fbpx

Our community support projects

As a not-for-profit, our goal is to help everyone have access to wellbeing activities, sometimes targeted and specialist, regardless of age, disability, status, family or financial situation.

The Unity Centre is run by Unity Lewes CIC, a not-for-profit community interest company with a core aim of providing wellbeing for our whole community inclusively, regardless of age, disability, status, family or financial situation. Sometimes this involves targeted and specialist projects for particular groups within our community.

Our community projects are summarised here. To make them possible we are indebted to all of you: our funding bodies, listed further down, and the kind generosity of our members, customers and supporters through your donations and day-to-day custom. Every spa appointment, every class booking, every gift purchase and every membership, as well as every kind donation, makes our community support viable. Thank you.

If you would like to support our work through a donation (of whatever size, large or small) please visit our donations page. 😊

If you have been taken part in one of our projects, we’d love to hear from you. This is so helpful for us to continue to support others. Fill out the short feedback form here.

Here’s what we’re currently doing in the community…

Unity Floatation Therapy project

Unity Floatation Therapy project

Thanks to National Lottery funding we are able to provide free floatation therapy programmes to eligible members of our region and communities who are living with or experiencing physical disabilities, certain chronic difficulties or chronic mental health challenges, together with key health, emergency and care workers.

Full details are here.

We are also inviting project donations to enable us to keep the project going over a longer period.

NURTURE
for survivors

We’re pleased to be able to provide these free, eight-week courses of regular yoga relaxation, meditation, self-care and two saunas for women who have experienced physical and domestic abuse, thanks to funding by The National Lottery Awards for All and Safer Communities Eastbourne & Lewes District Partnership.
Full details are here.

If you would like to support this project through a donation, please visit our donations page.

Massage for Ukrainian refugees and hosts

Массаж для украинских беженцев и хозяев
Масаж для українських біженців та господарів

For refugees from Ukraine and members of their host families in East Sussex, we’re offering free massage therapies at a series of special Friday massage clinics. This is made possible with the generosity of 3VA, which offers extensive support for Ukrainians and host families.

Full details are here.

3VA

If you would like to support this project through a donation, please visit our donations page.

Move freely, breathe easier (formerly ‘Chair yoga’)

Move freely, breathe easier offers free chair yoga and a safe, sociable space for people over 60 to talk about age-related mistreatment, from abuse to rip-offs and scams.

Since 2022 it has provided a series of free, regular monthly sessions of breathing, meditation and gentle chair stretches/yoga followed by social time over tea and cake. It is for people over 60 who lived in Sussex, especially those who’ve experienced – or are worried about – being mistreated or taken advantage of, because of their age.

Full details are here.

Supported with grant funding from Lewes Town Council and Barchester’s Charitable Foundation, with our heartfelt thanks.

Logos - Lewes Town Council and Barchester's Charitable Foundation

If you would like to support this project through a donation, please visit our donations page.

CHAIR YOGA

Some past projects

Sixty5+

From May 2022

Sixty5+ was a Unity Centre initiative in the summer and autumn of 2022 that provided free therapeutic support sessions to people aged 65 and above, thanks to funding kindly provided by the Sussex Community Foundation. The support we offered was in two forms:

  • regular live music sessions for small groups of people living with dementia
  • one-to-one therapy sessions

In some circumstances we were also able to help with transport costs when attending sessions.

Full details are here.

Sussex Community Foundation

Unity Bespoke Holistic Lifeline Covid project

From October 2020

This project ran from October 2020 to spring 2021, providing therapeutic support to those with learning differences or physical disabilities and those at high risk from, or affected by, Covid-19 and Long Covid, together with physical, emotional and mental support for key workers, including NHS.

The support covered a wide range of services associated with the Unity Centre, as diverse as, for example, therapeutic yoga, breathing, art therapy, music, psychotherapy, floatation therapy and massage … among many others.

The Unity Bespoke Holistic Lifeline Covid Project was funded by a National Lottery Emergency Covid-19 Grant between October 2020 and April 2021 and a smaller version was then funded by Awards for All, with our thanks to the National Lottery.

Project for children adopted or in foster care

From 27 February 2020

This was a year long project for children under 12 who had been adopted or were in foster care.

Three groups of four children (so 12 in all) received an hour’s yoga and meditation class bi-weekly for a year and also came together for two hour sessions of yoga, art or music on alternate months.

During this time, parents and carers also received their own meditation, sharing and yoga session.

Stroke Club Project

From 19 March 2020

A year long project for those who had suffered a debilitating stroke.

14 people received two-hour sessions on alternating Thursday mornings, offering chair yoga, music, art and relaxation, together with refreshments and lunch on site.

We are very grateful for SCF and Chalk Cliff Trust for their contributions towards this project.

And in the future…

Future Project Goals

  • Support Group For Teenagers
  • Project For Children With Learning/Behavioural Difficulties
  • Yoga and Mindfulness For The Deaf Community
  • Yoga With A Difference – a project and training to support those with PMLD and neurological conditions

Our funding bodies

At Unity Lewes CIC and The Unity Centre we are indebted to the following for their grant funding that enables us to run these community projects that are so important to us.

We would like to thank:

Barchester’s Charitable Trust

Chalk Cliff Trust

Lewes Town Council

Safer Communities Eastbourne & Lewes District Partnership

Safer in Sussex Community Fund

Sported

Sport England Emergency Covid-19 Fund

Sussex Community Foundation

The Lewes Fund

The National Lottery

And you, our Unity Centre members and supporters, for your donations and because a percentage of membership subscriptions is used to support the centre’s community work.

Our deepest thanks to

National Lottery Community Fund  Safer Communities Sussex Community Foundation safer in sussex community fund logo The Lewes Fund Sported

The Unity Centre is run by Unity Lewes CIC, a not-for-profit community interest company.

If you would like to support our community work through a donation, please visit our donations page. 😊