News Release
Home-Start thanks its volunteers- ordinary people bringing about extraordinary change
June 2007
Home-Start is celebrating the work of its 900 volunteers by inviting them all to a special, Northern Ireland- wide lunch.
Nearly 300 of the charity's 900 volunteers are attending the thank you lunch this Wednesday (6June). Trustees and home visiting volunteers who help the charity support nearly 1,500 families and 2,810 children across Northern Ireland will be received by Lady Christine Eames who will be Home-Start's Patron for Northern Ireland in their 25th Year. They will hear guest speaker Jane McCleneghan and will be specially thanked by the Director of Home-Start in Northern Ireland, Heather Knox.
Speaking before the day, Heather Knox said, "Volunteers are the lifeblood of our charity. Without them we couldn't do our work. The essence of Home-Start is that parents, who have experience of what it is like to have young children, volunteer to support others who find themselves unable to cope. Our volunteers are ordinary people who, week by week, bring about extraordinary changes in other people's lives. We thank them for their dedication, their time and their commitment.
Home-Start, the UK's leading family support charity, has been active in Northern Ireland since 1983 and now has 25 local schemes providing its unique support in parents' own homes.
The event is part of the celebration of national Volunteers Week which recognises the good work that volunteers do in supporting their local communities. This is what Carmel one of our volunteers said about volunteering for us.
"For me, being a volunteer with Home-Start has been an enriching and rewarding experience. What better reward than to watch a mother grow strong in confidence and self esteem or see children coming out of their shells and all this because I go to visit a family for a couple of hours a week, may it be to chat to a mother or play with the children while their mother gets a well earned and much needed break. How humble I feel to be allowed to do this knowing that they do not feel threatened by me because I am a parent giving another parent a helping hand and doing this because they want me to be there."
Our families also value the practical and emotional support that they receive from their volunteers and the difference that they make to their lives.
"I really look forward to the three hours a week my volunteer spends with me. It's just so nice to have an adult conversation for a change. I used to suffer with depression but my volunteer has helped me overcome that, we go on walks together with the children and because my volunteer has three children of her own, she gives me great advice on being a good mum."
Next year Home-Start in Northern Ireland will be celebrating its 25th
anniversary and as part of its celebration, we will be looking to recruit more
volunteers to support more families.
This event is being sponsored by Gordons Chemist, Johnsons Coffee C&C Cantrell and Cochrane Belfast Ltd
ENDS
Notes to Editor
Home-Start recruits and trains volunteers to support parents with children under five years old. We are the leading family support charity in the UK. Our service is open to everyone and our home visiting work is unique in the UK. The charity was set up in 1973 and now supports more than 33,000 families and nearly 70,000 children each year. More than 15,000 volunteers visit families in their own homes - parents supporting other parents in a variety of situations including isolation, bereavement, multiple births, illness or disability. Home-Start also runs Teenage Parent Groups to help and support young parents.
To volunteer, donate or find out more about Home-Start phone free on 08000 68 63 68 or log on to http://www.home-start.org.uk
Contact details:
Heather Knox, Director of Home-Start in Northern Ireland
Tel: 028 9046 0772
Email:hknox@home-start.org.uk
Jo McLeish, Press and PR Officer, Home-Start UK
Tel: 0870 220 6713
Email: jmcleish@home-start.org.uk
