News Release
Home-Start celebrates 25 years of volunteer support for families in Northern Ireland
Home-Start celebrates 25 years of volunteer support for families in Northern Ireland.
More than 250 Home-Start volunteers will be thanked for their vital work supporting families across Northern Ireland at a special Volunteers' Day on Wednesday. The event, part of Home-Start's 25th anniversary celebrations, will see the volunteers praised by ministers, senior staff from the charity, and by Lady Eames, the charity's special patron for the silver anniversary celebrations. They will also be treated to lunch and a packed day of entertainment to thank them for their work.
Home-Start is the UK's leading family support charity, training parent volunteers to visit families in their own homes for a number of reasons. These include isolation, multiple births, post natal depression, illness and disability. Some families access Home-Start support simply because they are struggling to cope.
Last year Home-Start in Northern Ireland trained 1015 volunteers to carry out its crucial work, supporting 1469 families and 3376 children.
Joyce McCutcheon has volunteered with Home-Start for ten years. In that time she has supported many families, all looking for help for a variety of reasons. Joyce has supported a family of triplets, a mum with depression and a single mum. One family that she supported was involved with social services and the children were on the Child Protection register. After a year of Joyce working with the family in their own home, the children were taken off the register.
There are many volunteer stories like Joyce's, all will be celebrated during Volunteers' Day.
Cllr Margaret Ritchie Minister for Social Development says: "A Home-Start volunteer embodies the principles of empathy, compassion, support, strength and perhaps, most importantly, friendship. I commend all Home-Start Volunteers for their work in local communities over the past 25 years and wish each and every one every success in the future and exhort them to keep up the good work and important role they fulfil."
Programme of events for the day include:
- Speech from Lady Eames (Patron of Home-Start Northern Ireland for its 25th anniversary).
- Speech from Margaret Ritchie Minster for Social Development/MLA.
- Volunteer recruitment campaign
- Liz Weir- International story teller, to mark Year of Reading
- A Happy 25th Birthday message from Heather Knox, Director of Home-Start Northern Ireland
- Irish and Indian Dancers
- Celebration lunch
- Personal trainer
-ENDS-
Notes to Editor
If you would like to interview a Home-Start volunteer case study, either by phone, face to face or in a radio studio please contact:
Communications Team, Home-Start UK: 0870 220 6713
Local press- please contact your local Home-Start scheme from the list below:
Home-Start schemes in Northern Ireland - North and East region
Antrim District 028 9442 8090
Ards, Comber and
Peninsula Area 028 4278 8369
Ballymena South 028 2564 3555
Ballynahinch 028 9756 3006
Carrickfergus 028 9332 8875
Causeway 028 7032 1765
Dalriada 028 2073 0444
Down District 028 4461 5727
East Belfast 028 9045 9429
Lisburn 028 9262 8585
Newcastle 028 4372 4531
North Belfast 028 9077 8999
North Down 028 9127 1201
South Belfast 028 90 459429
Home-Start schemes in Northern Ireland - South and West region
Armagh & Dungannon 028 8778 9489
Banbridge 07982039121
Blossom 028 3833 7455
Clogher Valley 028 8554 9898
Craigavon 028 3834 5357
Lakeland &
Irvinestown 028 6634 6818
Newry & Mourne 028 3026 6139
Newry Central 028 3026 6139
Omagh District 028 8224 0902 & 028 8224 0968
