Grampian based health charity GCRA (Grampian Cardiac Rehabilitation Association) has secured an unrestricted grant totalling £20,000 from Bank of Scotland Foundation’s funding programme, Energise.

Founded in 2002, GCRA offers tailored specialist exercise classes to people living with or at a high risk of developing cardiac conditions (e.g. heart attack, heart failure, angina) and long-term health conditions (diabetes, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and mental health) throughout Grampian. The health charity currently leads a network of 25 weekly specialist exercise classes throughout community venues in Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire (https://www.gcra.org.uk/classes) led by a team of professionally trained specialist exercise instructors who support members to exercise safely and effectively.

With the difficult financial climate, which is exerting huge pressure on charities, the funding from Bank of Scotland Foundation will mean that the charity can continue to deliver and promote the specialist exercise class network to meet identified local demand and raise awareness of our network of specialist exercise classes to maximise the number of people who can benefit from the service.

Susan Will, Team & Funding Coordinator at GCRA said, “GCRA is delighted to receive this grant from Bank of Scotland Foundation’s Energise Programme as it will enable the charity to sustain increased staff costs and expand service delivery throughout Grampian. GCRA’s specialist exercise service empowers class members to improve their physical & mental health and gain peer support. Anyone interested in joining a GCRA exercise class should contact our office – info@gcra.org.uk / 01888 569160 to request a new member pack.”

Donald MacKechnie, Chair of the Bank of Scotland Foundation’s Board of Trustees said, “We are delighted to award GCRA with £20,000 of funding. The cost-of-living crisis means many charities are struggling with increasing expenditure, at a time when the demand for their services is as great as ever. Our grant awards will help charities through the challenging months ahead.”

For further information, contact:

Megan Couch

Marketing Coordinator, GCRA.

Email: megan.couch@gcra.org.uk

Website: https://www.gcra.org.uk/

Emma Johnston

Community Manager, Bank of Scotland Foundation.

Email: emma.johnston@lloydsbanking.com

Website: www.bankofscotlandfoundation.org