The Acklam Green Centre and Resource Centre recently took part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on 28^th September, raising £244.00 in valuable funds for Macmillan Cancer Care in the process.

Actes staff and generous members of the public, baked and created an array of cakes and goodies including rocky road, fairy cakes, cookies, truffles and scones which were exchanged for cash donations. 

Event attendees also took part in the Place the Cherry on the Gateau game and You’re on a Roll sweepstake which added to the donations. Simon Carson Sports School donated a football as one of the prizes while the Acklam Green Centre donated a lunch voucher.

The events took place simultaneously at Café Connect in Acklam Green Centre’s atrium and in the Resource Centre’s reception area.

Donna Smith, facilities manager at Actes, said: “With a large staff team and two centres open to the public we were ideally placed to host a Macmillan Coffee Morning to raise funds and help make a difference to people facing cancer. 

“Everyone made a fantastic effort with their baking and we were pleased that so many people turned out to donate and enjoy a yummy treat or two in the process. We’re thrilled to have raised £244.00 for this fantastic cause and I’d like to thank everyone involved.”

Acklam Green Centre’s in-house WiFi Café, Café Connect has launched a new deli counter offering an extended selection of fillings and salad options for sandwiches, jacket potatoes and salad boxes.

Café Connect is open to the public for breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks Monday to Friday.  Following a makeover in the summer, the cafe has now updated its menu to include additional fresh fillings such as crab salad and chicken tikka served on large sub-rolls which are now displayed behind the counter for people to pick from along with a range of salad options. Hot roast beef and gravy baguettes have also been added to the offer and homemade soup, toasties, paninis and breakfast sandwiches are also available.

Donna Smith, facilities manager at Acklam Green Centre, said: “We are always looking to improve our customer offer. The introduction of the deli counter means that people have more choice than ever and can see our fresh and tasty fillings for themselves to create a lunch exactly to their liking.

“Not everyone realises that Café Connect is open to the general public and is not just for centre customers, so we hope that the extended menu attracts more people to enjoy breakfast, lunch or just a coffee in our WiFi café.”

Lunch orders are available for collection from Café Connect before 12pm weekdays by calling 01642 811120.

In line with the introduction of new evening and weekend rates at Acklam Green Centre, two new activity groups are set to run classes from the centre’s Roseberry Hall from October.

Acklam School of Martial Arts will offer two sessions a week between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday and Friday from the 17^th October and Sweaty Mama, a female-only bootcamp class, will take place 7pm to 8pm on Mondays from 29^th October.

Acklam School of Martial Arts’ sessions, which will mainly focus on Taekwondo and kickboxing, will be run by fully qualified instructors with over 10 years’ experience and will be suitable for people of all ages and abilities. The first session will be free and following this, adults will pay £4 and children under 10 will pay £3 per session.

Acklam School of Martial Arts’ head instructor, Lee Dixon, said: “We are a family friendly club that welcomes people of all ages, fitness levels and abilities. We’d encourage those who are interested to come along and train in a relaxed, happy environment and have fun.”

For further information about Acklam School of Martial Arts contact Lee Dixon on 07852 769883.

Sweaty Mama bootcamp, which incorporates circuit-style training combining various high intensity workouts, will cost £45 for an eight-week course.

Kirsty Lewis, franchisee at Sweaty Mama UK, said: “Sweaty Mama Bootcamp aims to be a safe and friendly environment for females who motivate each other to work hard whilst having a laugh and seeing great results. To keep everyone from getting a little bored the workouts change each week to avoid repetition.

“High Intensity circuits type training assists in efficient fat burning, however each exercise has lower intensity options for beginners, so there is an option for everyone and their fitness level.

“The eight-week course brings us nicely to mid-December which is perfect time to feel that little bit better about ourselves before we hit those mince pies!”

To book onto the Sweaty Mama bootcamp visit the website www.kirsty.sweatymama.com.  For any queries contact Kirsty via email kirsty@sweatymama.com and for further information visit SweatyMamaMiddlesbrough on Facebook and Instagram.

Acklam Green Centre has introduced a new rate card for those hiring the centre’s facilities on evenings and weekends in a bid to appeal to more individuals and groups running leisure activities.

Following a review of its pricing, the centre will offer reduced rates for those hiring its meeting rooms, suites and hall for bookings commencing from 5pm onwards on weekday evenings and all day on weekends.  The new rates will come into effect on 1st November in a bid to ensure affordability for all and to help attract more future bookings from people running fitness classes, dance classes, performing arts and similar leisure activities for the public to participate in.

A number of community groups already operate from the centre and include meditation and mindfulness, Slimming World, a church group, martial arts and French and German classes. The facilities team is hoping that the decision will attract even more people looking for space to run their activities from an accessible Middlesbrough venue.

Donna Smith, facilities manager, said: “As part of an analysis of the centre’s current usage alongside identifying potential groups that we would like to attract in future, specifically on evenings and weekends, we recognised the need to bring in an hourly evening and weekend rate to ensure affordability for all.  The new rates will apply to bookings that commence from  5pm onwards on evenings and all day on weekends.

“Our two training suites and our large Roseberry Hall are ideal for running a range of activities such as yoga, zumba, HIIT classes, boot camps, dance classes and much more. In addition, we have plenty of on-site parking and are easy to get to from the A19, so are ideal for groups looking to build up a customer base.

“With the new rates coming into effect we hope to add to our already varied timetable of leisure activities and offer even more for the local community to enjoy.”

For further information about room rates at the Acklam Green Centre call 01642 811120