Mary first heard about Step Ahead in October 2019 from her sister who had always enjoyed coming along. Mary decided to give it a go and came for a look around. She felt shy and quite nervous when she joined in with our craft group as her first activity. However everyone talked to her and was really friendly and she felt welcome and accepted. She also likes how the low prices mean she can try new things without a lot of cost. Mary says she now makes sure she is friendly to new people as she knows how it feels to come into a new place and not know anyone.

These days there are not many activities Mary has not tried. She comes along to tramping, women’s groups, day outings, badminton, op shopping, table tennis and craft. Her favourite activity is tramping and this has been a major boost to her confidence and fitness. Mary loves the tramping trips, enjoys being outdoors and being able to explore all around Canterbury. She says her fitness just keeps improving which makes her feel better. The full day trips are her favourite and she really enjoys all the fun, laughter and comradery in the vans driving to and from the tramping locations.

A staff member commented on Mary’s time with Step Ahead:

“Mary has changed since she started coming along. It was a big challenge for her to try out the tramping group and her fitness level was not very high. Over the last two years Mary’s fitness has increased in leaps and bounds. She is a regular member of our Friday trips and is now able to complete the more challenging trips that we go out on. She has also worked on her fitness at the gym, has lost weight and the gains she has made in her self-confidence are obvious to everybody”.

Mary says that since coming to Step Ahead her family have noticed that she is happier and talks more. Her fitness has improved and she has made new friends. She would recommend that anyone struggling with being stuck at home or feeling isolated to come along and see the benefits for themselves.