Fit and well for the New Year!

Focus on Stour Health and Wellbeing Partnership (SHWP)

What is SHWP?
Stour Health and Wellbeing Partnership (SHWP) has been running now for three years as a charity set up for the health and wellbeing of the Shipston and surrounding communities. It has had much success in creating a wealth of activities to help mobility and combat loneliness and it has been wonderful to see so many of you attend these.

Energetic – and sociable!
The Strictly Fitsteps in Newbold on Stour and the Townsend Hall are particularly popular with the more energetic members of the community. The seated and standing Tai Chi at the Townsend Hall, are both hugely successful, with over 30 people attending each week.

There are also Pilates classes on a Friday along with many more. If you haven’t tried a class yet, please do. They are all currently free to you and are a great way of helping your mental and physical health as well as being really fun and a great sociable activity.

Indoor curling
The Townsend Hall is also where we hold our weekly indoor curling sessions. These have been so popular that we also host a group in Ilmington, and there is some healthy rivalry between the two. Could we start a third group and have a league?

Surrounding villages
We are very pleased that due to funding secured through the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund with Stratford-on-Avon District Council as the lead authority, we can not only continue to hold the classes for free, but also offer activities in the surrounding villages. A dance and exercise class has been set up in Tysoe, along with Pickleball in Brailes.

For the young too!
The activities of SHWP are not limited to the older members of the community. Thanks to the funding secured, we have also been able to help fund the fantastic work of Lee Cooper and SEFC Pan-Disability Junior Football team, who run a weekly football session for the community. This is such a worthwhile and needed initiative, and we are proud to support them
with their great work.

Warm Hub
Did you know that SHWP also run the Shipston Community Warm Hub at the Scout Hut on a Thursday, 10am-12pm? Every week there is a different theme, from digital workshops to cooking; from a drop-in clinic with the frailty nurse for Shipston Medical Centre to the Shipston Home Nurses offering bereavement support and soup. We are always excited when new members of the community come along, and we look forward to meeting more of you.

Volunteers needed
SHWP is run by a board of trustees who are all volunteers. We are so grateful to all the volunteers who help make all these initiatives happen, but we are always looking for more people to help. Could that be you? Please email admin@shwp.org.uk if you would like to know more.