Active Life, the charity which runs Canterbury City Councils five indoor leisure centres, is delighted to have received three computers through ADM Computing’s Computers for Charities scheme. Active Life will use the donated PC’s to administer their Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay MEND programmes more effectively.

Carol Gillatt the MEND Programme Manager for Active Life said “Thanks to the kind donation of these computers by ADM, my team will be better able to administer the MEND programmes more efficiently and effectively. MEND has provided a fantastic opportunity for parents concerned about the long-term health of their children in the Canterbury District and we need all the support we can possibly get in helping to deliver the programmes over the next two years. MEND is a family-based healthy lifestyle programme that has been designed by leading experts in the UK and is supported by the Department of Health and the Big Lottery to prevent and treat overweight and obese children. MEND stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition….Do it! The programme supports children aged between 7 to 13 years to eat more healthily and become more active”.

One of the benefits that Carol is eager to promote is the increase in self-esteem and confidence that the children experience. Parents have told her that concentration and performance at school have improved and also the ability of the children to be able to make healthy choices independently so that it becomes a natural way of living. Carol is quick to point out that MEND is not a diet and does not promote rapid weight loss as this can be dangerous for growing children; however, she stated that by following the MEND programme, research has shown that children can lose weight naturally and healthily which in turn will improve health and well-being for the long-term.

The MEND programme is free of charge, but anyone interested in their child taking part has to be prepared to commit to attending twice a week for 9 weeks as children are unable to attend without a parent or guardian.

If you would like to register or simply find out more about future MEND programme please contact Carol Gillatt or Katy Curtis from Active Life on 01227 264444 or alternatively you can visit the MEND website at www.mendprogramme.org and register directly.
Similarly any charities that are in need of a PC donation should contact Ana Smith at ADM Computing on 01227 473512 or via email: ana@adm-computing.co.uk.