Building Participation at Michael Davitt GAC

Aim

The Building Participation at Michael Davitt GAC project focuses on giving children as many opportunities as possible through our SWAcademy.

Who are we?

Michael Davitt GAC are a GAA club based in Swatragh, Co.Derry. We provide opportunities for over 350 children and adults to play football, hurling and camogie. Our fantastic Health and Well-Being Committee also hosts members of the community for walks on our club grounds and older members of our community come together regularly to play bowls.

We are more than just a sports club

We are at the heart of the community in Swatragh and the surrounding area. If you visit the club grounds and rooms on any given evening you are likely to see groups of children taking part in excellent sessions from our club coaches. You will see lots of members of our community accessing our club grounds for walking and running activities. You may also hear our young people practicing their tin whistle or harp as part of their traditional Irish music sessions. We are 100% volunteer led with our coaches and leaders providing 100s of hours of excellent activities for members of the local community.

How has Covid-19 impacted us?

Covid 19 impacted on our club negatively in different ways. Financially, the club suffered as we were unable to provide services which resulted in a lack of membership fees and or hold fundraising initiatives. The two lockdowns and restrictions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic our members could not access opportunities for physical activities. This adversely impacted their physical and mental health. This was confirmed in recent club surveys as those who completed the surveys indicated that they do not take part in as much physical activity as they did before the pandemic. We also put in place protocols which restricted the number of adults and young people who could use our facilities. Since the pandemic we have seen that a number of younger members have disengaged with sport. We also have lost a number of key volunteers and coaches within the Club, which has reduced the capacity of the Club, which has had a knock on effect in relation to participation levels.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Covid-19 reduced the number of coaches and children in our club as families and children have disengaged as a result of the pandemic.  We are crowdfunding to develop a new SWAcademy that provides the following:

• Sessions for children (boys and girls) across boys football, camogie, hurling and girls football so that children of all ages can attend and become involved in sport again.
• To develop a coach education programme to support our current coaches and attract new coaches. Coach education sessions will focus on areas such as games based approaches for all abilities and working with children with Special Educational Needs and Physical Needs.
• Purchase sports equipment such as hurling sticks, footballs, cones, bibs, ladders and jerseys for teams. Funding for this equipment will allow the club to focus funding for areas such as coach education and positive mental health strategies.
• Develop new teams within the club across all ages, particularly developing female participation and integrating all of our members into an inclusive club for all.
• Provide access to counsellors for our underage members to help them with their mental health and wellbeing.
• Deliver sessions for coaches and families on nutrition and healthy lifestyles so that young people in our club can have access to not only fitness and sporting opportunities but have knowledge of a healthy diet so that they have the best opportunities as possible in life.

How we’ll spend the money raised

Our target for fundraising is £8,335. 

This is very ambitious but we feel we will get there with the support of our community. The benefits of the SWAcademy will mean that our numbers will grow to at least pre-pandemic levels and there will be opportunities for boys and girls of all ages to join teams in our club and have access to:

• High quality coaching and training.
• The best in class training equipment.
• Learning opportunities about healthy lifestyles.
• Strategies on how to develop positive mental health.

How you can play your part

There are four 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!

4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, maybe a sponsored activity or similar, use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes, and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

This project successfully funded on 17th April 2023