Carers Active April is back again in 2024! The month-long campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity for carers and highlight the benefits to carers of moving more. We believe that carers should be able to be active in a way that’s achievable, accessible, and affordable. Carers often face a challenging time, and see their own health and wellbeing impacted by their caring responsibilities. Finding ways to improve carers’ health and wellbeing is crucial and this year's campaign will be bigger and better, with even more professionals getting behind it.
We need your help to ensure that we can support the UK’s 5.7 million unpaid carers to become more active this April and beyond. We want organisations across the country to come together this April and run physical activity events such as walks, online yoga or dance sessions for unpaid carers. Or you can get involved by sharing information and advice on how to become more active and look after your wellbeing as a carer. If you've already planned your activity, make sure to let us know about it here!
Weekly themes
Each week of Carers Active April 2024 will have a theme, which you may find useful when planning your activities or communications.
Week one: Active living with a long term health condition
Week two: Embracing the outdoors
Week three: Movement and mental wellbeing
Week four: Sport and leisure clubs in your area
How you can support Carers Active April
We would love organisations and individuals to get behind Carers Active April and there are a range of simple ways to do this. Here’s how you can make a big difference to carers’ health and wellbeing through supporting Carers Active April this year:
● Run an activity for carers during April
● Offer a free or subsidised product or service to carers during April
● Promote the Carers Active Hub
Add your activity
Whatever you decide to do, don’t forget to tell us all about it!
Adding your activity helps us get the fullest picture of what's going on across the UK during Carers Active April. The more we know about who takes part and the events and activities taking place, the more we can help signpost carers to them tailor our resources and support through the Carers Active project.
Run an activity during April
Carers Active April is an ideal time to provide opportunities for carers to be more active! Before deciding what activities you want to carry out, it is important to consider the resources you have and what you want to achieve.
Key questions to consider:
- Will my activity be virtual, or will I be able to host an in-person event?
- Can I reach local carers who cannot access an online event, for example over the phone?
- How will I promote the event to local carers?
- What other organisations in the local community might be able to support the event?
- Do I have the funding I need?
Run a walking event for We Move More
One of the biggest challenges carers face is social isolation, so to help foster feelings of solidarity and get carers moving, we're hosting a mass action day.
This year, on April 11, we are encouraging all our partners to get involved in by running a walk for carers in your areas. If you'd like to run a walk, use the 'Add Your Activity' above.
Social media toolkit
Our social media toolkit has everything you need to support the Carers Active April campaign on your channels, as well as promoting your own events and activities. Download it to access graphics and suggested copy for your social media.
You can download our social media cards for Carers Active April 2024 here.
Need inspiration?
There are loads of activities you can run that encourage carers to be more active. If you need inspiration, here are some examples of activities that organisations currently run for carers:
|
Dance session |
Local walk and talk |
Tai chi |
|
Group cycling |
Walking football or netball |
Boxing exercise |
|
Gardening challenge |
Aqua aerobics |
Step class |
Offer a free or subsidised service or product to carers during April
April could be an opportunity for you to provide a special discount or offer for unpaid carers so that they can access your facility or services.
Promote the Carers Active Hub
There are also other ways to support the campaign month, including promoting our Carers Active Hub. The Hub has loads of resources and support for carers to become more active, including:
Resources
A logo for you to use in any promotional materials, newsletters or social media posts. Download here.
Our social media toolkit has everything you need to support the Carers Active April campaign on your channels, as well as promoting your own events and activities.
Download graphics for use on your social media channels here.
Download our suggested copy for your newsletter here.
The Carers Active Best Practice Guide is a comprehensive resource for professionals looking to support carers to get active, including advice, activity ideas, resources, case studies and more.
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