Council Service wins prestigious Mental Health and Wellbeing Award

Bedford Borough Council's Sports Development team has won a Mental Health and Wellbeing Award in the "Support During the Pandemic" category.

The award, which is administered by The Mental Health and Wellbeing Awards, is for the work that the Council's team has done to keep residents active during the pandemic, alongside bringing together isolated and vulnerable members of the community.

The Sports Development team were nominated by local organisation Team BEDS&LUTON, who gave special thanks to Robert Lindsay, a Sports Development Officer at Bedford Borough Council, for going above and beyond to make sure that residents can access the free online exercise classes they have been facilitating throughout the pandemic.

Alongside the online classes, the team have also organised regular coffee and catch up sessions that allow the community to come together and talk, which has been increasingly important during the pandemic for more isolated residents.

The Council's team managed to best a number of other national organisations who were nominated in this category, which is a real testament to the work that they do and the impact they have had in supporting members of the community.

Robert Lindsay, said: "Receiving this national award is a fantastic achievement and a credit to all those involved. Our coaches and the participants are amazing and at an incredibly difficult time the willingness to adapt and to try new activities was truly inspiring. I am so pleased that we were able to offer this support network to people and that we can continue to offer physical activity sessions that aim to improve health and wellbeing."

If you, or someone you know, would like to get involved with Bedford Borough Council's free online exercise classes, you can find out more by visiting https://bedfordsportlive.crd.co/.