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Halo Leisure reaches out to the community
01 Jun 2020
"Communities only work if we don't just think about ourselves, but about each other as well", says Iain Hayes, Halo Leisure's Director of Operations.
"There is a healthy discussion going on right now about what the new normal will look like when shops and businesses reopen. The conversation has seen leaders talking about how they might measure success in new ways (and not just according to profit), how their resilience to the pandemic was based not only on previous financial success but on how they've treated people (staff and customers) and so their willingness to support the lockdown," says Hayes. "And of course we've seen the value of social capital - countless kind, compassionate acts that have shaped communities during these months."
For award-winning social enterprises like Halo Leisure people and community has been at the heart of their business for years, so the lockdown wasn't so much a learning curve but rather more evidence of why social enterprises are so crucial to society. At Halo Leisure, Halo's staff were quick and keen to embrace opportunities to share ideas for health and fitness with customers online (see Halo@HOME), or to take up online training at home to build skills for when they returned to their roles in Halo's centres.
"What we've been especially proud of is the scale of voluntary work undertaken by the team," adds Hayes. Every year Halo Leisure celebrate Volunteers Week (1 - 7 June), but during the pandemic they've seen the value and some. Too many people and projects to mention here but by way of example he points to staff in Bridgend County where community partnerships were long formed and proving to be hugely valuable to local people. Here Jess Jaques from Halo's Active Community team (pictured here outside the Talbot Institute) was quickly helping out in new ways, delivering food to vulnerable people, supporting the local food bank, and providing a listening ear when people wanted to talk.
"Being part of the Feel Good for Life Scheme at Halo had taught me just how important socialisation is for older people, particularly those living with dementia," says Jess.
Over in Herefordshire, Halo Customer Service Manager Ginny Cooper signed up to volunteer with COVID 19 SOS, a project which cooks over 200 meals each day and delivers them to vulnerable people. She says she found on those delivery rounds countless opportunities to share activity and mobility tips to help keep people strong and healthy. "I've been humbled by the experience," says Cooper. "I've had people shout their thanks from gardens and through windows in a way that's brought me to tears."
"I think one of the biggest lessons learned is that communities only work if we don't think about ourselves, but about each other as well," says Hayes. "That's always been part of our ethos, but it's been exciting to see these new collaborations and community connections. I've been hugely proud of the team and all the ways they've got involved with local community projects. When we return – and we're so excited about welcoming people back into our centres – it will be good to explore how we can build on them as we all recover from the crisis and move forward."
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CLUK General Meeting
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16 April 2024
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24 April 2024
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2 May 2024
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