Last year, an incredible £45,000 was raised for the Trafford Active Fund – the initiative of the adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half whose unremitting goal it is to get more people active, more often. 

By working with Trafford Council, the fund distributed over £30,000 to local projects and groups in Greater Manchester last year, helping to create a physical activity legacy in Greater Manchester.

£1 from every paid entry into both the adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half goes into the Trafford Active Fund. 

In April and May 2023, several community schemes received  over 10,000 in the first allocation of funding. Six additional schemes received the remainder of the 2023 funding of over £20,000 and you can find out who they are and the benefits the donations brought below.

1. Junior Parkrun

The fund helped kickstart two new Junior Parkruns in Greater Manchester. £5,666 has been allocated to three new events: Victoria Park, Salisbury Field Junior and Goodwood Field (expected to start this year). Junior Parkrun is a weekly 2km run for 4-14 year olds. In total, the events have had 5034 finishers between them. Both events are also supported by a dedicated team of 265 volunteers.

2. Lancashire Cricket Foundation Ladies Walking Cricket

Since funding was allocated in September, the Lancashire Cricket Foundation received £2,880 to fund a new ladies walking cricket provision, aimed at women over 50 who wish to play cricket at a slightly slower pace, while making fun and improving mental health. Since the funding, the club has held 26 sessions and had 207 overall attendances.

3. Healthy Hips and Hearts

The Trafford Active Fund has also helped reduce the financial strain on Healthy Hips and Hearts, a club with over 20 years of history helping older people to stay active and socially connected. The group meet at Partington Methodist Church Warburton Lane on Tuesday mornings.

4. MileShy Club

The MileShy Club is successful in its mission to help hundreds of would-be runners of all ages, shapes and sizes take their first steps into the world of running. Since starting in 2017, the club holds sessions across 5 different sites in Manchester, and have created beginner friendly walking groups. The Trafford Active Fund helped uplift the MileShy Club Trafford Walking Centre Group with funding of £2,370. This has led to a 43% increase in members since October. Founder and CEO of MileShy Club Jane Dennison said the following:

“The numbers are superb. Thanks to the funding, we’ve also been able to recruit additional volunteers and Walk Leaders, as well as deliver first aid training. We even got the group involved in a walking wave for the 24 hour Manchester run against homelessness”.

5. ParkPlay

ParkPlay brings people from local communities together in parks and green spaces for two hours of free, informal games and activity, every Saturday morning. £12,420 has funded two new ParkPlays, one in Longford Park and the other in Cross Lane Park, with weekly events expected to launch in June.

Andrew Smith, Human Race CEO said: “We’re delighted to fund this fantastic and fun initiative owing to the adidas Manchester Marathon. ParkPlay’s values of community, getting active and fun are ones that we support, and we are looking forward to seeing the project grow”.

Find out more information here.

6. Kings Road Table Tennis

In November, the Trafford Active Fund granted £1,040 to Kings Road Table Tennis group, to help more juniors play the sport after school. The organiser, Mohammed Ullah expressed thanks to the fund, which has recruited both juniors and adults into the club:

“The sessions are really going well. We have a regular coach  who attends the sessions on a weekly basis and gives coaching to the juniors and adults alike. One of the juniors has struck a really good rapport with the coach and they now play competitively against each other in sessions – its great to see new talent like this!”

 

To find out more about the Trafford Active Fund, click here. We look forward to helping communities stay active in our 2024 funding provision.