REECE & SUNNY'S ROVING REPORTS - Becoming More Me
Becoming More Me is a group run by Kelly Mercer from Coach and Shine it was set up following a consultation between Kelly, Dave McPartlin from Flakefleet Primary School and some of the customers using Strive Coffee Shop, who discussed what they’d like the space to be used for.
Kelly asked a variety of people if they could do with more with their life, what would they do? Over a period of time, she received various answers with the main one being that they just wanted to feel a part of something, closely followed by wanting something that was just for them, having more confidence and achievable goals.
Following on from the consultation and subsequent research, Kelly got the group up and running, they meet on a weekly basis on Friday mornings at Strive, currently being funded by Strive and Flakefleet School.
The group do some Life Coaching, after which they decided what they’d like to see and do, this has resulted in the group having a variety of guest speakers and classes ranging from Beach Well-being to Arts & Crafts, Creative Writing to Blackpool & Fylde College Community Learning.
What Kelly is really trying to achieve with this group is to bring local people in to showcase what they can do and help them to see how they can benefit their local community, inspiring them to try things they wouldn’t have thought of.
Many people in this group are parents and carers, after dropping the children off at nursery/school they find themselves wondering what to do now. The group helps them to fill their time constructively and brings them all together showing that they’re not on their own.
The group started a few months ago and has been growing steadily, with around 50% of the attendees being local people from Fleetwood with no connection to Flakefleet School. At the end of each meeting, each group member is asked to provide feedback about the session and what they would like to do in the future. Kelly’s ambition for the group is to hopefully secure future funding to enable the group to continue in September, running in alignment with the school terms.
Helen has been attending Becoming More Me since the beginning, she has enjoyed many of the various activities that have been arranged by a variety of people. Helen has made new friends through the group and really hopes it will carry on in the future. She has found herself looking forward to Friday mornings, it’s helped her in so many ways, reducing her anxiety and the feeling of loneliness. Helen and her new friends have also been meeting up outside of the group, which is something she really enjoys.
Heather has also been with the group from the start, she says she enjoys the groups activities and the fact that they got to decide what they can do. The group is very friendly, and she’s made friends with so many new people. Heather’s favourite activity was the rock painting and learning about the beach.
I found the group to have lots of friendly people and I can say from listening to the members that it really has had a positive impact on them, many of them commented on how it has helped them become friends with people they wouldn’t normally come across in their normal everyday life. They are all concerned that the group may not be able to continue meeting on Friday mornings at Strive if funding isn’t available for Kelly to keep the group going and moving forward in the future.
The members also talked about how the group has helped them personally with their own health issues, they’ve said it has helped them improve their relationships with people, also increased their own outlooks on life with optimism, improved their confidence and self-assertiveness and has shown them how they can have a positive impact in their local community and also how much they’ve learnt from each other.
I think Kelly should be very proud of this group and the work she has put into it because the difference in the members from the start until now is remarkable and it’s all been achieved in just a few months. I personally, would love to see what could be achieved within a year.
- Reece & Sunny, July 2024
Over the summer holidays COACH & SHINE will be at Strive Fleetwood, offering free, fun activities for families who want to boost their wellbeing.
Tuesdays: Strive 2 Play with Kelly Mercer from Coach and Shine
Wednesdays: Strive 2 Learn with Kelly & Ellie Ultimate-Health
Thursdays: Strive 2 Achieve with Kelly & Ellie
Places are limited and should be pre-booked.
For more information, please contact Kelly
e-mail: info@coachandshine.com
Facebook: Coach and Shine
Website: www.coachandshine.com
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