LISTEN: Coronavirus hits Community Foundation

The coronavirus outbreak hasn't just affected first team matters at Curzon Ashton, as the Community Foundation is also suffering as a result of the nationwide lockdown.

The Tameside Stadium hosts a Health and Wellbeing session on Friday afternoons, which include a range of activities from painting, crafts and yoga, to boxing and massages. One of the session's main aims is to reduce social isolation in the area - something that is unfortunately prevalent in the current situation.

Despite the disappointment, community manager Andy Cheshire remains upbeat and is looking ahead to the future. Speaking to Reporter Sport, Andy said: “We don’t have an abundance of staff or volunteers that can organise telephone support or online peer support for the beneficiaries that use our services, so unfortunately I’m having to refer people to other local organisations that are taking that up at the moment.

“The whole point of the Wellbeing and Mindfulness sessions are to combat social isolation and loneliness, so this lockdown at the moment is further compounding their misery. 

“The one thing that we can promise is that we’ll continue working, as and when we can do. 

“That was the first project to stop, because the beneficiaries are in the high risk category, with many of them having diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We had to make the decision on Friday, March 13 to cancel it. “

The Foundation was lucky in a lot of ways because they only  launched just after last summer, so the funding they received was for two years, meaning it’s secure until August 2021.

But at the same time the Foundation was always going to have a major challenge to sustain the charity for the next three to five years. Andy said that’s what they’re currently working on. “We’ve put in an application form to continue our wellness sessions for a further 12 months because they were due to finish at the end of March this year, but unfortunately the funders have put that application on hold.”