Sporting Memories is a national charity and social enterprise that helps older people to reminisce, replay and reconnect through the power of sport and physical activity. Their regular Sporting Memories Club sessions bring older people together with the aim of making a positive difference in their lives. They provide a welcoming, supportive and structured environment where people can develop their confidence and improve their lives for the better.
Sporting Memories approached VAO for support with establishing a presence in Orkney as a legacy of the Orkney 2025 Island Games. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, they were able to launch a series of new projects, which included collecting and curating memories from across 5 decades of International Island Games history and launching 2 new clubs, one in Kirkwall and the other in Stromness.
Our support has helped Sporting Memories to expand their operations into Orkney. We offered advice and guidance about the local community and introduced them to contacts so that they could further their discussions about setting up the clubs. As a result they partnered with the local authority to help them secure suitable venues and run the clubs along with volunteers.
We helped Sporting Memories with their volunteer recruitment, promoting their Club Facilitator and Supporter roles as well as their Oral Historian role for their Island Games Memories project through our communication channels. We also shared information about the projects.
Donna Mackey, Partnership Manager at Sporting Memories said:
VAO have been a fantastic support to our project and have provided us with vital links to the local community. They have widely promoted our volunteering opportunities as well as our wider Island Games project which has helped us to recruit and train excellent volunteers from across the area. We will continue working with VAO as we look to embed our Sporting Memories clubs in the Orkney community.
Sporting Memories clubs make a positive difference to the lives of older people by helping to reduce isolation and loneliness whilst improving their physical and mental wellbeing. Introducing the clubs to Orkney will provide people in our communities who have a keen interest in sport with a place where they can meet regularly to share their stories, build friendships and become more active.
The project also provides Orkney with a range of positive new volunteering opportunities, as well as creating a long-term legacy of the Orkney 2025 Island Games.
