FEAR – supporting artificially fed families
We have been very lucky to have been given the opportunity to support Kim Purkis from a charity called Face Everything and Rise (FEAR).
Kim is arranging swimming sessions for children, adults and their friends and family who are artificially fed or are receiving treatment via a central line, and previously have not been able to access swimming pools.
The charity has received funding from Sport England and Cash 4 Kids to support affected families to venture to the water. This includes the supply of NHS approved Cath Dry dressings and specialist Drysuits that are crucial for many of the members.
Individuals can get into the water whilst keeping medical equipment safe, dry, and reducing the risk of infections. For some attendees it’s their first EVER time in a swimming pool!
Kim Purkis commented on the partnership: "When you are artificially fed, accessing swimming becomes extremely difficult for a lot of families. Whether you have to wear specialised Drysuits or have feeding tubes 'on show’, swimming can leave you feeling vulnerable to people staring.
This is why Face Everything and Rise (FEAR) now run monthly swimming events, across England, exclusively for children and adults (and their families) who are artificially fed; providing opportunities for families to swim with confidence and privacy, in a fun environment.
To have a leading Leisure company, such as Places Leisure, now fully support the use of Drysuits across their swimming pools is huge! It now means that no one misses out on the joy of swimming, because of needing to wear a Drysuit in the water. It’s life changing!”The first event was run with the support of Sam Holdaway, Danny Churcher and Ian Souch at Romsey Rapids and included over 100 attendees with some travelling over 150 miles!
Mark Haslam, our Head of Swimming and Sport said, “our partnership with Kim Purkis and FEAR just made sense. We want to bring swimming and more generally, fitness, to everyone we possibly can. Putting the right sessions, instructors, and equipment in place to allow some people to swim for the first time is just fantastic to see. We can’t wait to keep putting on these sessions and expanding them across our pools nationwide.”
We now have 18 events booked across our Places Leisure sites in 2023 and look forward to arranging even more.
Across our centres, we also ensure that Cath Dry dressings and specialist Hammond Drysuits are covered in our approved swimwear policies so that individuals feel confident and supported to swim in open swim sessions and swimming lessons at our centres.
Keep an eye out for lots of photo updates on these events and click here to read more about Kim's inspirational story.
Participating centres and timeslots:
25th March | Romsey Rapids Sports Complex |4pm – 6pm
1st April | Rotherham Leisure Complex | 3pm – 5pm
15th April | Romsey Rapids Sports Complex | 4pm – 6pm
14th May | Dover Leisure Centre | 11am – 1pm
20th May | Places Leisure Eastleigh | 4pm – 6pm
10th June | Andover Leisure Centre | 3pm – 5pm
24th June | Places Leisure Camberley | 3pm – 5pm
8th July | The Triangle Leisure Centre | 4:30pm – 6:30pm
22nd July | Romsey Rapids Sports Complex | 4pm – 6pm
29th July | Rotherham Leisure Complex | 3pm – 5pm
26th August | Romsey Rapids Sports Complex | 4pm – 6pm
16th September | Hinckley Leisure Centre | 4:30pm – 6:30pm
30th September | Places Leisure Eastleigh | 3pm – 5pm
14th October | Andover Leisure Centre | 3pm – 5pm
4th November | The Triangle Leisure Centre | 4:30pm – 6:30pm
11th November | Rotherham Leisure Centre | 3pm – 7pm
25th November | Places Leisure Eastleigh | 4pm – 6pm
9th December | Places Leisure Camberley | 3pm – 5pm
29th December | Romsey Rapids Sports Complex 4pm – 6pm