If you’re interested in health and wellbeing, you may want to attend ‘The First Chapter‘, Dudley Health and Wellbeing Board’s event on Friday which will look at its first year’s work and provide collaborative ways that we can contribute to improving health in our communities. There are still spaces for residents to join us at the event, and you can book your place here: http://thefirstchapter.eventbrite.co.uk.

In the run up to the event, we’ve been inviting people on Twitter to share how they’ve been contributing to a healthier, happier borough, and it reminded me of some of the great work I know about.

We’ve been working with NHS Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group, the Office of Public Health, Dudley and with a number of voluntary and community sector organisations to establish projects that increase physical activity in the borough, especially for people who may find it difficult to participate. Through the Improving Physical Activity Fund (now closed), a variety of sports and physical activities have been laid on (and are still being provided) across the borough. Click on the image above for a flavour of what’s been going on.

The Improving Physical Activity Fund kickstarted a range of physical activities, including dance, boxing, sailing, aerobics, table tennis, Zumba, tennis, football, wheelchair basketball, football-rounders, basketball, cricket, kickboxing, tag rugby, karate, netball and walking. Projects unlocked more than 10,800 hours of physical activity for people that were unused to taking part. Not only were physical benefits reported, but evaluations show improved self-esteem, a sense of purpose, renewed confidence, a sense of direction for young people and an increase in feelings of wellbeing.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be showcasing some of the projects and their positive impact, but until then, why not follow and participate in Friday’s Health and Wellbeing Board event? You can get involved on Twitter using the #DudleyHWB hashtag and follow the event website, ‘The First Chapter‘, which is already full of useful information to get you thinking about how we can help to make Dudley borough healthier and happier.