Thrive By The Sea CIC
Supporting women and girls living in Kent with their health & wellbeing
About Us
Our Vision
Thrive By The Sea CIC is a Community Interest Company dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of women and girls living in Kent.
We were established to create accessible, welcoming spaces where women and girls can feel supported, informed, and connected. We recognise that wellbeing is influenced by many factors — physical health, emotional resilience, community connection, and access to trusted information — and we are committed to strengthening all of these within our local community.
Through events, workshops, education, and community initiatives, Thrive By The Sea CIC provides opportunities for women and girls to build confidence, improve wellbeing, and develop meaningful connections with others.
As a Community Interest Company, our purpose is rooted in social impact. Any surplus is reinvested directly into expanding our services and ensuring continued benefit for the community we serve.
We believe in compassion, inclusivity, integrity, and evidence-informed support — creating environments where women and girls feel valued, heard, and empowered to thrive.
Mission
Our Commitment
To support the health, wellbeing, and empowerment of women and girls across Kent.
We achieve this through:
-
🌸 Accessible wellbeing education
-
🤝 Community connection and safe spaces
-
📅 Events and practical support initiatives
-
💛 Encouraging confidence and resilience
Our Projects
In 2023 we launched our first Thrive Through Menopause project in Folkestone, Kent. The aim of this project was to support women living in or local to Folkestone with their menopause transition. This project ran for 12 weeks from June – August 2023. Each week there was a different theme with the aim to support women with their health and wellbeing and to empower them to take back control and advocate for themselves. We also provided online support for the duration of the project via a private online group, where we were able to share more information and discussion. This project was fully funded by Social Enterprise Kent and KCC (Kent County Council).
In 2024, thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, we were able to run a second project in Folkestone and a new project in Dover. Building on the success of our first project in Folkestone, we developed an 8-week project, including a weekly session of Pilates, to introduce a great way to exercise during menopause. Both projects were oversubscribed. In 2025 we ran our 3rd Folkestone project with funding from Folkestone Town Council and Active Kent & Medway. Again, this project was oversubscribed.
In 2026 we have big plans – continuing with Thrive Through Menopause and introducing 2 new projects – one supporting older adults and another supporting people with sugar and carb addiction. Keep an eye on our website for further updates.
What our participants say....
I would like you to know that I am still using all of the information you taught me daily. Menopause is a constant job. It’s all consuming and you have given me tools and knowledge that have saved my life. That may sound dramatic but I feel like if I hadn’t found you and your class I could have fallen into a menopausal hell for lack of a better term.
Thank you for what you have done for me.
I hope to continue receiving your advise and knowledge in another course or Pilates class.
With love and thanks,
Alison – Dover project
This course has been so beneficial, physically and mentally. It has really reset my mindset and changed the way I look at certain things such as health and diet for the better.
I’m so happy I joined this session, because I learned a lot and met a bunch of great successful women going through the same thing. I would love to do it again in future if it was available. And Claire, the instructor was amazing, did a brilliant job!! Loved it!
It has been beneficial to learn more and. to have some information I had learnt clarified and discussed. It has been useful to complete the course with others. Our experiences are all different but you can learn something from everyone.
It has given me more confidence
Dear Claire
This is just a little note to thank you for the last 8 weeks.
You’ve been a breath of fresh air – kind, passionate, caring and knowledgeable. I couldn’t have asked for more. It’s been so enjoyable and informative, and I’ve learnt loads that will help me. Your up-beat nature has been a real antidote to all those energy vampires – you’re like a silver bullet against them! I hope that your courses are able to continue for many other women and that you have as positive an impact on their lives as you have had on mine.
Stephanie – Folkestone project
I also struggle with depression and now know I’m not going crazy. The chats every week have been life changing.
Claire has been amazing, knowledgeable and informative. Thoroughly enjoyed the last 8 weeks
I am much better informed and able to make better choices. I have a few things I will now implement that I wouldn’t have done before the course. I have enjoyed the informative and exercise parts of the classes.
I have appreciated all the effort Claire has made to run this course. Her enthusiasm for wanting to share important information, encouraging us to learn and arm ourselves with options to help prepare ourselves for a time that we know is inevitable but hopefully made easier by what we have learnt.
Our Funding Partners
Contact Us
Reach out to us to learn more about our community initiatives, get involved in our projects, or share your ideas on how we can work together to create a positive impact.