History
NAPA was founded in 1997 by a small group of like minded people who wanted to improve the quality of activities for older people. It was registered as both a charity and limited company. The trustees set about inviting similar minded people to take out membership. The first newsletter was produced in 1997 and focussed on 'Homemaking'. A small core of committed volunteers gathered research and started to produce information leaflets and reading lists to assist members to broaden their knowledge. Sharing Days were established to bring members together and regional groups supported members locally.
In 2003, the first national level training course was run offering a City and Guilds qualification. A grant from the Big Lottery Fund saw a 3 year project called Growing with Age come to life. This generated a well received report that focussed on developing community links. The project funded four publications that have been widely distributed and are now a mainstay on the publications for sale list.
In 2004 a Department of Health grant established the Advice and Information officer post. A further bid to the Big Lottery Fund saw a Strategic Director appointed in April 2005. This role was job shared with a Communications Director for one day a week and also provided funds for a part time Administration Assistant. Today, NAPA’s staff team has grown to include a Training and Development Manager, a Membership Officer and an Administration Assistant as well as the Director and the Communications Director
