Darkside Rising CIC Needs You!

Aim

We're raising funds to support women with long term health conditions such as Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Dementia and Stroke!

Darkside Rising CIC is a non-profit women's health organisation based in Lincoln. Established in 2020, it builds on the experience and vision of its 3 directors, Shantelle Svarc, Annabel Hunt and Robert Willmington.

Based on the success of our 2021 pilot Strength in Cancer Programme, providing adapted strength training sessions to women living with and beyond cancer, we are now raising funds to help us deliver the core costs associated with our two new programmes for 2022:

• 2-year extension of Strength in Cancer
  (National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund)
• Pilot of NeuroStrong, adapted strength training for women with neurological conditions
  (Sport England Jubilee Fund)

As Sport England will not fund monitoring or evaluation costs, we are particularly in need of donations to help us match fund a grant to work with the University of Lincoln in evaluating NeuroStrong, so that we can secure future, long-term funding.  

Results so far...

Our pilot Strength in Cancer Project, delivered between June and December 2021, achieved:

• A remarkable 34% reduction in fatigue in those who completed the full 26 weeks, from an average score of 5.3 (moderate fatigue) to an average of 3.5 (mild fatigue).  
• Anxiety decreased by 39% for those who completed the full 26 weeks, from an average score of 9.4 (borderline abnormal anxiety) to 5.7 (normal anxiety).   

The University of Lincoln’s evaluation of the pilot programme highlighted the impact of the social interactions and relationships created during the project, such as:

• Increased confidence 
• Improved mental health
• Challenging of perceptions around physical capacity and cancer.  

A number of aspects helped to influence this impact, including:

• The women-only space
• Body positive philosophy
• The role of Rachel as a coach, who successfully mediated these relationships to ensure a safe and welcoming environment. 

The evaluation also found:

• A faster than expected return to full function after abdominal surgery for some participants
• The ability to ‘keep up with the grandchildren’
• A sense of being fitter and stronger for whatever comes next in their cancer journey. 

This was influenced by:

• Individual programming
• Small group sizes
• The encouragement of their peers
• The skills and training knowledge of Rachel.   

With increased strength, mobility and endurance, participants were able to engage more fully with family and work-related activities and improve their wellbeing. 

The future...

If we can raise these funds, our continued evaluative work with the University of Lincoln will help us to secure further, long-term funding, and establish Darkside Rising as an innovative centre for women's health.  The role of adapted strength training in supporting the health and wellbeing of those with long-term health conditions is under-researched, however, it has huge potential to positively impact people's lives.

Every pound you can spare will help us in delivering this vision.

This project successfully funded on 18th July 2022