our project was to help the unnoticed citizens by spreading a message that there is still hope left for the less fortunate. As a group, we all agreed that people shouldn’t still be living on the streets especially with such a wealthy economy surrounding them, as they become unnoticed and put in the shadows.”

    Their 2-week experience on NCS has not only helped raise awareness of homelessness in Sheffield, as the young people themselves also gained greatly from such a fantastic collective effort, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and interacting with a wide range of different people within the community.

    Will Earp, Programmes Manager at Element Society, commented on the young people’s project:

    “The team recognised that in their local area, homelessness rates are increasing, with more and more people sleeping on the streets. They wanted to spread some kindness and joy through their short messages, it was heart-warming to see the responses from some people.”

    “Their passion was evident about this topic and the team would love to use Changemaker opportunities to pitch to continue their social action!”

    Click here to find out more about NCS.

    Mike Evans to step down as EFL Trust CEO

    /in , /by

    Mike stated that the decision to step down was an “incredibly difficult” one, but as the EFL Trust begins consultation with stakeholders about its strategy post-2024, said it felt like the “right time” for a change.

    Read more

    The EFL Trust gains ‘Excellent’ Merlin Standard

    /in , /by

    The EFL Trust, the charitable arm of the EFL, has been awarded an ‘Excellent’ Merlin Standard accreditation assessment in supply chain management and has also  received 97% rating from Pharos Response for NCS Delivery.

    Since the EFL Trust was established in 2008 to oversee the diverse work of EFL Club Community Organisations, the organisation has been voluntarily assessed every 2 years by Assessment Services.

    The Trust becomes one of only 18 organisations in the United Kingdom that are Merlin Accredited.

    Achievement of the Merlin Standard demonstrates the high quality of the EFL Trust’s partnership working both within our network of EFL Club Community Organisations and our wider supply chain of delivery partners on key programmes.

    The Merlin Standard for delivering excellence in supply chain management is built upon 8 fundamental and integrated principles: Design, Procure, Contract, Funding, Develop, Performance Manage, QA & Compliance, and Review & Close. Within each principle, there are a number of criteria, which provide a structured approach to achieving excellence in supply chain management.

    Following years of continuous improvement against the standard, the EFL Trust was assessed once again this May and has been awarded an ‘Excellent’ accreditation, scoring an outstanding 86% outcome score.

    The assessment noted a series of key strengths of the EFL Trust including the design of the strategy for the development of the supply chain; the EFL’s commitment to the Capability Code of Practice, a standard created in conjunction with the Premier League Charitable Fund to ensure that there is a consistent professional standard for continuous professional development across of network and wider supply chain. Also noted, were the EFL Trust’s strengths in communication methods, including events, regularity of digital network communications and events; their consultation and collaborative style and also their approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

    Mike Evans, CEO of the EFL Trust said,

    “This accreditation is very important to us and our network of delivery teams in communities across England and Wales. At the EFL Trust, two of our core values are a commitment to continually improving and also leading by example, so this ‘Excellent’ rating is a great testament to our organisation living and breathing those values.

    “We are also delighted that part of this accreditation is based on an assessment of our organisation by network members, who it is our mission to advise, support, represent and resource.”

    In addition, ahead of the NCS programme commencing this summer, the EFL Trust have also undergone their annual Health, Safety and Safeguarding Management System Pre-programme Evaluation, undertaken by Pharos on behalf of the NCS Trust.

    The evaluation involves an in-depth review of Governance – including Safeguarding, Health & Safety, and Incident Management – and Procurement and Quality Assurance arrangements for EFL Trust and its network of delivery partners.

    The results of the assessment were outstanding, with the EFL Trust scoring 97%.

    The EFL Trust will continue to work closely with our network to ensure that these standards and any areas for continuous improvement remain at the heart of our strategy going forward.

    Eco pupils and Trust make Ewood Park green

    /in , , /by

    Blackburn Rovers Community Trust (BRCT) welcomed hundreds of eager pupils from across the North West who want to make a sustainable difference to their lives and those of future generations. 
     Read more

    “The impact of this programme is so huge it is almost unmeasurable”

    /in , , , /by

    These were the words of Hayley Barclay from Club Doncaster Foundation who recently took students from Harrison College in Doncaster on the NCS programme. Read more

    FIT FANS with Bolton Wanderers gave Amjid increased confidence to get his life back on track

    /in , /by

    Prior to attending the FIT TROTTERS programme Amjid had been signed off from work due to depression caused by a family trauma incident. He became a shadow of himself and struggled to complete mundane day-to-day tasks.

    FIT TROTTERS is part of the EFL Trust FIT FANS programme facilitated at over 40 clubs across the country.

    Having booked five separate sessions at his local gym, Amjid was aware he required some support and guidance but cancelled every session because he did not feel well enough to attend. However, FIT FANS although initially reluctant had a different effect on Amjid.

    Average weight loss statistics for the FIT FANS programme are impressive and exceed those of many other programmes. On average women lose well over 3kg and men over 5.5kg by the end of the 12 weeks. We also have evidence that lifestyle change, and weight loss are sustained over the following 12 months. More than 90% of men and 85% of women lose weight during the programme with many losing a clinically significant amount.  Our data shows FIT FANS helps people to increase physical activity, and reduce sedentary time, leading to weight loss, a significant reduction in reduction in blood pressure, and improvement in self-reported mental wellbeing measures.

    Jack and his colleague Dianne at Bolton Wanderers were pivotal in Amjid’s commitment to the initiative. They made immediate contact and explained in detail what the course would entail whilst offering their continued support throughout.

    More so, their offering to Amjid was above and beyond as Jamie, a member of the FIT TROTTERS team met him in the car park of his initial introduction session to ease Amjid’s anxious thoughts of the unknown.

    Following this first interaction, he attended the next session but not without difficulty. Amjid found it hard and reluctantly made his way to the stadium but remained reserved and quiet throughout.

    However, a tour of the Reebok Stadium and the supportive nature of the group, gave Amjid the courage to start to open up to the group, lifting a weight from the shoulders he had been carrying. Eventually, he stated that he was glad he did attend as it was the only event that had got him to leave his house in months.

    This was just the start of Amjid’s journey as he began to grow in confidence and soon became a key member of the group building strong friendships with other participants.

    He said: “My confidence has grown throughout the course and I have been able to maintain this on a daily basis and I have a sense of real pride of how far I have come.”

    Amjid’s mental health started to improve and with this so did his physical well-being as he lost 3kg over the 12 weeks.

    Consequently, the staff and FIT TROTTERS have had a huge impact on him and his recovery from depression. Amjid has returned to his beloved job as an emergency service officer, initially on reduced hours where he will now make a difference in people’s lives much like Jack and his team did for himself.

    Amjid explained: “I strongly believe that FIT TROTTERS and the coaches have a big part to play in me returning back to work, to a job that I love doing and had missed so dearly while I was off work suffering with depression.”

    To find out more about FIT FANS please contact your local Club using the list below

      * Please Choose Club