South Tyneside businesswomen join forces in bid to boost healthy lifestyles

Two South Tyneside businesswomen have joined forces in a bid to promote the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to youngsters.

Angela Harrison, who runs Green Shift Educational Services Limited, and Julie Stephenson, who is part of South Tyneside Lifestyle Choices CIC, have devised a workshop based on having a healthy heart.

From this month the pair will be going into primary schools to deliver the programme to pupils throughout the borough.

The project has been made possible after the two women received funding from Heart Research UK to take the workshop into 24 schools.

Mrs Harrison, a former teacher, launched her business earlier this year and delivers interactive workshops and learning programmes based around science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

South Tyneside Lifestyle Choices provides free support and advice to help people to lose weight and maintain a healthy BMI for life.

Mrs Harrison said: “We have been in contact with the schools and after explaining the project we have 20 schools already signed up for the three-hour long workshops.

“However, we still have funding available to take the workshop into four more schools. Both our daughters attend the primary schools we will be going into so it’ll give them a chance to see what we do.”

The workshop, based around the heart, will be split into two one-and-a-half-hour sessions.

The first session, led by Mrs Stephenson, will discuss healthy lifestyles, fitness and diet to help keep the heart healthy.

Youngsters will also have the chance to make a “five-a-day” healthy heart smoothie.

The second session will be delivered by Mrs Harrison, and will be based around the science of the heart including what it is, what it does and how it works.

The workshops will be delivered to the schools throughout the year.

Schools interested in one of the four remaining workshops are asked to email [email protected].

For information on Green Shift Educational Services Ltd, including private tutoring, visit www.greenshifteducation.co.uk

For details on South Tyneside Lifestyle Choices, visit www.facebook.com/southtynesidelifestylechoices or email [email protected].