ARC Fitness’ Gary Rutherford revealed as AXA Community Hero Finalist on RTÉ’s Late Late Show

Gary Rutherford appeared on the show as one of the five finalists in the all-Ireland AXA Community Hero of the Year Awards and was interviewed by host Ryan Tubridy tonight.

Gary was chosen along with four others out of over 1,000 entries.

He was told tonight that he was being awarded 20,000 euro for a charity of his choice, which he donated to a local community health organisation in the city, the Bogside & Brandywell Health Forum.

The AXA Community Hero is an Ireland-wide search for heroes that “often go unrecognised outside of their own community”.

The competition was launched last July and closed in August, and the winner is expected to be announced soon.

Gary and the team at ARC are an inspiration to many across the north west for their outstanding dedication to bringing people with addiction issues back from the brink.

ARC Fitness, which was set up two years ago by Gary, helps people who are struggling with substance misuse, and the not-for-profit fitness recovery charity programme recently received a major endorsement in the form of a £138,030 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, which will enable them to go full-time. One full-time role and one part time role will be created to allow the service to assist more people than ever before.

Gary, who is a mental health nurse, overcame drug addiction a number of years ago. Fitness was a crucial element of his recovery and he established ARC Fitness to help others. Since March 2019, over 40 people have completed the programme and continue to engage with the service.

Some of those who have completed the programme have now become voluntary peer support workers and assist with the ARC Academy online.

The organisation also recently announced a corporate sponsorship with local tech company Learning Pool, and this has been instrumental in creating the ARC Academy, an online platform, and allowing the service to adapt due to the Covid regulations. It is also helping ARC Fitness go global as there are no geographical restrictions.

Among the other guests to feature on tonight’s show is another familiar face, in the form of RTÉ’s Northern Editor Tommie Gorman, who joined Ryan Tubridy to discuss Covid-19 and the border issue. He also recalled significant moments from his forty years delivering news reports for RTÉ and praised the next generation for the way they are handling life in a pandemic.

To catch up see: www.rte.ie/player/READ MORE: www.derryjournal.com/news/people/arc-fitness-go-full-time-after-receiving-ps138000-lottery-funding-3078476