The Extra Time Hub at the Lincoln City FC Foundation has proven to be a big success over the last year. The Hub aims to improve the mental, social, and physical wellbeing of retired/semi-retired adults in Lincoln, providing a diverse range of activities throughout the week for people to join.
Our Extra Time hub, helps its participants to connect to other like-minded people, as well as provide a vital sense of routine, something in which became a much-needed resource throughout 2 years of disconnect through the pandemic.
Since joining the Extra Time Hub, Joyce* and Robert* have become regular attendees at the Extra Time Hub Stadium Meet Up, a social activity featuring different activities each week, including puzzles, bingo, quizzes, table tennis, and bowls.
Joyce attends the Stadium Meet Ups and Seated Exercise classes, taking great pleasure from having the opportunity to engage in different activities.
As she said,
“Coming here, attending the classes, coming to the Hub and socialising, doing bits and bobs, a bit of that, some table-tennis, some activities, it is just lovely. It is just such a lovely feeling. You know, you go away with that lovely feeling in your heart, and I cannot think of anything better than that for me”.
The opportunity to meet new people and connect with others in the community has been welcomed and conversing with her new friends has helped Joyce to expand her knowledge:
“Socialising makes me feel good…It helps me in every which way, I can have a laugh, and chat to someone. I can learn something interesting from somebody, which is always good because you can take that away with you.”
Such has been the positive impact of the Extra Time Hub on Joyce, she now looks forward to her visit to Sincil Bank on Wednesday mornings with great enthusiasm and looks forward to the “buzz” of taking part. When asked about why the Extra Time Hub was a worthwhile activity, she said,
“For me, it is the excitement. When I think “what day is today?”, “oh yeah [it’s Wednesday]” and you get your trainers on and your gear, and I am ready. Excitement, it’s something to look forward to.”
Robert has been retired for almost a decade after experiencing poor health and joined the Extra Time Hub after visiting an open day:
“Once I realised it was all about family and the sorts of things that they did, I thought, “Yeah, this sounds like a good thing".
Since joining, Robert has taken part in the Stadium Meet Ups, Walking Cricket and the Community Health Walks. Not only have these activities boosted his mental wellbeing, but the Hub has also provided Robert with a valuable source of support, as he explained,
“The thoughts of coming here, like the walks or the walking cricket, it is great, because whenever you see the staff and people, they always have a smile on their face. They always have time for you. You can talk to them about your own problems, so without any doubt, you definitely feel a lot better in your mental health than if you hadn’t come out.”
Robert also explained that being involved in the various activities in the Extra Time Hub have helped him to become more sociable:
“I think it has made me a better person. I can see if I don’t do a lot, I can fall back into my shell a little bit, so it has definitely influenced me, because when you get there, the people there probably think I talk a lot more than I do do, because if I didn’t go out or just saw one person, I would be a lot quieter”.
Our Extra Time Hub is open to anyone over the age of 55. It has a variety of different activities including; stadium meetups, seated exercise classes and walking football. To find out more about the different sessions and how you can get involved please click here
*Names have been changed to protect the participant's identity.