Sport Northern Ireland: Creating Opportunities has provided £5,000 of match funding
Holy Trinity Foundation Girls Get Active Campaign
Cookstown, Mid Ulster, United Kingdom
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Aim
We're crowdfunding to create more opportunities for girls across Cookstown and the surrounding communities to get involved in new sports.
Who are we?
Holy Trinity Foundation is a registered charity, dedicated to providing diverse and positive opportunities for disadvantaged people in and around Cookstown and our wider Mid Ulster community to engage in various activities, such as sports, physical activity, community development, citizenship, education, arts, culture, heritage, and science.
Our primary focus was initially to help raise funds for extra curricular initiatives within the school, but we are now focusing on catering more opportunities for those who currently lack access to such opportunities, particularly young people from deprived areas in Cookstown and across Mid Ulster, those from low-income families, those living in disadvantaged urban and rural areas and disadvantaged young people living with disabilities, all of whom are socially, economically, and physically disadvantaged.
Last year we successfully crowdfunded to deliver a 12 weeks programme for 20+ teenagers from Cookstown to take part in a new sports programme which included regular walking, a couch25k initiative, "steps to success" programme involving 10,000 steps challenge each day, and an introduction to a gym and wellness through sport.
Our motto, "Inspiration, Innovation, and Excellence," embodies our commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for all to build confidence, develop skills and provide opportunities for our most vulnerable. Many of our disadvantaged young people struggle with physical and mental wellbeing issues, and an increase in social isolation particularly prevalent across our beneficiaries.
We received funding for our Breakfast Club for example, from Halifax Foundation and a significant aspect of our charitable work revolves around promoting community health and well-being, encouraging awareness of good physical and mental health, and fostering an active community in Cookstown for all, regardless of background or ability.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We're crowdfunding to create more opportunities for girls and young women across Cookstown and the surrounding rural communities to get active, try new sports and build lifelong healthy habits.
With your support, we will launch our "Girls Get Active Campaign" which will be a new 20 week multi-sport participation programme specifically designed for 50 girls aged 11-18 who are not currently involved in sport or who face barriers to participation in Cookstown and surrounding rural communities. The programme will provide opportunities 4 hours per week extra curricular, evening and weekends to experience a range of activities including GAA, soccer and new sports like touch rugby, hockey, golf, fitness and recreational physical activity in a fun, welcoming and non-competitive environment. We will deliver 4 weeks of each sport / activity.
The project will focus on helping girls build confidence, improve physical and mental wellbeing, develop new friendships and discover sports they can continue participating in long after the programme ends. We want to reduce the time young people spend inactive or on screens and provide positive alternatives that encourage healthier lifestyles.
Funding raised will support qualified coaching, facility hire, programme equipment, taster sessions and outreach activities, helping us engage girls from across our rural communities and connect them with local sports clubs and ongoing participation opportunities.
Supported by Sport Northern Ireland's Creating Opportunities programme, every donation will be matched, meaning your contribution will have twice the impact. Together, we can help level the playing field for girls in sport and create new opportunities for them to be active, confident and connected within their local community.
How Our Project Aligns with Sport NI's Creating Opportunities Programme
This project directly supports the aims of Sport NI's Creating Opportunities programme by addressing the under-representation of girls and young women in sport and physical activity. The programme has been specifically designed to create new and additional opportunities for participation, rather than supporting existing club activities, helping to level the playing field for a priority target group identified by Sport NI.
Our project will engage girls aged 11-18 from Cookstown and surrounding rural communities through a new multi-sport programme that removes barriers to participation by providing accessible, affordable and welcoming opportunities to get active. Many participants may not currently be involved in organised sport, may have dropped out of sport, or may lack the confidence to join a local club.
Through introductory coaching sessions, taster events and positive sporting experiences across a range of sports, participants will develop confidence, improve physical and mental wellbeing, build friendships and increase their levels of physical activity. The programme will also create clear pathways into local sports clubs, helping girls remain active beyond the life of the project.
The project strongly aligns with Sport NI's priorities by:
- Increasing participation among women and girls.
- Engaging children and young people aged 11-18.
- Providing opportunities for participants living in rural communities
- Delivering a new and innovative participation programme rather than routine club activities
- Using sport and physical activity to improve confidence, wellbeing, social connections and community engagement
- Creating sustainable pathways into long-term participation through local sports clubs and community organisations.
Ultimately, our project will help ensure more girls have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of sport, develop healthy lifelong habits and feel confident, included and connected within their local communities.
How we’ll spend the money raised
Our target is to raise £7,692. All funds raised will be spent on the following. Sport NI will contribute £5,000 if we raise the rest.
Coaching Costs: 80 hours (4 hours per week x 20 weeks) of qualified coaching @ £35 per hour across GAA, soccer, touch rugby, hockey, golf and fitness activities= £2,800 x 2 (2 coaches)= £5,600
Sports Equipment: 20 Footballs (£250), 20 GAA footballs (£250), 20 touch rugby balls (£150), 20 hockey sticks & balls (£500), 8 agility ladders (£120), cones & markers (£100), bibs (£80)= 1,450
Refreshments: Healthy refreshments and water for 50 participants across programme sessions and taster events= £642
Fundraising Target £7,692
Community impact
As a charity our foundation delivers vital community programmes here in Cookstown. Through our programmes we help tackle social isolation, improve physical and mental wellbeing, build confidence and create positive pathways for young people who may otherwise have limited opportunities to participate in community life.
This project we are fundraising for will provide girls and young women from Cookstown and the wider Mid Ulster area with access to new sporting opportunities regardless of their background, ability or financial circumstances. By bringing participants together through a range of sports and physical activities, we will help develop friendships, improve self-esteem and encourage healthier lifestyles at a time when many young people are becoming increasingly inactive and disconnected.
The programme will also strengthen links between participants and local sports clubs across Cookstown, creating sustainable pathways into long-term participation and volunteering. The wider community will benefit from a more active, confident and connected generation of young people, while helping to address inequalities in access to sport, particularly for those living in disadvantaged urban and rural communities.
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. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – 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!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 5th August 2026 at 12:52pm