Here, our Community Walking Lead, Carole Pollard shares partners’ examples of how they recruit new people to walking and wheeling:
Think about who your organisation already serves and how you could introduce more movement into your existing activities
“We introduced movement and physical activity into our existing arts and crafts sessions. This means that people who would usually have been sitting down doing arts and crafts for two hours have been actively moving for an hour of that time instead” – Future Directions CIC
To reach new people, think about where to advertise to ensure maximum reach
“We distributed posters and leaflets through local schools, faith centres, community centres, and housing offices, which helped us to reach more isolated people. We also told our local GP practices about our walks so they could refer people to us” – Creating Future Lives CIC
A face-to-face approach often works well
Reaching the right people can be a challenge, especially when trying to encourage people to join something new. We tried speaking to people face-to-face to encourage them to join. This worked much better, and we had more uptake than we anticipated” – Caritas Salford
Have a named contact to welcome new or nervous members
“We nominated a Walking and Wheeling Champion to share information about our sessions with communities and local services. It worked well to have a primary contact who people could call or message when planning to attend the groups, particularly if it was their first time or if they were feeling anxious about it” – Bolton Together Children and Families Consortium
Start a buddy system
“Some people were nervous about joining group walks, particularly those who were socially isolated or experiencing language barriers. To help with this, we started a buddy system, pairing new walkers with regular walkers or volunteers to offer support and build trust and confidence” – Creating Future Lives CIC
