What are the benefits? Welcome to. Next: What s involved? Our partners

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1 How it works

2 Welcome to Walking for Purpose is a free walking and employability project for residents of Sheffield who are seeking to improve their employment prospects. The project aims to work with participants in their local community to improve their health by accessing a weekly programme of walks. Each walk is then followed by an employability session delivered in partnership with local employability providers. The programme includes workshops that range from confidence building and self-belief, to hearing about training and volunteering opportunities, plus much more. I ve been trying to find work but some health issues made that difficult so the walking attracted me to the project to lose weight and improve my health. Mick, Participant What are the benefits? Firstly we want to help you to improve your health and walking is a type of physical activity that has been proven to have significant health benefits! We also know that each individual is on their own journey and has their own hopes and aspirations. We aim to be a stepping stone towards helping you achieve those goals. Our partners Walking for Purpose is a great way to get people to move towards employment, while also keeping them active. At VAS, and the Volunteer Centre, we provided sessions on ways in which volunteering could help on this journey. Amala, Volunteer Centre Accessing the project means that you have the opportunity to work closely with employability providers and other partners, and make the most of their skills and knowledge. and others Tip 1: Start off walking slowly and build it up gradually. Schedule in breaks if you need them! Next: What s involved?

3 What s involved? Volunteering The project will give you an experience of volunteering by highlighting how you can get involved and seeing the impact volunteering can have on finding paid employment. Improved Health The project will support you to improve your physical and mental health by increasing your physical activity levels. We will give you the confidence and information to make physical activity part of your daily routine. Work Experience and Employment We want to help you to move closer to employment but for each individual this journey is different. We hope this project will inspire you to get into either voluntary or paid work if this is the path you want to take. Training Tip 2: Challenge yourself to use the stairs more where possible, rather than using lifts and escalators! As part of the project we will work with you to identify your training needs and put you in touch with organisations that will be able to support you with your training requests. Tip 3: If you use buses, get off one stop before you usually do and walk the rest! Next: Why walking?

4 Log your steps Why Walking? A walk can make you feel better in so many ways including boosting your energy, clearing your head and lifting your mood. See below just a few other reasons why you might want to give walking a go! + Walking strengthens your heart Physical Activity increases your heart rate, strengthens your heart and increases the flow of blood around your body. + Walking is good for your brain Regular and frequent walking has the ability to boost your memory and improve your concentration. + Walking is good for your bones - It s a good weight-bearing exercise to maintain general health. + Walking helps reduce symptoms of depression Research has found Tip 4: Try and reduce the amount of time you spend sat down for long periods of time. Log your steps (Page 7) that walking for 30-minutes, 3-5 times a week reduced symptoms of depression. + Walking can influence healthier weight Walking one mile a day burns 100 calories, so if you add just 2,000 more steps a day to your regular activities, you may never gain another pound! I ve met people. I ve always been pretty confident in looking for work but one year unemployment has affected that and one thing I ve struggled with is the people-side of it so being able to chat to people on the walks has helped increase my confidence again. Tim, Participant Before you start to increase your walking, it is important to know how much you are already doing. Using the pedometer provided or step-counter on your phone, record your steps below, every day whilst you are with us on the project steps equals about 15 minutes of walking & 3000 steps = about 30 minutes of walking. Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Over the course of the project we would like you to record your steps daily to see how you are getting on, how you are improving and for you to challenge yourself! Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total Tip 5: Don t give up!

5 Walking for Purpose is a motivator for people to take that first-step to get back into work by building their confidence and self-worth. Gareth, Darnall Well Being Centre Phone: Incentives to join us include: + Free 1 day Travel Pass + Gym Passes + Certificate of Recognition + Pedometers Get in touch: