Beat the Street has been recognised for its success in addressing health and wellbeing equalities after taking home the People’s Choice Award at the Sandwell & West Birmingham Equality Awards.
Following hundreds of votes by Sandwell residents, Beat the Street was announced as the winner of the People’s Choice Award at an awards ceremony held at Villa Park on Thursday 2 November. The People’s Choice Award highlighted work led by the local community which helped reduce health inequalities in Sandwell.
Beat the Street returned to Sandwell for its second year from February 2017. The seven-week game saw more than 15,000 people run, walk and cycle 65,000 miles together. Following a successful game, the programme led to a number of lasting activities and groups including the Khalsa Ladies walking group:
In addition to receiving the People’s Choice Award, Beat the Street Sandwell was a finalist for the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector Award which recognises projects which address health inequalities amongst vulnerable and diverse groups.
Asad Agha, Engagement Manager for Beat the Street Sandwell, said: “It is a huge honour to be recognised by the local community in Sandwell in this year’s Sandwell and West Birmingham Equality Awards. During this year’s Beat the Street initiative I had the privilege of working with a range of different residents, schools, businesses and community groups to help the whole community become active.
“I’ve seen first-hand the impact Beat the Street has had for thousands of people in Sandwell, so it is incredibly humbling to see so many people vote for the programme in this year’s awards.”
Beat the Street Sandwell was funded by The National Charity Partnership — a partnership between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation and Tesco.
