Anonymous pledged £50019 hrs ago
Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.
We improve local people’s mental and physical health and employability and revitalise the local economy through cycling.
Cycling Minds was incorporated in Hexham (Northumberland) in November 2021 by three locals with a love of cycling to support people struggling to engage with society and the job market, find their way in life and achieve their full potential – especially those experiencing poor mental health and/or not in education, employment or training. We provide them with free access to an e-bike to take part in our Step On(e) guided ride programme, principally to help enhance their mental and physical health but also to encourage them to join Cycling Minds which acts as an anchor organisation, offering them opportunities to interact with the local cycling community and receive training through our Persevere to Succeed workplace training programme as bike mechanics and ride leaders and in customer service to be able to volunteer (and eventually gain paid work) in a fun, sociable and nurturing environment at The Link Community Cycle Hub we opened in April 2022.
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
From the beginning, Cycling Minds' core social purpose and how it fulfils this has been inspired by extensive talks with numerous local social and health care providers, principally The Living Well Service and charities such as Adapt North East and Hexham Youth Initiative. They have been hugely enthusiastic about Cycling Minds because, as they have pointed out, it targets an age group that is currently underprovided for in Northumberland. Referrers report a lack of options for them to signpost the young people they care for to organisations offering sports-related activities for that cohort, particularly sports that are non-competitive and outdoors. We are helping to fill this gap while also going a step further and giving our young participants a chance to learn new transferrable skills and build self-confidence to gain a foothold in the labour market.
Steps to get it done:
An example of the significant impact of our Persevere to Succeed programme is K who has SEN and was referred by a local SEN college. He attends The Link weekly to learn how to fix bikes and will be staying with Cycling Minds beyond his time at the college, which the college is very pleased about because otherwise he would not have had anything to move on to. We use a Wellbeing Wheel to assess how our programmes impact participants in areas such as mental health, confidence, social inclusion and all K’s scores all have improved. "K’s placement has given him masses and masses of confidence, and improved his communication skills with the public. He now acts more independently and more knowledgeably, will discuss things sensibly and come up with new suggestions. He is expressing his views – prior to coming to Cycling Minds, this is something he would not do readily," says the organisation that referred K to Cycling Minds.
Gallery
Location Hexham
About the space
Located in Hexham, a market town in the UK's most rural county, Northumberland. 96% of the county is countryside and rural poverty and social isolation is a real problem. Hexham is an ideal location for Cycling Minds to reach people located in areas where there are limited opportunities to socialise, practice sport and receive workplace training
Council
Northumberland Council
Journey
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Whoop, 30 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Whoop, 10 people have pledged since fundraising began!
1 new part-time job created
12 volunteers involved
2 classes provided
3 days of training provided
4 hours of training provided
1 new full-time job created
54 volunteering opportunities (hours) created
3 volunteering opportunities (days) created
1 new part-time job created
12 volunteers involved
2 classes provided
3 days of training provided
1 new full-time job created
3 volunteering opportunities (days) created
2 classes provided
Bringing together people and opportunities to create vibrant communities
Whoop, 10 people have pledged since fundraising began!
How will the money be spent?Total £41,024
Costs Breakdown
This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.
Overfunding
This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:
Total £41,024
Our Volunteer List
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VolunteerMany of today's major problems such as the climate crisis, widening economic inequalities, worsening mental and physical health, and the hollowing out of high streets due to competition from online retailers are clearly global challenges. but increasingly, local communities are the ones taking it upon themselves to tackle them from the bottom up. Indeed, it could be argued that is the only way they will be truly overcome.
Rather than sitting back and moaning about all our woes, we felt it was time to act by setting up Cycling Minds as we are firm believers in the power of cycling to not just improve an individual's well-being, skills and job opportunities but also help revitalise the local community and work towards Net Zero by promoting active travel.
The enthusiasm with which this project has been received by local cyclists, social prescribers, Hexham Town Council and Northumberland County Council to name but a few rubberstamps our belief that something as simple as cycling can serve as a catalyst for real social, environmental and economic change. A strong and healthy community is a resilient one and we believe Cycling Minds is already playing a part in building a brighter future for West Northumberland and its people.
After a successful start, we have proven the Cycling Minds concept is valuable and makes a tangible difference in our community. Some achievements we are proud of include: running 27 community outreach events in the local area (especially low-income neighbourhoods); refurbishing and selling +50 donated bikes at affordable prices; and providing volunteering opportunities for 35 locals from teenagers to retirees, creating a fantastic inter-generational atmosphere. We have also delivered +30 activities for other organisations, run numerous rides attended by a variety of local people including young adults with SEN, refugees and temporarily homeless individuals, and had four people on our workplace training programme.
Cycling Minds is new and has a long journey ahead but thus far, everything points to us making a real difference. However, to build on what we have achieved in Year 1, we need to secure funding to cover some staff costs until we grow our revenues streams sufficiently to be self-funding (something we are already on the way to achieving). Without this, much of what we have achieved will have to be significantly scaled back and we will not be able to progress at the same rate, as we will become solely volunteer led.
Project Owner: Cycling Minds CIC The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
