Council and partners’ wellbeing campaign’s success

The 5 Ways to Wellbeing was put front and centre of a successful campaign recently highlighting health and wellbeing opportunities in Blackburn with Darwen.

Blackburn with Darwen Council and its partners used the 5 ways for 5 weeks during May and June to promote various local services and activities designed to make people feel good and function well.

Activities included everything from mindfulness, meditation, arts and crafts, first aid, stress busting, dementia awareness, training, reading support and walking to community history, IT, cycling, parks and open spaces, toddler trails, coping with change, sports and much more.

The 5 Ways to Wellbeing is a proven, simple set of actions that anyone can take to positively impact their day-to-day wellbeing under 5 headings: Take Notice, Keep Learning, Be Active, Help Others and Connect

The campaign:

·       Pulled together a programme of over 185 activities from 22 different partners in the borough

·       Saw 18 staff members or volunteers from 10 partner organisations undertake the Connect 5 Awareness Training Course.

·       Funded 10 wellbeing sessions. For example, a Take Notice of your Taste Buds session at Blackburn Foodbank and a Connect over Campfire and Conservations session Blackburn Canalside Activity Centre.            

·       Saw the development of 5 animations to help explain the 5 Ways to Wellbeing. You can watch them here.

·       Launched the hashtag #5waysbwd through which all partner organisations shared their activities

·       Utilised digital advertising and printed materials with more detail about each of the 5 ways, how they can help, why they’re important and how people could get involved – with a takeover on the borough’s bus shelters and digital advertising screens.

A social media campaign to promote the activity also reached over 40,000 people across Facebook and Twitter, with over a thousand positive engagements and interactions across both channels.

The Council’s attention will now switch to supporting the 5 Ways to Wellbeing by encouraging people to explore all the opportunities in the borough that can positively impact their wellbeing. 

A range of partner organisations who work with the Council are involved in running wellbeing activities all year round.

Check out our 5 ways to wellbeing web page for more information.

Councillor Brian Taylor, Assistant Executive Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said:

This campaign and its programme of activities were designed to encourage people to take up something new, or do more of something they already do, because it feels good and it has a positive effect on their mood.

We’ve all needed a bit of that at the moment – Covid has been really tough and it has stopped us from doing lots of things we enjoy and would normally do. So we wanted to encourage people to explore all the opportunities in our borough that can positively impact their wellbeing.

I’m delighted the campaign went so well and it had a positive effect on so many people from across the borough.

Please take a look at how we’re further supporting the 5 Ways to Wellbeing on the back of the campaign. Doing just one activity linked to the 5 ways will boost your wellbeing, but doing one or more each week is a guaranteed way to feel the maximum benefits. Proof that small changes can make a big difference.