“Embrace the power of being active”
One month today, Activity Alliance and partners will celebrate all things Get Out Get Active (GOGA). We will be celebrating the UK-wide GOGA programme that has reached an extraordinary 160,000 people since 2016.
This October we are bringing people together from across the UK to recognise the importance of their work. The event, held in Birmingham on Thursday 19 October, will give everyone present an opportunity to reflect on the impact of GOGA. We will celebrate how the programme has changed the lives of those involved. How the GOGA approach brings people together. And the people of GOGA, who continue to embed the GOGA way into their lives.
GOGA is more than just a programme. It has become an approach. A place where disabled and non-disabled people can come together to be active. GOGA has influenced and encouraged organisations across the UK to do things differently when it comes to physical activity.
There are thousands of examples across the UK of the difference GOGA sessions have made to people’s lives. And taking a step back, the numbers associated with the programme are staggering. Since 2016 there have been over 31,000 individual participants, over 3,500 volunteers and an astounding 3,593 activities and interventions.
And as part of our look at the successes of GOGA, we’ll be releasing a series of videos hosted by FOMO Creator May King. May King is joined by the people who have helped to shape, influence, and benefit from the programme.
The first interview features Adam Blaze, CEO of Activity Alliance. His message is clear, “embrace the power of being active”.
He tells May King: “Embrace the power of the programme and it will change your life. It will change people’s lives that you live with, work with, and socialise with.”
In the five-minute video he explains what GOGA means to him, discusses the power of being active, as well sharing one of his favourite examples of how GOGA has changed someone’s life.
There’s a story that one of the people that’s been involved in GOGA has told us recently. This was an individual who has multiple impairments, openly talks about really struggling during the pandemic period and feeling like they couldn’t get out the house…They were scrolling through Facebook and came across an advert, and it wasn’t even advertised as a GOGA activity, but for something that was going on at their local riding centre. They’d been involved in this centre before, they liked being around horses and the liked to go in and getting active in that environment. And they thought, ‘you know what?’, I’ll give it a go because I’m just not getting out and I need it. And they went there, and they loved it. They loved this inclusive, welcoming environment.
Adam Blaze, CEO of Activity Alliance.
Make sure you watch the full video below.
About Get Out Get Active
Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is a programme that supports disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together. Activity Alliance is the creator and lead partner. The programme is funded by Spirit of 2012, Sport England and London Marathon Foundation.