Basingstoke gym offers adoptive families free membership

Basingstoke gym offering free three month membership to adoptive families <i>(Image: Supplied)</i>
Basingstoke gym offering free three month membership to adoptive families (Image: Supplied)
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A gym in Basingstoke is giving adoptive families free access to leisure centres and activities for three months.

GLL, owner of Better UK at Basingstoke Sports Centre, and children's charity Coram are offering three months of complimentary membership at leisure centres to mark Big Adoption Day.

The scheme includes unlimited use of every gym, swimming pool, fitness class, and over 30 soft play and trampoline parks.

Joseph Rham, customer and communities director at GLL, said: "We are delighted to be supporting Coram and the work it does raising awareness and facilitating adoptions across the UK.

"We know the huge mental and physical benefits that access to sports, fitness and wellbeing activities can have on all sections of society. When we became aware of the research undertaken by Coram showing that care-experienced children often miss out, we wanted to help, both by promoting Big Adoption Day and providing free access to our leisure facilities to adoptive families."

The offer is available to all adoptive families across England and Wales who adopted through Coram or any other voluntary adoption agency within the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA).

Big Adoption Day, led by the CVAA and Coram, is an annual campaign raising awareness of adoption and celebrating the stories of adoptive families.

Adoption agencies across the UK mark the occasion with online and in-person events, sharing real-life experiences to help inform and encourage prospective adopters.

Dame Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said: "We are delighted to collaborate with GLL this Big Adoption Day and to highlight this wonderful offer for adoptive families across the country.

"We know this will make a huge difference for families, enabling them to enjoy activities together and helping to boost their physical and mental wellbeing."

Coram’s research emphasises the value of physical activity and inclusive leisure for care-experienced children.

A report by Coram and Stormbreak published last year by the Local Government Association described care-experienced children and young people as a 'hidden group' whose needs are often overlooked in physical activity policy and provision.

It highlighted the importance of prioritising movement in the lives of young people with care experience to support physical and mental wellbeing and called for care-experienced children and young people to have better access to physical activity.

Currently, there are 3,000 children waiting to be adopted across England.

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