1428 Active Retirement Club was founded in 1998 for the people of Mullingar and surrounding areas

Description

As far as we are aware, we are the only Active Retirement Club in Westmeath if not Ireland, that offers a full service 5+ days per week all year round, specifically for the older person. Our aim is to promote Social, Mental and Physical well being of the older person, to encourage participation, integration and inclusion of both men and women in today’s society thus reducing isolation and exclusion.
Our activities include coffee mornings, bingo, day trips, go for life (exercise programme), small library, computer training & smartphone help, crafts , cinema visits, bowling, cooking and baking classes, conversational irish sessions, fundraising activities and events, information days and holiday breaks among others. We are open as a ‘drop-in’ centre for all members to come in for a chat, have a cup of tea/refreshments, read the daily papers or just for a little bit of company 5 days a week from 9.a.m to 5p.m. and up to 9.30pm on certain evenings. We aid older people with form filling, grants, medical appointments and general queries.
We are a registered centre for the monitored personal alarms and as such network and aid a lot of older persons accessing this service. We also provide support and advocacy aiding in filling out forms and applications for various services and issues- something a lot of them would never have had to do before. Very often, we are the only regular link they have to meet their peers and have interaction with anybody else outside of their own home.
The 1428 Club is a registered charity with ALL funding and donations going directly to the members of the Club via the activities and events facilitated. We are wholly self sufficient in all operational funding – receiving a contribution toward wages from Pobal.
We are also a registered centre for sas alarms, hold a free hearing aid clinic each month, facilitate a foot care clinic every 6 weeks.
We also facilitate mental health and support groups such as GROW, Al Anon and Narc Anon weekly.
We organise over 800 activities, events & sessions and have a footfall of over 35000 per annum.

Aim of Initiative

Our aim is to promote Social, Mental and Physical well being of the older person, to encourage participation, integration and inclusion of both men and women in today’s society thus reducing isolation and exclusion.

Who is it aimed at

The initiative of our community group is aimed at and tailored for older people in and around our Community.

3 Steps critical to success

1. We have to be aware of the needs of the older community by listening to their concerns and requirements. Older people should be heard in regard to their needs and aid and guide them where we can.
2. We tailor activities and events to enable older people to be included and participate in everyday life. The social gatherings such as coffee mornings are a crucial activity for them to meet their peers and form friendships whilst gaining confidence to live a more independent life .
3. By enabling and encouraging older people to be as independent as they can whilst enjoying the company of their peers and learning new skills in order to ‘keep up’ and be included in current climate.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Our main challenge is funding – we are wholly self sufficient in all operational and day to day running of the club. We own the premises outright – purchased after many years of fundraising. We do receive a contribution to wages from Pobal but all else is down to ourselves.
   Fundraising in todays climate – getting harder in an increasing cashless society but we are well supported by the local community in our endeavours so far.
2. Being able to operate so many activities and events as we do is becoming more expensive and we are aware of the financial burden on older people so we do our best to keep costs to minimum and use skills and abilities of staff and members to provide services at the best level of quality that we can offer.
3. Rising costs of materials, foodstuffs and basic items that we need for activities. Many independant local businesses have had to close down and they were great supporters of the Club and regularly helped us out with ‘at cost’ items, donations of items and general support. The corporate businesses are more impersonal and usually support national charities rather than local ones such as 1428 club.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. We have found that the majority of our members use the club as a one stop shop for their concerns and queries which we do our utmost to obtain the most recent information and help for them. They also enjoy the informal coffee mornings and chats.
2. Many new friendships have been made among their peers and confidence levels have grown. With new skills and some forgotten skills learned, many of the older people we see on a sometimes daily basis have gone from being isolated to being included as part of the community and are much happier in their everyday life. Recently, we have welcomed quite a number of men which is a positive result as we have found over the years that men are more inclined to stay on their own and are reluctant to join groups or participate in activities. We think that this is a positive reflection on our part as the club was recommended to them by word of mouth and also from encouragement from their GP.
3. We get great satisfaction from hearing and witnessing the shy reserved person who comes into our premises bloom and become happier in their life. Many have lost partners and/or spouses and after the initial mourning period, of course many have recently retired and are at a loss of what to do with their time, venture in and are included in a new circle of friends, take part in activities and enjoy the inclusion and involvement of the club.