Older people in the Ballymoney area are receiving more social, educational and travel opportunities thanks to grants from Big Lottery Fund.
Ballymoney U3A has received a £6,675 grant from Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme. It is part of a Big Lottery Fund grants roll out of £743,207 to 95 groups across Northern Ireland including £29,555 to four groups in the Ballymoney area.
Ballymoney U3A supports older people in the Ballymoney area. They are using the grant to provide the equipment and resources to facilitate a wide range of activities including IT skills, arts and crafts, genealogy, gardening, walking groups and golf.
Ballintoy Young at Hearts Club provides social, recreational and educational opportunities for people over 55 years of age living in and around the Ballintoy area. They received £8,686 to provide a range of activities, trips and equipment.
Ballycastle And District Over 55 Club provides a social outlet for people over the age of 55 in the Ballycastle area. They are using the £4,294 grant for a programme of physical activities such as armchair aerobics and bowls, and trips for the members.
The Coast Office Society Ltd is a co-operative society set up to bring back facilities to Portballintrae and provide opportunities for people to work together through environmental awareness and maritime heritage activities. They are using the £9,900 grant to bring the community together to build a traditional style drontheim boat. They will then connect with other north coast and Scottish communities by using it in regattas and bringing a regatta back to Portballintrae.
Joanne McDowell, Big Lottery Fund NI Director, said: “The Big Lottery Fund’s NI Awards for All programme funds health, education, environment and community projects that help people bring about positive change in their lives, improve health and well-being, develop skills and create safer communities.
“The application process is simple and accessible and shall remain so, making it easy for applicants to successfully apply for small pots of funding that can have such a big impact on local communities and lives.”
