Praxis Care Annual Celebration of Volunteers

• 19 Jun 2018
• |
• N. Ireland

To recognise and reward their volunteers, Praxis Care held their annual celebration of volunteer’s event in the Glenavon House Hotel, Cookstown on Thursday, 07^th June.

Volunteers throughout Northern Ireland enjoyed a meal and time together sharing their experiences and highlights of their volunteering over the last year. Joe Loughlin from NI Drum Circle also attended the event and delivered a very enjoyable gathering drums workshop where everyone had the opportunity to find their own rhythm, have fun, create music and de-stress!!

The theme of the evening was “STRESS: ARE WE COPING?” an adaption from Mental Health Awareness Week.  The Mental Health Foundation says: “By tackling stress, we can go a long way to tackle mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and, in some instances, self-harm and suicide”.  Praxis Care provided goody bags for everyone which included a toolkit designed to help understand stress triggers, manage stress levels with self-care and tips on how to reduce the impact of stress on health and life.

Volunteers were awarded with long service awards for their commitment to volunteering with Praxis Care and working towards empowering adults with mental ill health, learning disability, or acquired brain injury to enjoy everyday living, irrespective of the complexity of their needs. Magherafelt volunteers, Hugh Convery received a 5 year award and Bernadette Donaghy received a 10 year award.

Praxis Care volunteers help to reduce the social isolation people can experience due to mental ill health and the associated stigma. Volunteers can help to reduce the risk of suicide, help to minimise the feeling of isolation, reduce pressure on families, and help to alleviate poor health and the risk of hospital admission.

The Magherafelt scheme offers a great opportunity for volunteers to get involved in the work of Praxis Care as well as offering valuable support for people affected by mental illness.

Jo MacOscar, Magherafelt’s Befriending Co-ordinator said “Volunteers come to our Organization for different reasons e.g recently retired, redundancy, more free time, gain more experience etc, but they all have the same desire to help someone else and meet new people, giving them a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Over the years our volunteers have supported many people in our community who are isolated and lonely due to their mental ill health.  In turn volunteers are given guidance, training, travel expenses and ongoing support.

If you would like more information on volunteering with Praxis Care, please contact Jo MacOscar on 02879634488, email: josephinemacoscar@praxiscare.org.uk, 14 Sandy Grove, Magherafelt.