Great sports!

KIT donation . . . from left, Peter Hamilton, Chadderton Park Junior Football Club; Nicola Melvin, Chadderton Together; Fred Halliwell, chairman of Hollinwood Amateur Rugby League Club, and Frank Nolen, Chadderton Junior Football Club

£2,000 worth of kit donated
SPORTS equipment worth £2,000 was presented to four community groups to help get more residents fit and active.

Footballs, rugby balls, sport bibs and yoga mats were just some of the items presented to Chadderton Junior and Chadderton Park Junior football clubs, along with Hollinwood Amateur League Rugby Club, and Apfel Lane Neighbourhood group.

Chadderton Together, a voluntary group that aims to develop projects in the community, officially presented the equipment to the clubs at Radcliffe Outreach Centre.

The donation aims to improve the health and well-being of residents and to cut down on anti-social behaviour in the area, by ensuring people of all ages have access to sport and leisure activities.

The initiative has received full support from NHS Oldham, and Alan Higgins, Oldham’s director of public health, said: “Our vision for Oldham is healthy people, healthy lives, healthy communities, so we fully support any initiative that will help us to achieve this.”

Councillor Colin McLaren, a Chadderton Central ward councillor, who has been involved with Chadderton Together since the start, said: “Donations such as this are essential to enable us to carry out projects in the community.

“Ensuring that local people have access to sport and leisure activities, will not only help them lead a more healthy lifestyle, but also help to reduce stress and, often, the onset of age-related illnesses.”

Frank Halliwell, chairman of Hollinwood Amateur Rugby League Club, thanked everyone involved for the donation. He said: “It will enable us to involve many more young people in the youth team and helping them to develop new skills.”

Nicola Melvin, community plan – family support co-ordinator and deputy project manager for Chadderton Together, said: “The donation will help the local community participate in healthy activities.”