This article is from page 2 of the 2010-01-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
ST VINCENT de Paul in Ennis is encouraging people with time on their hands to join up as volunteers. As the organisation launches its an- nual volunteer drive, its president Cathal Oakes is urging people to attend its open night on Wednesday next, January 27 (Temple Gate Hotel at 8.30pm).
With unemployment rates on the increase due to the downturn, vol- unteering across the board is on the increase in Clare.
Those who get on board as vol- unteers with St Vincent de Paul are assigned to various projects. These include becoming part of the hospi-
tal visitation team or as home volun- lo ie
St Vincent de Paul also runs a hos- tel and shop in Ennis, but these are primarily managed by staff rather than volunteers.
“We have a hospital visitation team and we go into St Joseph’s Hospital once a fortnight. We also have family visitations in Ennis and surrounds,” he said.
Young people interested in getting involved have the choice of joining schools branches of St Vincent de Paul. There is one up and running in Shannon and plans are in place to set up branches in schools in Ennis and Kildysart.
He is encouraging people to attend
the open night.
“We tell them what the commit- ment is like and if they are interested in becoming a member we set up training,’ said Mr Oakes.
“Those involved are from a very broad spectrum. We find that if one person joins, they tell people at work and more people join from that source,” he said.
The organisation is expecting to hear dozens of queries from people interested in volunteering, but would be hopeful of recruiting a dozen vol- OnE
“Countywide we have about 120 volunteers at the moment. We are looking to recruit 10 or 12 commit- ted members in the Ennis area,’ he
added.
“People used to come in in dribs and drabs, but now they come in and do three nights’ training and they are volunteers as quickly as possible,” said Mr Oakes.
Those who sign up next week will take part in training over the coming weeks and this will be completed by the end of February. They then take part in the various initiatives spear- headed by the organisation. The organisation is busy, particularly to- wards the end of the year.
“December is by far the busiest time of the year. It was particularly busy in 2009 because of the floods and the lack of the Christmas bonus,” said Mr Oakes.