As with any rural club it acts as a hub of activity for the local community and runs many events on behalf of the community (such as the annual Fair Day on the August Bank Holiday). However, there also exists a perception that the club can dominate over all other activities in the locale and the ‘Grab All Association’ stereotype has been thrown at it from time to time.
It can also sometimes be perceived as a closed shop to those not traditionally involved in the GAA.
Plan
One of the principle aims of their Healthy Club action plan was to address some of the negative perceptions of the club. The project team wanted to start their journey on a positive footing and decided to host a Town Hall type meeting to which every possible voluntary/community group, local business and charity in the community was invited. They wanted to involve as many local partner and leaders as possible.
Process
A small meeting of interested people (club members and non) took place in Kinlough Community Centre on Saturday February 27, at which almost 30 local community groups, individuals, and statutory agencies were identified that are already playing their part in supporting the health of the local area and population.
Representatives of all those entities were invited to the Town Hall meeting the subsequent week. It was also extensively advertised on the club social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Website) and in the local media, and church newsletters. (See poster and press release below.)
25 people attended the Town Hall meeting. It was a great learning experience for the club but also for the other groups in attendance. It became evident that there was a lot happening in the community that people didn’t know about and that getting the information to the majority of the population remains a challenge.
It was also clear that in many cases responsibility was falling on a small number of volunteers whose numbers were dwindling in some entities particularly the Tidy Towns Committee and the ICA while the Active Age Group had already been forced to disband.
Identified gaps included activities for older members of the community, exercise opportunities for non-sport playing men, and suitable activities for younger girls.
The Outcomes
The Melvin Gaels club offered to help all local community groups by making available on the new club website a comprehensive list and calendar of events of all activities in the community and that they would carry any related info in their weekly club notes if supplied to the PRO.
The club also invited any of those present at the meeting to host a stand on the club’s La na gClubanna community day to attract more participants and volunteers and this has been facilitated each year since. The club also made a lasting connection with the local Samaritans group which has been subsequently available to provide emotional support to any members in need.
Finally, by hosting a community consultation evening, it identified gaps to inform the club Action Plan areas, with the club running a physical activity event for all community members and all abilities for 6 weeks at the start of the New Year called ‘Million Minutes Challenge’. The club arranged special walking and running groups and fitness classes (plus talks on health eating, the benefits of walking, emotional wellbeing) in an attempt to get the community to log 1,000,000 minutes of collective physical activity. They reached their target in week 6 but the social aspect of the undertaking proved just as important on the long winter nights as the community came out together.
The effort really helped to improve the club’s image in the community to those not usually involved and showed they were interested in more than just winning titles and collecting lotto money every weekend.