I moved to Folkestone six years ago. My origin is Czech and together with my English husband and two teenage daughters, we have enjoyed living, studying and working in the friendly, creative town of Folkestone.

I am the founder of the local fitness business ‘Moving with Markie’, and I have been passionately promoting an active lifestyle through my professional and community work since I moved to Folkestone. I have always been ‘all eyes and ears’ in terms of what sport and physical activity opportunities are in the local area.

I saw the Everyday Active Champion role for Folkestone & Hythe being promoted on Instagram and I contacted the Active Kent & Medway team via email to find out about the volunteer role and what it involves. I explained why this role would really suit me and the team took me on.

My Champion role involves promoting the Everyday Active campaign and website. I update the Folkestone & Hythe community page with local opportunities and photos. I also support the Everyday Active social media campaign to help ensure the right messages are reaching the right people in the local area.

I enjoy encouraging more local people to become physically active and it is great to have a resourceful and respected partner like Active Kent & Medway to collaborate with. Local opportunities, like wellbeing events, festivals, community cafes, where I amplify the Everyday Active messages, are always useful for connecting with local residents and to get feedback from them.

I like all the support, resources and training opportunities which Active Kent & Medway offers me. Regular networking events are also a great way to gain more insights and inspirations for my job. I am very grateful for the sessions we have been able to introduce to the local community, like Wellbeing Walks or Move to Heal. Thanks to the grant and support from Active Kent & Medway I have been able to accelerate efforts to offer more diverse, inclusive and affordable physical activities in the town.

If you are a passionate ambassador about wellbeing, sport, play or physical activity and if you like to share your skills and expertise to make a change in your local area, then I would recommend you give the Champion role a go!

Visit the Folkestone & Hythe Community Page on Everyday Active


If you’d like to become an Everyday Active Champion and support your local community to become more active, please get in touch with Yasmin Hosken, Everyday Active Officer at Active Kent & Medway, via email: yasmin.hosken@kent.gov.uk