Children and young people could be getting outdoors a lot more in 2017 with Get Out More.  Our project is one of five groups competing in the Yorkshire region for up to £50,000 of National Lottery funding in ITV’s People’s Projects competition.   Get Out More is calling for your vote to run The Outdoor Adventure Club, a year-long programme of outdoor activities making use of Keighley’s woodlands and parks.

The Big Lottery Fund, ITV and The National Lottery have announced the shortlist of 5 projects for Yorkshire, which includes Get Out More’s Outdoor Adventure Club. The groups with the most public votes will secure a grant of up to £50,000.

Our friends and supporters are urged to visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk and vote for the Outdoor Adventure Club*. Voting opens at 9am on 20 March and closes on 3 April, with the winner announced on Thursday 6 April.

The proposed project is the Outdoor Adventure Club; a programme of outdoor activities for children, young people and families in Keighley, bringing people and communities together to take part in positive activities which promote health and wellbeing.  The Club was piloted in Keighley East in 2016 when over 150 children and young people took part in after school, weekend and holiday sessions.

Get Out More Director Annie Berrington says “We are very lucky to have a wonderful range of green and wild spaces around Keighley which have the potential to offer fantastic opportunities for activity, play and socialising.  This programme would work with children and young people across Keighley, helping children to be more active and adventurous and make friends with others from different communities.

When I was a child we played out all the time, but these days children spend a lot more time indoors playing with computer technology – contributing to some worrying statistics about rising obesity and mental health problems.  The Outdoor Adventure Club gets children active outdoors, safely supervised by qualified outdoor leaders. ”

The Outdoor Adventure Club will consist of after school, weekend and holiday programmes for children, young people and families and includes plans to work with local people to develop more skilled workers and volunteers to help with projects.  It also aims to work with local groups who are improving the beautiful but underused woods and green spaces in Keighley, such as Park Wood, Hainworth Wood, North Beck, Guard House Allotments & Damems Nature Reserve so they are easier to access and safer places to visit.

Get Out More is calling on everyone’s support, with the public voting online at www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk to decide who wins the prize. On Thursday 23 March Get Out More will showcase the Outdoor Adventure Club on Calendar News at 6pm.

*People without email addresses can vote by post by sending a postcard to ‘Freepost THE PEOPLE’S PROJECTS’. To be counted, the following details must be written on the postcard: name, address, telephone number and the name of the project voted for. Please send your postal vote by last post Wednesday 29 March 2017. Postal votes must be received by noon on Monday 3rd April 2017.