How you can get involved

The ‘a better u health and wellbeing community champions’ are a group of volunteers who live and/ or work across South Tyneside.

Our champions help others to stay up-to-date with the latest health and wellbeing advice. They talk to people about the help and support that is available to them in South Tyneside and how to find it.

They do this by sharing information with family, friends and colleagues. They also attend events to help share information to community groups and members of the public.

By talking to the people of South Tyneside, the champions help us to understand:

  • what matters most to people in South Tyneside
  • what we can do to help
  • the best way for us to let people know what's available

We need you!

  • Would you like to help your family, friends and local communities?
  • Can you share key advice and information to help people to improve their lives?
  • Could you help us reach people that might not be able to find the right advice themselves?

We'd love you to join our champions team and help to improve the health and wellbeing of South Tyneside!

What you will do

  • As a champion, we will ask you to:

    • Complete a short welcome and training session
    • Share health and wellbeing information with your friends, family, neighbours and communities
    • Talk about your role as champion and encourage others to sign up
    • Tell us the best way to talk to you and your community
    • Be a positive health and wellbeing role model
    • Tell us what matters most to you and your community
    • Support other champions and volunteers in other organisations

  • You can also take part in extra activities that could make a huge difference to someone's life, such as:

    • Completing extra training to help in your role as a champion
    • Keeping up to date by going to monthly online Champions meetings
    • Going to community events and activities, to share information, when it is safe to
    • Finding out what people think of the information you're sharing - is it useful? What could we do better?
    • Telling us about what issues people are facing

Who we are looking for

  • We'd love to hear from you if you:

    • live or work in South Tyneside
    • love all things health and wellbeing
    • want to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of South Tyneside

    Please note: if you are under 18 you will need your parents' consent to get involved.

  • It would be helpful if you:

    • can receive emails
    • can use Microsoft Teams meetings (we can help you set this up)
    • have access to a mobile phone

    We want our champions programme to be open to everyone. Please get in touch if:

    • you would need communication to be offline and / or in a different format
    • you would like support to get online
    • you would like help to improve your digital knowledge and skills

a better u pledge

  • As a champion, you will share consistent and reliable information.
  • You will also show people where to find reliable information. This will help people to make good choices for themselves.
  • We'll ask you to sign a pledge to promise that any information you share comes from a trusted and reliable source.
  • You will not need to talk about the evidence behind the guidance.
  • You won't have to talk about anything you're not comfortable with.
  • If you aren't sure, the 'a better u' Champions co-ordinator will be happy to help.

What you'll get as a champion

  • Social media messages you can share
  • An official 'a better u' ID badge and lanyard
  • Access to free training
  • An invitation to at least one online meeting a month. You will be able to share your views, ask questions and hear the latest from the 'a better u' Champions co-ordinator
  • A fortnightly e-bulletin of the latest local and national information, advice, guidance and campaigns

Ready to become a champion?

Become an 'a better u health and wellbeing champion' with us today and help others to stay up to date on the latest health and wellbeing advice.

Learn more