Member Article

£125k Lottery Win Just the Ticket for Tailored Leisure Company

Tailored Leisure Company (TLC) are renowned in the region for the ethos and vision to overcome the barriers and social exclusion faced by disabled people, specifically in terms of access to fitness and leisure activities.

Their award-winning formula has seen the team pick up an influx of award nominations and wins for their ground-breaking work and they have established a strong collaborative working approach to drive the development of accessible projects across the region, with partners including SAFCs Foundation of Light, Sunderland City Council and Headway.

Their track record and commitment to accessibility has now seen them win the jackpot and has proven to be just the ticket as the team celebrate a £125,000 funding award from the National Lottery Community Fund for a two-year project.

With a concept that developed in lockdown, TLC have successfully grown the initial Sit to be Fit classes into a large-scale community engagement project, supporting participants to access an array of tailored fitness support.

The funding will elevate the project across the community to allow the team to deliver more seated exercise and a host of wellbeing activities to people with disabilities and long-term conditions throughout the North East region, focusing on ‘Ability not Disability.’

Tara Johnson, Director of TLC who set up the company due to her own experiences of living with cerebral palsy, said:

“Following the success of Sit to Be Fit at home which we launched via zoom during lockdown, we are delighted with the growth and interest in the project which allows us to further roll out this programme into the community thanks to the funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and we have developed some fantastic links with key partners including SAFCs Foundation of Light, Sunderland City Council and Headway. These partnerships and our track-record has been a key ingredient to TLC successfully achieving the funding bid, we are all so excited about the funding and the further growth it will bring to TLC.

We love what we do, and we are determined to promote social inclusion and access to bespoke leisure and fitness activities, so that everyone can enjoy life without compromise.“

Accessible leisure and fitness are at the forefront of the operations at TLC and led by regional research they have attracted the attention of numerous national funders over the last couple of years to run a host of accessible projects. The community fitness programmes run alongside a continued funding drive to raise £1.5 million for the development of an innovative, one-of-a- kind accessible short break holiday and leisure complex, the ‘Butterfly of the North’, which saw the inspirational founder (Tara Johnson) stand for the first time in over 20 years to raise vital funds towards the endeavour.

The first stage of the accessible short break and leisure service came to fruition in 2022 when TLC collaborated with one of Britain’s leading family holiday companies Haven. The collaboration saw TLC launch their first accessible short break service for families to enjoy a relaxing break in a fully accessible caravan at the site at Berwick Holiday Park, nestled on Northumberland’s breathtaking coastline.

Tara added,

“The launch of the accessible break service with Haven was also a real pivotal moment for us, it was an amazing start to our exciting plans for accessible short breaks across the region.”

Along the journey TLC have picked up an influx of awards including PNE Social Impact Award, Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Business Awards, Entrepreneur of the Year at the Best of South Tyneside Awards followed by an accolade at the BBC’s Make a Difference Awards.

Tara added,

“The project and the sessions really do see results and have a huge impact on the wellbeing and the mental health of our participants who’ve seen a detrimental decline on their fitness levels over the years, people are still suffering from the effect of lockdown which heightened their sense of isolation, lack of motivation and access to fitness, community engagement is key to support the most vulnerable.

This ground-breaking lottery funding from the National Lottery Community Fund will further elevate our work in the community, allowing us to support so many more beneficiaries. This really is a momentous moment for TLC.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Claire Pickersgill .