Age & Opportunity wholeheartedly welcomes the new dementia inclusive community symbol, launched recently by the Dementia: Understand Together campaign.
The symbol has been developed with people with dementia at its heart. By displaying the symbol in our communities, it is hoped that organisations and services will help to raise awareness for dementia. It will also show solidarity with more than 64,000 people living with the condition in Ireland.
“We are proud to start using and sharing the symbol and have already included it as part of our initiative Azure, Dementia Friendly Tours of Cultural institutions,” said Karen Horgan, CEO of Age & Opportunity. “We will continue to roll out inclusion of the symbol in our Active, Arts & Engage programmes, where appropriate.”
By understanding together, we can all make a difference and help people in our communities to stay connected and included. If you’d like to join the campaign, you can find out more, complete training and order promotional materials at www.understandtogether.ie/get-involved
Sports grants of €300,000 to promote physical activity in older people
Grants awarded to clubs nationwide in the promotion of activity in older people
Over €6 million awarded to date by the Go for Life National Grant Scheme
1,084 grants allocated under 2019 scheme
33,000 older people to benefit from investment
At an event today, Age and Opportunity announced sports grants of €300,000 to promote physical activity in older people. Taking part in the event were l to r, Rose O’Reilly, Tom O’Reilly and Marian Mooney. Pic Tommy Clancy.
The Go for Life National Grant Scheme is today (November 27th) celebrating a momentous allocation of funding for sporting activities in older age-groups.
The grants scheme, a combined initiative from Age & Opportunity and Sport Ireland, will distribute over €300,000 across 1,084 groups.
Today’s allocation brings the total grants allocated over the last 18 years to over 15,000 and the total fund allocated to date is over €6 million.
The National Grant Scheme provides an accessible and enjoyable means for older people in communities nationwide to reap the health rewards from doing physical activity. Brendan Griffin, Minister of State with responsibility for Sport, said:
I am delighted to see that almost €300,000 has been allocated by Sport Ireland to the Go for Life grants to over one thousand groups this year. This means that 33,000 older people will take part in sport and physical activity as a direct result of this grant scheme. Over the last eighteen years the National Grant Scheme funding has supported and empowered thousands of groups of older people to get more active more often and the record number of applications this year shows the continued importance of the scheme for groups throughout the country. Go for Life is doing a wonderful job of providing opportunities for older people to enjoy all the benefits that participation can bring
Speaking at the launch, John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, said the ‘Go for Life’ initiative continues to act as a valuable resource in getting more older people active.
Sport Ireland’s vision is that sport contributes to enhancing the quality of Irish life and that people of all ages are encouraged and valued in sport. To help us achieve this we work with Age & Opportunity to deliver opportunities and grants to as many clubs and groups as possible. This year we received the highest number of applications in the history of the grant allocation, which shows the growing enthusiasm and appetite for physical activity in older age-groups.
The number of people who took part in activities funded by the 2018 grant scheme is over 33,000. The number of grants allocated exceeds 1000 for the seventh time and the percentage of successful applicants is 88%.
Karen Smyth, CEO of Age & Opportunity, said today’s grant funding is helping us create an Ireland where all older people are more active and more connected and the allocation of grants ensured clubs and groups from all walks of life could benefit from the scheme:
We are delighted to work in partnership with Sport Ireland. Age & Opportunity works to ensure equality of participation for all older people, irrespective of background, culture, identity, setting or location. We are delighted that this year 364 successful applications were from designated disadvantaged areas, the largest figure in the grants history. There were also over 150 groups who applied and received a grant for the first time.
“Of the groups who received grants last year 96% reported that they felt more active as a result of the funding, and 75% reported that they felt very much more connected.[i]” she said.
Of today’s successful funding allocations, 243 grants were awarded to Active Retirement Associations, 278 grants were awarded to Irish Countrywomen’s Associations and 21 applications were made by Local Sports Partnerships.
Other funding allocations included: 33 Men’s Sheds’ groups; 2 Women’s Shed’s groups (for the first time); 11 Arthritis Ireland initiatives; 16 Irish Wheelchair Association groups; and activities for 22 Family Resource Centres.
The Grant Scheme demonstrates the wide scope and ambition of Ireland’s older generations where keeping healthy and active is concerned.
Tennis, cycling, rowing, seated boxing, dancing, aqua aerobics and handball are just some of the activities the grant will fund.
The Grant Scheme is part of Age & Opportunity’s ‘Go for Life’ initiative, funded by Sport Ireland, and delivered nationwide with the support of Local Sports Partnerships and the HSE.
[i] Survey conducted among recipients of 2018 Grant Scheme funding. 703 respondents.
Age & Opportunity’s Bealtaine Festival, in partnership with Axis Ballymun, is delighted to announce The Windy Lady by Pom Boyd, as the Bealtaine Festival Touring Production for 2020. The tour will travel nationwide for the month of May, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for Bealtaine.
Poor oul pigs get a very hard time don’t they? Some of them have been in films haven’t they?
They’re not in with the in-crowd isn’t that the problem?
I’m not in-with the in crowd, I only know my neighbour and Elaine in the chemist.
That’s not going to get me very far is it?
Audiences have been falling in love with The Windy Lady for years. Now she’s here with her own show where she invites us to share the contents of her mind, her shopping bag and her biscuit tin. Original and very funny, this show will cheer you up and leave you feeling better about life. You’re not in with the ‘in-crowd’? In The Windy Lady’s world, that’s the in-nest place to be. Pom Boyd’s The Windy Lady is a subversively witty and charming celebration of animals, womanhood and ordinary life.
About the artist
Pom Boyd is one of Ireland’s leading artists who, through her craft animates the glorious mundane. Her work offers a creative and innovative perspective on many familiar moments in everyday life.
Bealtaine Festival Internships – Deadline Extended
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS EXTENDED TO Friday 29th November
We are looking for two interns to be part of our 2020 Bealtaine Festival Team. The interns will play an important role in supporting the festival as it celebrates its 25th year.
The Bealtaine Festival provides unique opportunities for interns to be involved in a successful collaborative festival and have an opportunity to:
Utilise your skills as well as learn and develop new skills.
Interact and network with a wide variety of people.
Travel to and attend events across Dublin and surrounding counties.
Learn about issues concerning older people.
The following internship roles are available:
Social Media Internship
Dawn Chorus Internship
For more info on what’s involve and how to apply read on….
Social Media Intern
This role will involve supporting the festival administration and helping to implement the marketing and social media campaign drawn up by the Festival team. It will provide an exciting opportunity to get first hand experience of promoting and marketing the festival, with support and mentoring from the team.
Further details on the role and how to apply can be found here:
The Dawn Chorus is a nationwide choral event in which older people come together with a choir in their locality and sing at Dawn in a scenic area, ideally beside water and always outdoors. In 2018, the Dusk chorus was initiated, where choirs can choose to sing by sunset. Age & Opportunity’s Bealtaine Festival coordinates the Dawn & Dusk Chorus nationally and works in partnership with the Sing Ireland and Active Retirement Ireland.
Further details on the role and how to apply can be found here:
The symbol has been developed with people with dementia at its heart. By displaying the symbol in our communities, it is hoped that organisations and services will help to raise awareness for dementia. It will also show solidarity with more than 64,000 people living with the condition in Ireland.
