Older people in Kildare encouraged to join free exercise service Fitline
Age & Opportunity’s FitLine aims to provide encouragement to participants aged 50+
Older people residing in County Kildare are being encouraged by a charity to join the free nationwide telephone service Fitline.
FitLine (1800 303 545), a free nationwide telephone service by Age & Opportunity, is open to older people looking to get more active.
Specifically, FitLine is looking for participants aged 50+ across the country who ‘want to feel healthier’ and want to ‘take the first step towards a more active lifestyle’.
Support is delivered through telephone calls, with a dedicated mentor alongside post-out leaflets which contain simple exercises that can be done at home.
Furthermore, FitLine mentors can help participants who may wish to make connections with local groups and facilities.
Age & Opportunity also asserted that, last year, volunteer mentors made 1,495 calls to older people, and helped them explore and maintain ways of being physically active.
Moreover, Meg Hegarty, the active programme FitLine co-ordinator at Age & Opportunity, said that the service’s mentors ‘call participants regularly to encourage and support them on their active journey’.
She added that the initiative ‘provides practical, tailored information alongside encouragement to suit an individual’s circumstances’.
Anyone seeking further information about FitLine and / or wish to sign up are asked to call FitLine on 1800 303 545 or email [email protected].
BRIEF BACKGROUND
According to the official Age & Opportunity website, it is ‘the national organisation working to create opportunities that empower older people to enhance individual and community wellbeing through participation in physical activity and recreational sport, arts and creativity, personal development and active citizenship initiatives’.
A registered charity, it aims to ‘amplify the voice’ of older people and to influence policy development through research, evaluation and public engagement.
Age & Opportunity is headquartered in St Patrick’s Hall, Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9, County Dublin (D09 K4P6)