A north-east cardiac charity has kept its heart beating during the pandemic by moving its offerings online, despite struggling through what volunteers have called their “most difficult year”.
Grampian Cardiac Rehabilitation Association, now known as GCRA+, had to suspend its community exercise classes for those with heart and health conditions when lockdown hit in March.
Ordinarily the charity, formed in 2002, helps almost 800 members with cardiac and long-term health conditions to keep safe, fit and healthy, through almost 40 different exercise classes offered at community venues throughout the north-east.
But it was forced to halt all those classes ahead of the lockdown in March as it worked to protect vulnerable users.
By July, volunteers had raised £5,000 through a crowd-funding campaign and managed to take classes online and into the home on DVD format, allowing them to keep up their potentially life-saving work.
GCRA+ chairman Robert Paton said: “Over the past several months, none of us could have imagined how much all our lives would change and living under the threat of Covid-19 has been difficult for us all.
“It is putting enormous strain on people’s health and wellbeing, but particularly so on our members with underlying cardiac and long-term health conditions.
“In normal circumstances, GCRA+ runs 37 weekly specialist exercise cardiac rehabilitation and prevention, gentle movement, and chair-based exercise classes throughout Grampian, but due to the pandemic these ceased in March.
“It’s more vital than ever that people with cardiac and long-term health conditions keep safe, fit and healthy.”
With many of its users self-isolating and shielding, that too had an impact on the charity’s finances as, like all other charities, normal fundraising activities ceased.
The charity has ticked over, though, thanks to a lifeline donation of £10,401 brought about by local shoppers in Turriff, Newmachar, Banff, Aboyne and Aberchirder.
It was selected as a beneficiery of the Co-op supermarket’s local community fund in October 2019, meaning it has since received 1% of members’ spending on products and services since that time.
GCRA+’s development coordinator, Susan Will, said the culmination of that spending couldn’t have come at a better time.
There’s potential for a repeat of that handout this time next year too, with GCRA+ just having been selected once again as a Co-op local community fund cause for 2021.
Claire McClure, Co-op member pioneer in Turriff, added: “This year, over 4,500 local causes supporting mental and physical wellbeing, promoting education and employment and access to food received their share of £15m, thanks to Co-op members.”
