Throughout the Covid pandemic, the charity played a pivotal role delivering both on and offline courses, educational resources and events as well as delivering over 800 fresh food boxes to families through the Munch Club initiative – a healthy lifestyle programme, targeting families and using practical cooking skills, physical activity and nutrition. This is the eighteenth programme which CSN has added to its offering and one of the most popular to-date.
Peter Shaw, CEO at Community Sports Network said: “We are absolutely delighted to today celebrate our 15th year, our eighteenth programme and supporting over 5,000 people during Covid.
“It has been a difficult 18 months for everyone, and we were proud to support people across our local communities encouraging them to stay active, eat as well as they can and to connect with others in their local area through our programs.
“Our overarching aim is to support people, this includes those with particular needs and or from socially deprived localities, we also aim to help to build respect, tolerance and greater recognition of cultural diversity.
“We work with many different community based organisations, schools, statutory and government departments to deliver projects and programmes that supports individuals, helps them develop new skills and make more informed healthy lifestyle choices.
“We work with all age groups, from primary age children, through our Educate and Lead programmes to our Participate and Lead programmes for the 12 to 18 year olds. These span a huge range of sports from cricket, basketball, to Gaelic sports and even Jag Tag, an American-Football inspired game. This age group also benefit from our Active Mentoring, which is a leadership program for young people.”
“We have the Active Life programs for the over 18-year olds, which includes an Active Outdoors program with mountain biking, climbing, caving etc. as well as a range of training and educational programs. Our Munch Club fits into this group and is hugely popular.
“Our Older and Active members, who are age 55 plus, also have access to a wide range of our initiatives from Armchair Aerobics to Danderball.
“We are so grateful that all of our programs are so well received, and we want to hear from more organisations and community groups about how we can support them.
Community Sports Network is a charitable organisation established in 2006. The company has been working across Belfast for over a decade and has recently branched out across Northern Ireland using ‘sport for development’ as a way of creating positive social change in communities.
John Hunter and Danny McGill of Community Sports Network with Margaret Patterson McMahon from Townsend Enterprise Park and Zoe McIlroy from CSN.
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