After one of the most successful Positive Ageing Months held in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough, participants are being urged to maintain the activities and connections they established during the campaign.
Throughout October, hundreds of people aged 50 and over attended the dozens of events organised in towns and villages across the Borough to celebrate the annual positive ageing campaign, which bids to improve both mental and physical well-being in later years.
As well as a diverse range of physical classes including Pilates, Yoga, rambling and walking football, Positive Ageing Month also included events on fall prevention, home safety, health checks, crafts and computer skills.
Feedback from participants has been hugely encouraging and this year’s campaign saw many more new faces take part in the various events.
Lord Mayor, Alderman Margaret Tinsley, who is an Age Friendly Champion said the campaign was a great success.
“The events organised as part of Positive Ageing Month covered such a wide range of activities and delivered a lot of important health and safety advice, which many of us will need as we get older,” said the Lord Mayor.
“I have no doubt of the huge positive impact that these events have had on local people’s lives and that is exactly what Positive Ageing Month is all about.”
Stephanie Rock, the Age Friendly Officer for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough who co-ordinated the bumper month-long programme, said she was delighted with the level of participation and praised all those who made it a success.
“Now that the dust has settled, I want to thank all those volunteers and instructors who really made this a Positive Ageing Month to remember in our Borough,” said Stephanie.
“I also want to thank everyone who signed up and came along to the events. This campaign is about reaching out to people to help improve both mental and physical well-being.
“As we all know, more and more of us are living longer and we want to do everything we can to support each other in later years.
“This year we saw plenty of new faces coming along and I really hope and encourage you all to keep up any of the activities that you enjoyed. With more of us spending time indoors at this time of year, I also hope we can put those home safety tips into practice.”
She added: “Positive Ageing Month is really just a starting point and throughout the year there are events and classes which people can enjoy in their communities and anyone who wants to get involved can do so by getting in touch with the ABC Seniors Network or by getting a copy of the ABC Seniors Newsletter which provides lots of useful information.”
Elizabeth Reaney, Head of Environmental Health (Interim) at ABC Council said: “Positive Ageing Month has become a hugely important month in the calendar across our Borough and I am delighted that the council has been able to play such an important role in hosting many of these great events and we will look to build upon this success next year.”
To get in touch with the ABC Seniors Network call 028 9024 5729 or email
You can receive the ABC Seniors Newsletter by calling Stephanie on 07825 010630 or emailing or by visiting the new webpage on the council website – www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/agefriendly
