Glenariffe Community and Recreation Centre is owned and managed by the Friends of Glenariffe. The Centre opened in June 2019 after a 10-year community project to raise the funding required to provide a community facility for Glenariffe.
The Centre project cost of £1.1m was funded by a combination of grant funding from The Big Lottery’s Space & Place Programme, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council and Ulster Garden Villages, a loan from Ulster Community Investment Trust and our community who raised over £340,000 through local fundraising initiatives.
We would like to acknowledge all our funders, community volunteers and supporters both near and far without whom this Centre would not have been possible. We are also indebted to Oisins CLG for leasing the land for the Centre and for their continued and consistent support.
Friends of Glenariffe (FoG) is a community organisation which was established to manage the planning, construction and running of a new fully inclusive, universally accessible community facility for Glenariffe and the wider local community. The aim of the Glenariffe Community and Recreation Centre is to bring communities together and encourage healthier lifestyles for all. Friends of Glenariffe is a registered charity
Our Members
Friends of Glenariffe are people from our local community who have been supporting the development of this project since 2010 financially through monthly covenant donations, by attending community activities, events and health and wellbeing programmes, and by volunteering their very valuable and much-appreciated services to help run community activities and fundraising events.
Our Team
Friends of Glenariffe is a charity and is staffed entirely by volunteers. We have a Management Committee of 15, a Fundraising Team of 10 and a Board of Trustees. We are also regularly supported by a fantastic team of over 60 local volunteers who give their time, skills and many hours of hard work to ensure that our community activities fundraising events are delivered safely, efficiently and successfully.
Friends of Glenariffe committee members Shiela Burns, Fern Major and Myra Murray (chairperson) are joined by Michael Hughes (right) of Space & Place, Mayor of Causeway Coast & Glens Sean Bateson and Glenariffe Oisins CLG chairman Niall Wheeler as they cut a cake to mark the opening of the Glenariffe Community & Recreation Centre on Saturday.
Our Purpose
Our Charity purpose is to promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Glenariffe and its environs without distinction of gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, or political, religious or other opinion by associating with voluntary and community organisations, statutory organisations and inhabitants in a common effort to:
Provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and other leisure time occupations with the object of improving the conditions of life for residents;
Promote cultural and arts activities;
Advance community development by providing facilities and amenities for community and voluntary groups and organisations;
Advance education and training.
Our Aims & Objectives
Our main aims are to increase community physical and mental well-being, promote social inclusion, help address the disadvantages of rural isolation suffered by people living in the area, and to bring people together of all ages, abilities, social and political backgrounds to avail of healthy and constructive recreational, social and community development opportunities in a safe, accessible and fully inclusive environment.
Our objectives are:
To increase social inclusion by catering for the needs of the whole local community. at the Centre
To build the capacity of the local community through the provision of an accessible and inclusive local space and place.
To promote a healthier and more active lifestyle for local children, young people, adults, the elderly and those with disabilities.
To promote and actively seek partnership working opportunities which facilitate links with community groups, support organisations and statutory agencies to better connect local people and communities.
Friends of Glenariffe Board of Trustees
Myra Murray (Chair), Sheila Burns (Treasurer) Niall Wheeler, Padraig McIlwaine, Margaret McIlwaine, Fern Major, Stephen Kelly, John McIntosh.
