Launchpad residents to benefit from outdoor multi-gym

A donation of £8,000, from the B&Q Foundation, means that residents at Launchpad’s Speke House, Liverpool, will enjoy an outdoor multi-gym.

The B&Q Foundation supports registered charities with a combination of grants, volunteering time and home improvement resources. And it focuses on local charities, helping to create better, safer places for people who need them most.

At Speke House the outdoor multi-gym will be built in the communal area. The donation will also enable the addition of  an outdoor canopy to provide shelter for residents and visitors, at the entrance of the building.

The house benefits from an extensive outdoor communal space and once installed, residents will be able to enjoy free, unlimited access to gym equipment, which will also encourage them to socialise and engage in physical activity.

Staff at the house will also invite external fitness agencies to plan programmes for the residents to boost their mental health and wellbeing.

Due to the high volume of people visiting the house daily, a canopy at the entrance of the building will not only give the entrance better kerb appeal, but it will also benefit residents and visitors.

Rob Lockyer, Facilities Manager at Speke House, said:

We are very grateful to the B&Q Foundation for providing this donation, which will considerably improve the house and benefit all residents and their visitors.

Some of our residents can’t afford a gym membership and some are too self-conscious to go to a gym, so this will remove those barriers and it is also a positive step to boosting their motivation, fitness and improving their mental health. Having an outside gym will also let people use it without disturbing other residents.

This is the second donation that Speke House has received from the B&Q Foundation. The charity donated £5,000 in 2020 to contribute towards extending the communal kitchen facilities at the house.

Speke House comprises 50 self-contained, one-bedroom flats for former serving personnel and their partners. Launchpad has three houses in the North of England in Liverpool, Newcastle and Durham providing accommodation for 101 homeless veterans – accepting veterans from all over the UK.