Active Communities Learning Festival

The Active Communities programme has been running for nearly six years across six of the most deprived areas in Birmingham and Solihull. It was funded as the Birmingham and Solihull Local Delivery Pilot (LDP) by Sport England, with the aim of increasing physical activity in those deprived communities that are statistically least likely to be active. In addition to testing interventions, we were also interested to see if there was a link between physical and civic activity.

Read More »

Mason’s Story

My name is Mason and over the summer I was part of the Active Streets team. Due to this being my first job, I was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect. Nerves soon died down after a warm welcome at the main office at Hay Hall from all

Read More »

CEO to speak at the Why Sports conference

The Active Wellbeing Society’s Chief Executive Karen Creavin will be in London tomorrow, speaking at the Why Sports – Improving Health and Increasing Activity conference – at the Royal College of medicine. Together with partners Kerry McDonald, the LDP Senior Project Manager at Active Essex, and Rajinder Singh, the Head

Read More »

Essex Pedal Power Re:Cycles

We’re delighted that our team in Essex have been able to launch a scheme – similar to the Big Bike Upcycle Revolution – distributing recycled bikes in Essex. Essex Pedal Power Re:Cycles was funded by the Tendring Community Fund and the Essex Cycle Grant, and offers free quality reconditioned bikes

Read More »
Pallets of surplus food

Can you help feed Birmingham?

There has been a welcome move in recent years to combat food waste, and to make sure any leftovers go to feed bellies, not bins. This is something we are fully behind at the Active Wellbeing Society, we use surplus food in our cafes and our outreach food truck, and

Read More »

Menopause Webinar – support, information & different perspectives

Menopause is something that half of the population are likely to experience, and something that we at The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) are regularly asked about. It impacts people differently depending on their backgrounds, lifestyles, health challenges or gender experiences, and this perspective isn’t always at the forefront, or easily

Read More »

Co-creating at TAWS

The Active Wellbeing Society works with people to lead healthy lives. This approach can be simply described as ‘doing with’ rather than ‘doing to.’ Find out what ideas, tools and questions we keep in mind when co-creating with people

Read More »

Co-creating at the Share Shack

Christina from Ladywood Share Shack describes how she creates a welcoming environment where people can re-discover, practice and share their skills. With an emphasis on enjoyment and learning, Christina sees co-design and co-delivery as enabling people to ‘have a go.’

Read More »

Wheels of change

The Big Bike Project exists to make cycling accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or how much money they have. After all, it’s hard to cycle without a bike!  So, the Big Bike Project took 13 newly upcycled bikes to West Park in Wolverhampton for a group of young

Read More »

Co-creating on our streets

Lucy is the Active Streets manager, she describes how the team co-designs and co-delivers with people each step of the way. From supporting people to hold meetings with their neighbours, plan activities and support with the practicalities on the day, people feel more empowered when they make decisions.

Read More »

Kevin Ford appointed Chair of The Active Wellbeing Society

The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) is a community benefit society and cooperative, which has been working for the last five years to build happy, healthy communities living active and connected lives. We’re grounded in the areas where inequalities are highest and work with the people there to tackle them, while

Read More »

Tales of Tyseley – the stories of a place

The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) has been working to collect the forgotten stories of Tyseley.  The storytelling project was designed to shine a light on to the area’s past, and to showcase those tales that may otherwise be lost. We have been working with the local community to capture their

Read More »

Emma’s story

Emma began running in 2017. As a full-time carer for her daughter, Emma was looking for something which could help her decompress. Over the years she has run miles, made friends and raised money for the Smith-Magenis Syndrome Foundation, to support families like hers. Here’s her story in her own

Read More »

Co-creating in our health centres

Naeed works with the Social Prescribing team. She shares how she works with people to identify what is most important to them and start solving some problems. She also gives examples of how services have changed or grown through dialogue with service users.

Read More »

Lenox’s story

When sight loss and bereavement transformed Lenox’s life beyond recognition—a local walking group helped him recover. Walking with others in nature brought him back to himself— reconnecting him with his body, lifting his mood and inviting him into mutually supportive connection with others. In this story, Lenox reflects on how

Read More »

The Big Bike Upcycle Revolution

Cycling, and bikes are a big part of what we do, so we’re delighted to be taking that work further with the Big Bike Upcycle Revolution.  This project is launching on the 18th of June at Sustainability Sunday at the Warehouse Cafe in Digbeth. We want to save bikes from landfill,

Read More »