Volunteering has long been part and parcel of Irish culture. We’re a giving bunch, whether it’s checking on an elderly neighbour or standing outside the local church in the wilds of winter, bucket in hand collecting for the latest community project.
Gráinne McMahon meets ten ladies who are giving something back to the community, both here and abroad and finds it is often the volunteer who benefits most from the experience.
Carol McNamara is one of thousands who have volunteered their time in Africa to help out the well known Niall Mellon Township Trust. Carol got involved with the charity through her husband Gerry, a carpenter who has been lending his skills and talents for a week every year since 2003 to build social housing for those most in need in South Africa. Carol, a Training Coordinator with the National Cancer Screening Service, has not only worked as a member of the medical team in Africa and organised innovative fundraising events like Wife Carrying Championships, Know Your Parish quiz nights and Come Strictly Dancing in County Clare, but has even gone so far as to write a children’s book to help the charity.
‘Gift and the Irish Builders’ tells the story of Gift, a nine year old boy living in a shack in a township near Cape Town who spends an exciting week helping Irish builders to build proper homes for his family and their neighbours. “The lives of most nine year olds in Ireland are so different that I wanted to give them an insight into what it was like to be nine years old, growing up in a shack in a township in South Africa,” says Carol explaining Gift’s story is not a sad one. “Gift has a week of great adventure and fun while the Irish builders are in the township. He strikes up a particular friendship with Gerry, one of the builders from Co Clare.”
Carol enjoys using her spare time to help the charity and through various fundraising events, her friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues have raised over €50,000 for the Niall Mellon Township Trust over the past eight years, “Our fundraising events tend to put the emphasis on the FUN part of fundraising!,” she laughs. Carol, her husband Gerry and daughter Lucy will travel to South Africa as part of the Niall Mellon Township Trust building ‘blitz’ in November and plenty of fundraising lies ahead of that trip. However, Carol says it is worth it; “It is hard to describe to witness the sheer joy a family experience when a real brick house is handed over to them and they move from shack life with all its hardship. It is really easy to give up a week of your time and travel with NMTT to make a difference.”
Carol McNamara’s book ‘Gift and the Irish Builders’ is available online from www.giftandtheirishbuilders.com for €10 (including post and packaging). All profits go directly to the Niall Mellon Township Trust.
2)Maggie Whyte- Lending an ear to those in need
Maggie Whyte is a busy lady. Not only does she volunteer a few hours of her week every week to lend an ear to those who need it through the Galway Samaritans’ helpline, but she is also the Public Relations Officer for the charity’s Galway branch. The financial services employee has been volunteering with the Samaritans since 2008, but admits she fell into it. “I wanted to do some volunteering on a regular basis and a work colleague told me that the Samaritans were looking for volunteers,” she says explaining she knew very little about the organisation. Maggie went along to the recruitment evening where she learnt of the “training and care” needed before she could take her first call as a volunteer.
However, the Galway woman admits it has been a real eye opener and heart warmer; “Everything was more than I expected from the training I received and it is an amazing privilege that I have to be there for a fellow human being in their time of distress and despair,” she says adding; “What Samaritans offer is unique in that we give a caller the space and time to explore what is on their mind in complete confidence without judgement until they can find a way forward and get some clarity to their problem.” While Maggie still lends a listening ear volunteering on the charity’s helpline, her focus is also on increasing awareness of the service through publicity and events. “What I find so great is the support from the local people and their generosity towards Samaritans and their understanding of we do. Volunteering is so rewarding and I would recommend anyone to give it a go. You learn so much about yourself as I am finding out.”
For more information about volunteering with the Samaritans or helping their fundraising efforts, call (091) 561224.
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3)Tina Dillon- From Galway to Belarus
Tina Dillon and her husband Pat have thrown a lifeline to hundreds of children and family in Belarus, a country which continues to suffer the effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in the eighties. From their home in Aughrim in Ballinasloe, the couple run the Sunflowers Chernobyl Appeal Children’s Charity where they oversee fifteen projects in Belarus, helping special needs children and orphans through the provision of medical aid, building and renovating day care centres and orphanages and organising vital medical operations and procedures for those who need them most. Tina has been involved with the Sunflowers since Pat; a retired garda founded the charity eleven years ago. In that time, she has had a hands on role in all aspects of the charity, from liaising with 400 volunteers to selling raffle tickets to organising the Chernobyl children’s regular recuperation trips to Galway. “Our home is a very busy place as it’s also the office for the charity and the meeting place for the volunteers before they travel to Belarus on humanitarian projects,” says Tina who looks forward most of all to the children’s’ trips to Ireland. “This is a very special part of being involved in the charity; to welcome a child into our family for a month and to do whatever we can for them. Most of the children would have a medical condition of some sort so we try to get them seen by various specialists while they are here. The one thing they all have in common is their heart breaking stories of abuse, abandonment or neglect. They would have witnessed or been subjected to things that no child should ever have to endure, so it’s especially nice to be able to help them in some way, however small.”
Tina and Pat have helped one child in particular in a massive way, adopting their son Gleb from a babies orphanage in Belarus ten years ago. “To make a long story short we fell in love with Gleb and began the long process of adoption. Gleb’s addition to our family has truly been a life changing experience and I couldn’t even imagine my life without him now,” says Tina who admits Gleb is her inspiration to continue to help the Chernobyl children.
Pat and Tina, who work completely voluntary, are now planning to finish work on two houses for independent living for special needs orphans this spring. “The orphanage itself is home to around 250 special needs children and many of them are confined to beds permanently and will probably never leave the orphanage. They are very special and urgent cases and we are hoping to improve the living conditions for these children as
soon as possible.”
For more information on the Sunflowers visit www.chernobylchildren.ie or call 090 9673832
4)Margaret Tierney Smith- Helping to Save Lives
Margaret Tierney Smith arrived into her full time role with Console partly as a result of huge fundraising efforts by the staff of Boston Scientific in Galway. The Ballybane resident was working for the multinational when she was introduced to Paul Kelly, Console’s founder who had lost his sister Sharon to suicide when she was 21. “Due to the vast number of suicides in Galway and the number of telephone calls they received from Galway and the surrounding counties to their helpline Paul knew it was imperative that they open a counselling centre as soon as possible in Galway but they had no funds,” explains Margaret. The Galway branch opened in 2004 following a €125,000 cash injection from the fundraising efforts of Boston Scientific staff. Margaret now holds the dual roles of Human Resources Manager and Regional Development Manager of Console.
Margaret has her hands full overseeing fundraising efforts, the promotion of the organisation and working in tandem with Console’s Galway centre in Renmore. Suicide is now an epidemic in Ireland and affects every community across the country; “Five hundred and twenty seven people died by suicide in Ireland in 2009; more people died by suicide than in road traffic accidents,” explains Margaret who believes so passionately in the support that Console provides that she has since graduated with a BSc in Psychotherapy and Counselling from Middlesex University. “Suicide is on the increase. Over the last number of years Console’s government funding has been reduced drastically, we must raise ninety percent of funds ourselves,” says Margaret explaining that all fundraising monies go directly towards offering counselling and support to families and children who have been bereaved by suicide in Console’s Galway centre in Elm Park. “There is a very specific form of bereavement resulting from suicide and Console creates a much needed counselling and support service for families and children bereaved by suicide. It is now nine years since Console was founded. We are over six years in Galway and the charity has now become a recognised national institution, a vital service that responds to the problem of suicide in this country.” Margaret enjoys working with volunteers and says she is always open to fundraising ideas; volunteers she says have made a big difference. “The people who have donated funds and fundraised have helped to save lives.”
For more information on Console, visit www.console.ie or call (091) 480080
5)Moya McCann- Being a Friend to Albania
Moya McCann and her husband Jack are considered true friends of Albania by many people in the Eastern European country who have undergone radical and life changing surgery as a result of the efforts of their charity ‘Irish Friends of Albania’. Both now retired, the couple have no intention of hanging up their volunteering boots any time soon, with plans firmly afoot for the charity’s annual fashion show on 22 March in the Galway Bay Hotel.
Jack, a well regarded plastic surgeon in Galway and Moya who worked in his practice, founded Irish Friends of Albania in 2005. Since then, the pair have been bringing volunteer medical teams to Albania twice a year to treat children and adults with severe burns, cleft palate, cancer and congenital deformities. Albania was the last Eastern European country to emerge from Communist dictatorship and Jack and his medical volunteers teach new skills to doctors and nurses there to continue the charity’s work throughout the year, while Irish Friends of Albania also renovates state-run homes for children in Albania. “We have had tremendous support from the medical and business communities of Galway and Dublin, in the line of donations of finance, medical supplies and equipment,” says Moya who says they have no shortage of volunteers.
While Moya focuses on the organisational and fundraising side of things, with an annual gala ball and fashion show to organise, she does travel with her husband Jack to Albania regularly where the charity continues to treat burns victims, those with disfigurements and it also provides much needed medical equipment. The smiles in the country’s hospitals make it all worth it; “The look of sheer hope and gratitude on the faces of the patients and parents when we tell them that something can and will be done to help and improve their condition is both humbling and encouraging. When we meet them again a few months after surgery they have experienced a change they could not have imagined.”
Moya enjoys her work with the charity and would encourage others to get involved in the feel-good factor; “Volunteering for a charity need not be intimidating; if there are people with some time to spare and some ideas to share why not contact any charity whose goal you can identify with? We are always looking for energetic helpers to add to our network of contacts.”
Irish Friends of Albania will hold a fundraising fashion show in the Galway Bay Hotel on 22 March. For more information call (091)-585568
6)Cathy Fordham- Using the downturn to give something back
Ballinderreen based Cathy Fordham is not one to sit on her laurels, but rather looks on the bright side of life. Like many, the hairdresser recently became unemployed and in the midst of planning a return to education, used the opportunity of more time on her hands to help others, in the form of volunteering with COPE Galway. “I got involved about six months ago because I had a lot of spare time on my hands and wanted to try something different. It was something I always wanted to do and this seemed to be the perfect time to do it,” says Cathy who involved in fundraising to help the elderly, those affected by domestic violence and the homeless.
Cathy now plays a big role in the charity, helping to organise a ‘Sleep Out’ to raise awareness of homelessness and a charity calendar with Connacht Rugby, which she admits had its’ perks; “The team posed for a calendar and has proved popular especially with our female supporters. It also meant we got to go to all the matches in the run up to Christmas!” Cathy has since been promoted to ‘Brand Ambassador’ at COPE with her new found skills, which involves delivering speeches and raising awareness of the charity at various events. Volunteering is an ideal way to fill your days while out of work, adding to your CV and best of all, it costs nothing, explains Cathy; “Now that I’m unemployed, it wasn’t easy to have money for everything so volunteering is a great way to meet people without costing you anything. On a social basis it gets you out and about. It also gives you a great feeling of having helped someone.”
Cathy says anyone with a few hours to spare should consider volunteering, particularly in recessionary times; “When looking for a job I think it makes you more employable, it shows that you are caring and willing to give some spare time to the less fortunate in our community, it only takes a few hours a week to get involved and make a difference in somebody’s life.”
For more information on COPE Galway, visit www.copegalway.ie
7)Lynn Buffington- Love From Delaware To Limerick
Delaware born Lynn Buffington has been living in Ireland for almost twenty years, the past seven of which she says she has been ‘enjoying’ making her time ‘worthwhile’ at General Manager of the Mid West Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association. Now Limerick based, Lynn jokes that Delaware often forms the butt of jokes when she meets people; “If I had a dime for every time someone bursts into song with ‘What did Delaware boy’, well, let’s just say that my charity would not have to worry about fundraising for quite a few years!”
As General Manager, Lynn’s job is to oversee fundraising for the organisation while educating people and raising awareness of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, which affect many families here; “Many people are unaware that Ireland has the highest rate of Spina Bifida, per capita, in the world. Even in America, the highest rate of Spina Bifida births are those of Celtic descent,” says Lynn.
The charity was established in the mid west in the sixties by a group of parents of children that were born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. “In the past seven years, we have gone from strength to strength and are now proud to say that we have a fabulous home in Delta Retail Park in Limerick,” says Lynn who explains the centre offers free services such as physiotherapy, art classes, counselling, swimming and adapted sports to affected families. However, says Lynn, she takes pride in the fact that the centre offers much more; “We have a more holistic approach. You can also learn how to express yourself, find your voice, advocate on your own behalf, live an independent life, have a successful relationship and basically, as the US Army says ‘be all that you can be’”.
Lynn thoroughly enjoys helping children and families affected by the diseases; “Since I was a child, I was always involved in charity work in some fashion or form. I would honestly say that my ‘occupation’ is using whatever gifts I have, whether they be acquired or innate to help others,” says Lynn who explains that she looks on her job not as work but enjoyment; “It does not ‘occupy’ my time, it makes my time worthwhile to me. It entails me having the absolute privilege of being able to say “I love what I do” and encourage people to support us whether it be in terms of financial donations or volunteering to spend a few hours with us or one of our members for example.”
Lynn says laughter and humour can be found in the centre, unsurprising given the influence of their jovial and optimistic boss; “My role allows me to make a difference in the lives of others. Seriously, what more could anyone wish for?”
For more information visit www.spinabifida.ie or call (061) 439990.
8)Kate Sheahan- Fundraising For A Special ‘Pool’ Of Children
Having originally trained as a nurse Kate Sheahan has recreated herself a number of times since to undertake careers in catering, running a crèche, managing conferences and events at the University of Limerick. It was in 2008 that she was to return to roots in healthcare, but in another dimension. “I had a growing interest in the area of disability and I felt that it was something I would like to get involved with and work in,” explains Kate. It was around this time that St Gabriel’s School and Centre in Limerick was recruiting for a full time fundraiser to help with the annual running costs. Kate has been at the helm ever since at the centre which provides education and a range of therapy services to children with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities and developmental delays. Through her role with the centre, Kate is giving something back and helping up to 300 children from all over the Mid West who use the family oriented services at the centre on an outpatient basis, while some forty children attend St Gabriel’s special needs school.
Kate and her colleague’s dreams for the centre were finally realised in 2009 when the centre received a major donation from the JP McManus Foundation, providing for a brand new hydrotherapy pool at the centre. It has been a massive boost to users of St Gabriel’s, explains Kate; “Children who are unable to walk as a result of road traffic accidents, cerebral palsy or other neurological injuries can relax and move more easily and independently in the pool experiencing confidence and freedom of movement they would otherwise find difficult to achieve.” In fact, the pool has improved the lives of children with sensory conditions, helping their sleeping patterns and social behaviour. In her role as fundraiser with St Gabriel’s, Kate helps to find the €150,000 needed to fund the annual running costs of this pool. It is something she admits she thrives on; “Currently the fundraising role is very challenging but so rewarding especially when you see at firsthand how money raised is used,” she explains adding: “We are so lucky to have a wonderful resource such as the hydro pool as it has a direct benefit on the children and people who use it.” The Limerick woman has no intention of hanging up her fundraising boots anytime soon and explains that she loves that her job allows her to give something back; “The vision of St Gabriel’s is to continue to improve the lives of children with disabilities and their families so when people support the fundraising activities they are not only giving their support to the event but helping to change lives.”
For more information on St Gabriel’s visit www.stgabriels.ie
9)Elaine Cronin- Helping CF Sufferers Through Handbags And High Heels
Limerick woman Elaine Cronin is a busy woman, running Serendipity Shoe Boutique in Adare. With a passion for shoes, handbags and a keen eye for fashion, she decided to lend her skills to a unique fashion show in aid of charity. “High Heels and Handbags was born from an idea I had to showcase Serendipity and to raise money for a much needed new dedicated unit for adult suffers of Cystic Fibrosis in the Regional Hospital in Limerick for the Tipperary, Limerick and Clare areas,” explains Elaine of the event in 2010.
Elaine had learnt about the work of TLC4CF, a charity aiming to raise enough money to build the unit, through her customers, many of whom had children with Cystic Fibrosis. “I wanted to run High Heels and Handbags to raise funds for them because of this. There are so many deserving charities out there but TLC4CF really opened my eyes to this dreadful disease, and its effects,” says Elaine. Over 130 people attended the show which saw two cystic fibrosis sufferers take to the catwalk “and strut their stuff on the runway”, explains Elaine. The event raised over €5,000 for TLC4CF. Elaine is one of the many of thousands of people in Ireland who volunteer occasionally but proof that no matter how frequent or often you dedicate your time, every little helps and while organizing an event like this is hugely time consuming it really makes a difference. “It was such a huge success that we are going to hold Handbags and High Heels again in April,” says Elaine.
Elaine now hopes to run this event on an annual basis, with the aim of helping those who suffer with Ireland’s most common life-threatening inherited disease. “There are approximately 1,300 CF patients in Ireland; we have the highest proportion of CF people in the world.”
10)Ann Flanagan- Over Three Decades Of Helping Those With The Big C
Ann Flanagan is a recognizable face in Galway; from her voluntary involvement in the Galway International Oyster Festival to helping to run the family’s busy shoe store Flanagan’s Shoes in the Eyre Square Centre to helping out on various committees. However, while she may be better known for these, her role as one of the founding members of the Galway branch of the Irish Cancer Society has made a valuable contribution to the lives of so many in Galway for the past thirty or so years. It was after the Irish Cancer Society had been formed that Galway auctioneer Danno Heaslip approached Ann in 1977 and asked her to become involved in the branch. “We launched in April in 1978 and the day we launched my brother was diagnosed with cancer,” explains Ann adding; “that made me determined that I would do something for cancer and I’ve been involved ever since”. Thankfully, Ann’s brother survived but others haven’t been so lucky, spurring Ann and her fellow volunteers to carry on with their organisation of Daffodil Day, Pink Ribbon Day and various church gate collections right throughout the year. Since 1978, Ann has been at the helm of the Galway branch, helping to raise funds for the purchase of vital equipment for University Hospital Galway. “Daffodil Day launched 23 years ago and the funds have gone towards providing special nurses with oncology training to the hospitals. Three and a half million euro was raised from Daffodil Day last year and 1.5 million of that was spent on cancer research,” says Ann. The Galway branch has helped to fund the first ‘daffodil centre’ in Ireland, in UHG specifically where there is a full time oncology nurse to offer support and information to those with cancer and their families. “We also give support to the Galway hospice and the Irish Cancer society funds a night nursing service all over the country.”
Ann’s involvement with the branch keeps her busy, particularly coming up to fundraising events, while she is also on hand to help coordinate coffee mornings. “There’s something happening nearly all the time. I like to give something back and I feel the Irish Cancer Society have given a lot of support to a lot of people who have cancer and I like to be part of that,” says Ann explaining that cancer affects every community; “Over the years a lot of my own friends have got cancer; it touches every family so I like to hope that in what I am doing I am helping those who have cancer and their families.”
After thirty four years of volunteering with the Galway branch, Ann has no intention of quitting any time soon and is busy organising some 300 volunteers to collect money on the streets and suburbs of Galway for Daffodil Day on 25 March. “Most people who are involved become involved for a reason, cancer has hit their families or friends and they like to feel like I do; that every effort we make, someone else is benefiting from it. Everything raised in Galway is spent on services in Galway plus a lot more from head office,” she says adding: “I said when I became a member; as long as I was able to do I’d continue to help out.”
For more information or to get involved with the Irish Cancer Society free phone 1850 60 60 60
