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Our Ageing Well Projects are run in partnership with NHS Lothian, the South Central and North East Edinburgh Local Health Partnerships and the Pilmeny Development Project. They aim to provide physical activities and social opportunities for inactive older people in order to maintain and improve their health through a peer support model. There are currently two Ageing Well projects in Edinburgh; one in South Central Edinburgh, which started in June 2001, and one in North East Edinburgh, which started in July 2002 - although people from anywhere can take part.

Many participants are motivated to attend Ageing Well activities for the heightened social life they receive. When asked, many participants say that they go along for the social aspect first, and the physical activity aspect second.

The secret behind the project's success is that all activities are led or supported by older people themselves - Ageing Well Volunteers who undertake training to become proficient in certain fields, such as becoming seated exercise, walk or cycle leaders, along with attending training in first aid or stroke awareness for example. Also, all activities are run in local venues that older people feel comfortable in (such as community centres or church halls), and are run on a low or no-cost basis – there is no charge, although voluntary contributions (often of 50p or £1) are welcomed for activities where there are costs to the project (for room hire, training, instructors or equipment).

Across both projects there are: 20+ seated exercise sessions, 5 walking programmes (1 monthly Saturday & 1 evening in the summer), 2 cycle programmes (beginners/ confidence building and level 2 short rides on cycle paths – bikes & helmets provided!), 1 allotment/gardening project (at Leith links), 2 dance programmes (Salsa, Jive, Leroc), 1 singing for health and happiness programme, 1 swim buddy programme (at Leith Victoria swim centre), and 1 new age kurling programme (Kirkgate). And more recently, a new photography club has proved very popular.

Benefits of volunteering:

• Encouraging others to participate and become more active
• Seeing the changes in people, physically and mentally
• Helping yourself get more active 
• Increasing your knowledge of the local community
• Increasing your knowledge of facilities and services
• Heightening your social life/ meeting new people
• Learning new skills, such as receiving training to become a physical activity leader
• Learning from each other’s experiences 
• Being part of a team - goodies (volunteer get-togethers, meals, taster sessions)
• Receiving a volunteer leisure card.

If you fancy getting involved in Ageing Well as a participant or volunteer, please get in touch with Kath Laing – Ageing Well Coordinator on 0131 458 2100. We are always looking for new volunteers to join the team.