Tens of thousands of pounds invested in community groups

LOCAL community groups have recently been awarded tens of thousands of pounds from The National Lottery Community Fund.

Recently, Drumquin Healthy Living Partnership persuaded the funders that they were worthy of £10,000 to help improve the health and wellbeing of teenagers in their village and its rural surroundings.

Paul McCusker, chairperson of Drumquin Healthy Living Partnership, said this five-figure-sum will benefit young people in their area.

“We applied for and received the grant to finance a series of health and wellbeing programmes targeted at teenagers in our area, which will begin in the summer and run through the winter,” said Paul.

He added, “Over the pandemic, a lot of teenagers and children stopped exercising because clubs and sporting groups were forced to close. We want to get these same young people back into the world of exercise.”

In the course of the programmes, Paul said, there will be gym primers for people under 16, a couch to 5k programme, yoga and pilates classes, and, among other things, guided mindfulness sessions.

He concluded, “We are delighted we have received this funding and I am confident that it will make a huge difference in the lives of people in our community.”

The Drumquin Healthy Living Partnership is one of seven projects in Fermanagh and Omagh who are benefitting from £5.8 million of recent National Lottery Community Fund allocations.

First Management Services in Omagh received a £9,007 grant to set up a polytunnel and provide a range of grow and cook workshops for residents, aimed at boosting health and wellbeing of vulnerable families by educating them about gardening, horticulture and healthy eating.

Knockmoyle Youth Club were awarded a £7,810 grant to deliver a reading club for children and adults, which endeavours to aid language development and literacy for children and provide a social activity for adults. Also receiving funding are Omagh Early Years Centre, St Patrick’s Hall Committee and Glendurragh Childcare Services.