{"id":15159,"date":"2025-04-10T13:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T13:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ageandopportunity.ie\/?p=15159"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:11:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T13:11:42","slug":"age-opportunity-announces-grants-of-e300000-to-promote-physical-activity-among-older-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ageandopportunity.ie\/age-opportunity-announces-grants-of-e300000-to-promote-physical-activity-among-older-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Age &#038; Opportunity announces grants of \u20ac300,000 to promote physical activity among older people"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Age &amp; Opportunity announces grants of \u20ac300,000 to promote physical activity <\/strong><strong>among older people<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Funds support diverse activities nationwide \u2013 including pickleball, kurling, tai chi and aqua aerobics <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Just under \u20ac8 million<\/strong><strong> awarded to date by the Age &amp; Opportunity Active National Grant Scheme<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>988 grants allocated this year<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Age &amp; Opportunity is today marking the distribution of its Active National Grant that provides significant funding for sport and physical activity amongst older people.<\/p>\n<p>The Grant Scheme is a combined initiative from\u00a0<strong>Age &amp; Opportunity <\/strong>and<strong> Sport Ireland <\/strong>with funding provided by the Government of Ireland. This year it is providing \u20ac300,000 to support sport and physical activities run by 988 groups and organisations. These range from Active Retirement Groups, ICAs, Men\u2019s\/Women\u2019s Sheds, Physical Activity Leaders (PALs), care settings and other sports and social groups.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, Patrick O\u2019Donovan\u00a0said: \u201c<\/strong><em>As outlined in the Programme for Government and the National Sports Policy 2018-2027, increased participation in sport by all is a key objective for this Government.\u00a0As such, we are committed to a Sport for All approach aimed at ensuring that all persons have the opportunity to partake equally in sport and physical activity, regardless of age or social-economic status. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The funding provided through the Age &amp; Opportunity Active National Grant Scheme will support sporting organisations in putting programmes in place designed to increase participation in recreational sports by\u00a0older people and so gain significant physical and mental health benefits.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Minister of State for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue said: <em>\u201c<\/em><\/strong><em>This initiative by Age &amp; Opportunity and Sport Ireland\u00a0offers financial supports to local clubs, groups and organisations, nationwide who promote increased participation in recreational sport or physical activity for older people. The\u00a0<\/em><em>continued collaboration between Sport Ireland and such organisations plays a vital part in the Department\u2019s ongoing commitment to\u00a0<\/em><em>create opportunities in people\u2019s everyday lives to exercise more<\/em><em>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>By financially supporting organisations to buy equipment and host activities specifically designed for older people, the grant helps older people reap the health benefits of being active. Pickleball and Walking Football continue to grow in popularity and are named in over 40 applications.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sport Ireland CEO, Dr \u00dana May <\/strong>said: <em>&#8220;Being active is the key to healthy aging, and this funding is vital in building an Ireland where older adults have more opportunities to stay active and socially connected.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSport Ireland\u2019s Local Sports Partnerships do tremendous work in encouraging people to get involved in physical activity as a means of promoting a healthy lifestyle \u2013 and the Age &amp; Opportunity Active National Grant Scheme will allow them to continue to work in that area.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe know from the Irish Sport Monitor report that participation levels among older people are on the rise so it\u2019s important that there are opportunities for people over the age of 50 to be involved in a variety of sports. It makes a real difference in our communities.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sue\u00a0Guildea, Active Programme Manager, Age &amp; Opportunity <\/strong>welcomed the ongoing partnership with Sport Ireland.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em>&#8220;I would like to thank Sport Ireland for their continued support and commitment. I am especially happy\u00a0to share that this year, 340\u00a0successful applications have come from designated disadvantaged areas. Another 80\u00a0applications have been awarded to care settings, many of whom have CarePALs,\u00a0who are staff or volunteers who have completed training with us to help support them to increase the levels of physical activity of those in their care. The importance of meaningful activities in these environments cannot be overstated.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;While we celebrate the progress made, there is always more to be done. Our commitment to advocating for policies and initiatives that empower older people remains steadfast.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em>Of today\u2019s funding allocations, grants were awarded to 188 Irish Countrywomen\u2019s Association Guilds, 243 Active Retirement Groups, 64 Men\u2019s sheds and 30 Women\u2019s sheds, 81 care settings and many more groups.<\/p>\n<p>Every year approximately 32,000 older people take part in physical activity funded by the Grant Scheme. Activities funded include pickleball, aqua aerobics, rowing, dancing, cycling, bowling, self-defence, walking hockey, tai chi, walking, weight-lifting and so many more.<\/p>\n<p>For a snapshot of the Age &amp; Opportunity Active National Grant Scheme\u2019s impact on people\u2019s health and well-being watch <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kRTTSSToO5M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">our video here<\/a> from 2023.<\/p>\n<p>A full list of this year&#8217;s successful applicants can be found here: <a href=\"https:\/\/ageandopportunity.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Active-National-Grant-Scheme-2025-Successful-Applicants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Age &amp; Opportunity Active National Grant Scheme 2025 &#8211; Successful Applicants<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Grant Scheme is part of Age &amp; Opportunity\u2019s Active programme, funded by Sport Ireland, and delivered nationwide with the support of the HSE and Local Sports Partnerships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Age &amp; Opportunity announces grants of \u20ac300,000 to promote physical activity among older people Funds support diverse activities nationwide \u2013 including pickleball, kurling, tai chi and aqua aerobics Just under [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Age &amp; Opportunity announces grants of \u20ac300,000 to promote physical activity among older people - Age &amp; 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