Groups celebrate windfall

FIVE groups from the Craigavon area are sharing in a grants windfall from the Big Lottery Fund's Awards for All programme.

Derrytrasna Senior Citizens Committee, based in Sarsfield Community Centre, Derrytrasna, has been awarded a grant of 5,043.

The group will use the grant to run a range of activities for older people in the Derrytrsna area and the surrounding townlands.

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Volunteer Eileen McAlinden said that the committee was started up because there were no services on offer for older people in the area.

“This group was started up back in 2004 because we recognised there were simply not enough services supporting older people in rural areas, especially services to support their physical and mental health,” said Eileen.

“Before we started up the only event we had was a Christmas party once a year for older people, but it was clear that this was something they loved.

“But older people in this area are facing a number of issues. Transport links are poor and older people often have difficulty getting to groups, and the cost of travelling to venues and paying for services can be too high for some people.

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“We decided to get together one morning for a cup of tea and a chat to see what could be done and things developed for there.”

Eileen explained that the group is a lifeline for many of the older people who attend. “Older people are brought into the community centre by bus in the morning,” she said. “We provide a range of activities for them to keep them active and engage their minds, and then we cook them a nice, healthy lunch.

“The money from the Big Lottery Fund will make such a big difference to the activities we will be able to offer over the next year. It has been used to buy a new printer, camera and laptop for skills training, and it’s paying tutors to run flower arranging courses, cookery demonstrations and alternative therapies.

“We are also planning to run a number of exercises classes such as armchair aerobics, dancing and boccia. We are helping to improve the physical and mental health of our members, and giving them the chance to get out of the house and socialise, try new activities and meet new people.”

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Marion Gormley, 70, goes along to the group every week. “The group is just absolutely brilliant,” she said. “There loads of activities and I’ve made so many friends there.

“When my children were young I didn’t get the chance to get out much, but this is a chance for me to get out of the house, try new things and feel part of the local community. There isn’t much for older people in this area to do, so this group is a lifeline for so many people and I can’t praise the group enough.”

Donaghcloney Rural Needs Development Group, which works to improve the lives of people in the Donaghcloney area, will use their 1,693 grant to run a series of day trips.

Community Network Craigavon, which provides support for voluntary and community groups, will use their grant of 7,525 to run a programme of training.

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Tandragee Primary School received 9,823 and Ballyoran Over 50s Club received 8,372.

The small grants programme is awarding over 33,000 to the local groups as part of a grants roll-out of 604,974 to 75 groups across Northern Ireland (see separate attachment for full list of awards).

Application forms and guidance notes are available to download at www.awardsforall.org.uk.

For more details call 9055 1455, or e-mail [email protected]

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