OXFORD BUS COMPANY PARTNER WITH ASPIRE TO LAUNCH COMMUNITY GYM BUS

Aspire, an employment charity and social enterprise have teamed up with Oxford Bus Company to put a fully equipped gym bus onto the streets to help the community.

Oxford Bus Company donated the single deck vehicle to the charity and specialist engineers mentored Aspire colleagues at the workshop at Cowley House, Oxford, to fully convert it. Oxford Bus Company also provided a driver training programme for a member of the Aspire team. The innovative community project is the first of its kind in Oxfordshire.

It is part of Aspire’s STRIVE initiative to make active opportunities accessible to those in isolated and deprived areas of Oxfordshire with minimal access to exercise equipment and sports. On-board activities will include boxercise, football and aerobics and nutritional advice and smoothie sessions will also be provided.

Led by the Aspire team the Gym Bus will help engage with adults and young people who are experiencing disadvantage, supporting them to improve their health and fitness and enhance their wellbeing and confidence, so further steps such as training, work experience and employment feel more achievable. It will launch on Monday at Oxford Bus Company with a stakeholder event which will include a 15-minute taster session of cardio-boxercise on the Gym Bus.

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director said: “This is a fantastic project which we have been delighted to support, from providing the bus to helping Aspire convert it into a mobile gym in our workshop. One of our values is being socially responsible and so it was a natural fit for us to commit to partnering on this project with Aspire. It’s an innovative community scheme and we’re excited to see the positive impact it will now have in our community.”

Paul Roberts, Aspire Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be able to launch our Gym Bus on 18th November and would like to thank our funders and partners for helping to bring this innovative project to life. We’d like to say a particular thank you to Oxford Bus Company for not only donating the bus, but for working with us in close partnership to make this project such a success.”

Nikki Aitkinson, Head of Employment Projects at Aspire, added: “Aspire’s new Gym Bus is set to transform the lives of hundreds of people facing disadvantage across our community. We’re over the moon to be able to bring sports activities to people who are too often forgotten by society, helping them to make lasting changes to their lives.”