St Ives Leisure Centre will be collecting donations for St Ives Food Bank between Saturday 19th December and 1st January.
The focus will be on the collection of tins and packaged foods, particularly tinned fruit and sugar. Items can be dropped off safely at a Covid secure point within the leisure centre, which has separate entry and exit points and does not disrupt any existing one-way systems.
“With food poverty becoming an ever-increasing issue, it is more important than ever to support our local community in these tough times,” said Christopher Perry, General Manager at St Ives Leisure Centre. “People can leave their donations when they use the gym or pool, or just when they’re passing. We’re encouraging our members to bring something when they come in for their Christmas workouts.”
The leisure centre will be opening from 9am – 12pm for a special Boxing Day dip. It will also be opening at the same time on New Year’s Day. For those who prefer to use the gym instead, that’ll be open too – with a body conditioning class taking place between 9.30 to 10.30am.
“This year has been like no other,” said James Curry, GLL’s Head of Service in Cornwall. “As a leisure charitable social enterprise, more than ever GLL want to support our community’s health and wellbeing and what better way than through a Boxing Day or New Year’s Dip. It’s expected to be popular so we’re asking people to pre-book their visit as soon as possible.
“We’d also like to say a big thank you to the local people of St Ives for their support this year. Collecting donations for the food bank at the leisure centre is just one way of contributing to a much-needed campaign.”
GLL is a not-for-profit social enterprise that runs thirteen leisure centres across Cornwall on behalf of the council. Operating under the Better brand, the venues are operated in Covid Secure mode to ensure the safety of all customers and staff.