Sport Northern Ireland Project Re-Boot: Activate has provided £5,000 of match funding
Active Aghaloo
Aughnacloy, United Kingdom
Aim
Fundraising will allow us to deliver new innovative programmes, support minority ethnics and develop new volunteers across our community.
Who are we?
Aghaloo O’Neills GFC is located on the Tyrone Monaghan Border in rural Aughnacloy County Tyrone.
Our main aims, objectives & remit is to provide GAA activities and wider community health & wellbeing initiatives for everyone in our rural community of all ages and backgrounds.
Our Club is a community-based volunteer organisation promoting Gaelic Games, Culture, Sport and Recreation and lifelong participation for those living in rural Aughnacloy and surrounding townlands across the parish of Aghaloo and Carnteel, stretching from Caledon to Favour Royal and from the Brantry to Golan. The club operates by and within the club's constitution, which contains governing rules, policies and procedures in accordance with the GAA.
Community is at the heart of our Club. Everything we do enriches the rural community, villages and townlands we serve. We foster a clear sense of identity and place locally through our daily GAA and community activity delivered at our facilities on the border with Monaghan. For example, we recently opened our community gym promoting wider community health & wellbeing, and a key Club priority is the development of our community walking trail.
A major part of our Club strategy moving forward is to deliver new innovative programmes for minority ethnic groups living locally in Aughnacloy and across our Parish. This is a new initiative which we want to start from January 2023 and which our Crowdfunding is focused on.
Community impact
Our community impact is that we provide sport, health and wellbeing opportunities for local people and in particular disadvantaged groups living within a rural area such as Aughnacloy. In particular, our Club benefits young people, older people and those living in rural isolation.
Our facilities are used 'over and above' our GAA activity. For example, we have a community gym and are currently developing a community walking trail which will be accessible to all within our rural community moving forward once complete.
A major part of our Club strategy moving forward is to have a much wider community impact in our community here in Aughnacloy and across our parish. For example, we want to deliver new innovative programmes for minority ethnic groups living locally in Aughnacloy and across our Parish. This is a new initiative which we want to start from January 2023. This is what our Crowdfunding is focused on to encourage minority ethnic communities to feel welcome using our facilities, and to feel comfortable taking part in our activities and programmes. We will start with encouraging minority ethnic young people into our FUNdementals coaching programme by going into schools near to our Club as well as by linking with other local groups in our community so to have a bigger impact.
Impact of Covid19 on our Club
The impact of Covid19 has meant that our younger members have lost important skill development years because of lockdown. In particular, our younger members were unable to take part in FUNdamental coaching, which is vitally important to a young person's skills development in sport. This has had a negative knock-on effect as young people emerge through the age groups within the Club.
Further, lack of activities, lack of football being played across all age groups, a drop in the number of volunteers and members have all been attributed to Covid19 which is still affecting our rural border club as we look to develop and grow over the next 12+ months.
Over the last 2+ years its been a difficult time for our small rural border Club. Our members and community have struggled here in Aughnacloy and the wider Aghaloo Parish has struggled because of lockdowns, isolation and difficulties.
Because of the restrictions we have been unable to advance many of our planned Club programmes and developments how we would have liked, such as our FUNdementals youth programmes. We have also missed out on planned fundraisers and our membership had fallen over 2 years which the Club has relied on each year pre Covid19 regarding essential income for the club to deliver programmes such as our FUNdementals initiatives.
Why are we crowdfunding?
- We are crowdfunding because a major part of our Club strategy moving forward is to have a much wider community impact in our community here in Aughnacloy and across our parish. For example, we want to deliver new innovative programmes for minority ethnic groups living locally in Aughnacloy and across our Parish. Crowdfunding will enable us to do this.
- Our minority ethnic outreach work will be a new initiative which we want to start from January 2023. This is what our Crowdfunding is focused on in that we want to encourage minority ethnic communities to feel welcome using our facilities, and to feel comfortable taking part in our activities and programmes.
- Through Crowdfunding, we will be able to start with encouraging minority ethnic young people into our FUNdementals coaching programme by going into schools near to our Club as well as by linking with other local groups in our community so to ensure we can reach minority ethnics living locally. We will deliver a 20 week FUNdementals coaching programme in local schools which is a completely new and innovative programme which we have never done before. This will give us direct access to minority ethnic young people who attend local schools and as such allow us to encourage them then to attend our Club activities.
- Crowdfunding will also enable us to market our Club activities and programmes to minority ethnics living locally so to ensure everyone knows about our programmes and that they are open and inclusive to all. For example, we will promote our gym as a facility that is open to minority ethnics as well as parents from different backgrounds of the children who take part in our schools coaching.
- Crowdfunding will allow us to deliver an 8 week female only gym programme from January in which Minority Ethnic woman will particularly be targeted (the programme will be open to all woman in our community).
- Crowdfunding will enable us to encourage more volunteers into our Club, targeting minority ethnic communities as well as the wider community to volunteer. Fundraising will allow us to provide foundation coaching courses and upskilling more people to then volunteer and lead on implementing our wider community strategies longer term.
How we’ll spend the money raised
Any money raised through this Crowdfunding will be spent on the following:
- Qualified coach to deliver our new and innovative schools coaching programme focusing on minority ethnic inclusion within our club.
- Marketing and promotional materials to better market our Club, programmes and community initiatives to all, but specifically minority ethnics in our community.
- Equipment to deliver the programmes noted
- Facilitator to deliver a number of community wide workshops on emotional wellbeing and dealing with stress, as well as inclusion and building a united community from all backgrounds.
- Facilitator to deliver healthy eating and woman only 8 week programme from our Community Gym.
- Coach education opportunities for new volunteers
Please support our campaign and help our Club Build Back Better into 2023
How you can play your part
There are a few simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
Please support our campaign and help our Club Build Back Better into 2023
This project successfully funded on 2nd February 2023