Earlier in the year, we announced that we were successful in securing a grant from the National Lottery for a community hub as we understand many people have social anxiety and certain barriers that prevent them from getting outdoors. Originally, we hoped to create a physical premises to do this but due to cost, we opted to go mobile.
So what’s the plan?
We are potentially looking to purchase is a 2017 Ford Transit ex-Virgin Media van (pictured) that comes with racking. Plans are underway to adapt the interior to incorporate a seating area, counter top with possibly a stove for hot drinks and alter the racking for our crates.We would love to go electric but at the moment, this isn’t possible due to logistical, practical and cost issues. This seems to be the most sensible option for what we have available to us. Looking at all the vehicles on the market, this one is the Euro 6 engine and can achieve over 40mpg and the CO2 emissions are much lower than that of other vans.
We can travel to places, helping more people get active. The van would be a mobile hub so those who have challenges in their lives can visit us, have a cuppa and chat about those barriers and work on a plan to get them running without the anxiety. Everyone needs to have that support to overcome those challenges and we know how important getting outdoors is to a persons mental health & wellbeing.
It’s very much a work in progress as we’ve only just been given the go ahead but the future for Preloved Sports CIC is looking exciting and we will provide updates when we can.
