£8,000 is needed to ensure an Ely fitness studio can offer ‘access for all’ when it opens next month.
Sara Ford and Alice Loombe, who will launch FRESH at 16-18 Broad Street on November 7, have launched a crowdfunder to raise money for improved access.
With £1,395 already raised thanks to donations from 33 supporters, the pair want to “ensure our sessions are accessible to everyone”.
The money will be used, they say, to install three ramps throughout the venue for wheelchairs and buggies.
Sara said having ‘access for all’ is important because “we want to ensure we are completely inclusive.
“There is no reason that someone with a physical limitation shouldn’t be able to access fantastic fitness and wellness services.
“We want to make sure we’re available to anyone who needs us.”
MORE: Well-being and fitness studio to be opened in Ely thanks to funding boostSupporter, Katy Goymour, said: “You are providing such an incredible service for the community and I am 100 per cent behind everything you are doing.
“I share your important values and ethics and you deserve to have the financial and moral support to make this vision become a reality.”
Between them, Sara and Alice have over 20 years of teaching experience within the dance and fitness industry and aim to “develop a nurturing environment that supports client’s mental health” while “opening a discussion on how fitness can support a sense of well-being”.
While classes will include barre, pilates, dance, yoga, flexitone, HIIT, bounce, meditation, mental strength workshops and post-natal options, the pair say FRESH - which has a “botanical vibe and will house one small and two large studios, and have space for a café - “will differ to usual fitness studios”.
As well as placing an emphasis on “inclusion, ensuring the classes are accessible and welcoming to all, regardless of age, gender or background,” they will offer one class a day to a charity, community group, older group or underrepresented group free of charge.
To keep up to date with FRESH, which will also offer membership packages and has a free car park, follow them on Facebook and Instagram or visit their website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here