This article is from page 18 of the 2011-10-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
VOLUNTEERS are the unsung heroes of Clare, whose work is vital to a host of organisations around the county who are making a huge impact on the daily lives of people across the county.
On National Volunteer Day last Fri- day, this spirit of volunteerism was hailed by Mary Morrissey, the driving force behind the development of the Clarecastle Daycare Centre that’s a model for other elderly care centres around the county.
“You couldn’t find words to describe them and how good and how important volunteers are. There is tremen- dous work being done out there by volunteers in Clare,” she said. “We have volunteers and they’re coming in for the last 10 years. They are unsung heroes. Three artists giving their time; they’re from every walk of life and they come in because they love the elderly.
“The elderly benefit an awful lot from the love they get from them and they get that back. Volunteers are wonderful people,” she added.
The Clarecastle Daycare Centre co-ordinator made her comments when taking part in Volunteer Day in Ennis on Friday, during which a host of voluntary, community and healthcare organisations enjoyed a unique celebration built around the county capital’s sculpture trail.
“We dressed up the sculpture in the Parnell Street carpark,” Ms Morrissey revealed. “It was a great idea that Sharon Meany and Dolores O’Halloran came up with. It was just to show what voluntary groups are doing. Knitting was the theme. We had to dress the sculptures. Each person had a sculpture to do and everything we had on display was made in the daycare centre, made by the elderly with the help of volunteers.
“It was a great idea, a wonderful way of bringing volunteerism out to the people. People don’t realise what’s going on everyday in centres around the county because of the work of volunteers,” she added.
Others groups to take part in the Ennis celebratations were the Clare Haven House, Caring for Carers, Clare Crusaders, Carrigoran, Cahercalla and the Kilmaley Daycare Centre.