Council launches “Winter Wooly” competition 

25th October 2021

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Winter Wooly launch

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is keen to support those in the community who may be feeling lonely and isolated at this time of year by encouraging residents to get crafty and pick up their knitting needles.

The “Winter Wooly” Rally competition is aimed at encouraging residents to get knitting with a prize for the most cheerful winter wooly. Items can include, hats, scarves or gloves and entries can be knit or crocheted. Once the competition has closed, each adult “Winter Wooly” that has been entered will be gift wrapped and donated to an older person living within our community.

Launching the Winter Wooly competition, Councillor Thompson said;

“This is a wonderful idea and I would encourage those who embrace knitting or crocheting as a pastime or indeed those who used to knit but haven’t done so in a while to dust of the knitting needles and get “clicking”. Keeping warm in winter can be difficult for many, particularly those who are more affected by the plummeting temperatures, such as our beloved older population. Many of our family, friends and neighbours have restricted their movements for a considerable length of time, and the thought of winters shorter days and chilly nights is daunting for many.

Not only will participants be engaging in an excellent pastime, but they will also be helping those in most need to keep warm this winter.”

As well as a gift of winter woollies, handwritten notes of encouragement and information regarding local support service will be included with each gift. If you can’t knit or crochet, do not despair.  You can still donate an item to improve and brighten an older person’s winter, you can send a hat, scarf or pair of gloves to the address below, these however, won’t be entered into our competition.

The competition will be adjudicated by South West Age Partnership and the items will be distributed with copies of the Happy at Home publication.

The Happy at Home booklet which provides a range of activities for older residents to enjoy, is produced by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in partnership with Western Health and Social Care Trust and South West Age Partnership. Following the success of Happy at Home last year 2 further editions will be published in December 2021 and March 2022.

The booklet is funded through Department for Communities to support COVID recovery.

Competition rules are as follows:

1. The closing date for submission of entries is Friday 3 December 2021.

2. Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will not be responsible for the cost of the materials used.

3. Entries cannot be returned.

4. Name, contact details and an indication as to whether you handmade or purchased the item should be supplied alongside the submission.

5. All entries should be sent to:

Health Improvement Team                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Fermanagh and Omagh District Council                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The Grange                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Mountjoy Road                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Omagh                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    BT79 7BL