COVID-19 is a major public health emergency here in Ireland and around the world and is having a big impact on our lives.

Everyone has made a huge effort to stop the spread of the virus and to save lives.

Thank You! To help us all get through this difficult ti me, it’s important that we take care of everyone in our community – and also look aft er our own physical and mental wellbeing.

That’s why National & local Government as well as our voluntary and community sectors have been working together on a wide range of wellbeing initiatives to help you in three ways:

• To help you look after your mental wellbeing
• To help you stay active
• To help you stay connected

Galway  County Council initiatives during Covid19

Here are just a few examples of what’s happening in Galway:

Healthy Galway in partnership with Galway
Sports Partnership are providing leaflets
with 8 exercises for Older Adults who are
cocooning.

These will be distributed via
Meals on Wheels, Family Resource Centres
and organisations registered with the Covid
19 Community response in Galway or
through the helpline /
[email protected]

Galway Sports Partnership will be adapting
their Active Homework Challenge to provide
home exercise challenges for families to
participate in with prizes to incentivise
participation. Please contact
[email protected]

Booklet with home exercises suitable for
older adults in addition to providing a DVD
in consultation with Age and Opportunity.
Please contact [email protected]

Virtual Tidy Towns with a platform on
Facebook to allow individuals & Tidy Towns
groups to continue to connect virtually and
share the joys of nature and biodiversity in
their gardens and on their walks

Galway Beo- connecting people and
heritage in County Galway: A New Digital
Heritage Initiative Through Galway Beo,
Galway County Council wants to celebrate
the rich heritage of County Galway and help
connect people with their heritage and each
other during this challenging time. People
are invited to email [email protected]
a photograph, drawing, poem or story to
highlight the inspiring heritage of County
Galway. See galwaycommunityheritage.org
and Galway Beo Facebook page and Galway
Beo Youtube channel.

Galway Community Heritage – Online
Heritage Portal See the great work that the
heritage communities of county Galway
have digitised in partnership with Galway
County Council, the National Museum of
Ireland and the Heritage Council https://
galwaycommunityheritage.org/

Gardening for Biodiversity – A new
booklet to help everyone to help wildlife
in their gardens, no matter how big
or small, has been launched. heritage.
galwaycommunityheritage.org or email
[email protected] to get a copy
of this publication.

A new booklet to inform everyone how
to help wildlife in their gardens, no matter
how big or small, has been launched.
htt ps://heritage.galwaycommunityheritage.
org/content/topics/county-of-galwayvirtual-ti dy-towns-project/gardeningfor-biodiversity or email mmannion@
galwaycoco.ie to get a copy of this
publication.

Virtual Tidy Towns Group
established with a dedicated facebook
page. As ti me goes on, we hope to get all
communities involved in submitting images
to their local Tidy Towns Facebook pages
and hold a unique and once-off Virtual Tidy
Towns Competi tion for the County

TIME to create The engagement of persons
in the home with artistic activities in their
many forms. Lead: Arts Officers Partners;
Creative Ireland Teams, Arts Organisations
Museum outreach services/ cultural venue
operators in case of Galway City Town Hall
Theatre/Galway Film Centre/Unesco City of
Film. Please contact [email protected]

Galway County Council Arts Office/Creative
Ireland Culture Team in partnership with
Galway City Council and Roscommon
County Council Creative Ireland Team have
commissioned Branar Theatre Company to
create a virtual Pop up Poetry for Lil Peeps
for Cruinniú na nÓg this year. Please contact
[email protected]

Our Healthy Ireland at Your Library talks will
be moving online shortly including talks on
mental health issues, building resilience and
coping mechanisms. Also talks by Diabetes
Ireland and Psychotherapist Stella O’Malley
are scheduled for the month of May.
Younger people are well catered for with
city libraries providing online story times in
English, Irish and German.
htt ps://www.librariesireland.ie/services/
right-to-read/spring-into-storytime
Online reading material in e-books and
e-audiobooks is availabe to all registered
members through the Borrowbox app.
Daily newspapers to keep all informed
and connected with the latest news and
commentary are available online through
the Pressreader app. On staying fit and
healthy plenty available on the Universal
app in health and medicine, craft s and
hobbies. All above are available on:
http://www.galway.ie/en/services/library/
onlinecoursesandresources