Chairperson report to Committee.
Again I wish to start with thanking the Committee and the volunteer staff of Cairde for the generosity and support they have given over the past year.
This year again, it has been a challenging year, marked with more members suddenly dying and a growing number of members having to seek and receive medical attention for serious illnesses.
This year we have seen former committee members dying and a growing number of friends having to spend long periods in hospital and often repeatedly travelling to hospital for medical treatment.
While the impact of illness on members is hard, the financial burden ill health creates generates its own difficulties for them and their families.
It is this space of assisting members, which Cairde now found itself playing an ever bigger and bigger role. This is a role, with our aging comrade base will, I envisage, continue to grow and place more demands upon us, but it is a role we are willing to take. This is a meaningful and practical role considering our aging client base.
Also, this year Cairde continues to support a number of culturally based organisation, from sporting bodies to music groups for young members in our community. These small donations have aided these bodies actively engage young people of our community in worthy activities and events and the donations have been appreciated by all, in this cash tight period.
Again, in line with remembering and recognising past committee members contribution to our group and to their community, we have made donations on their behalf, alongside their families to specific charities. In Robbie’s name, alongside his family, we donated to Heart, Chest and Stroke. A worthwhile charity which does great work and which Robbie himself would have been proud of.
Social “day away” trips were few this year, but a few members did travel to Mayo on a small private day away, but the main Cairde Bus “away day” was cancel in the Summer due to the sudden death of a former committee member.
People will be happy to know, that the “day away” is already being planned for the coming year as such engagements are important to members. Social engagement and simply getting out is important for members’ health and wellbeing.
Earlier in the years, Cairde did organise a “Irish Night” for member, and this was well attended and much appreciated and it is expected that similar events will take place in the coming months to celebrate recent past members and to pay respect to their families, their community activities and their friendship.
To this end we would encourage member to stay active and engage with each other and with the many health and wellbeing programmes run by other community-based organisations in the district.
Take care all.
Eamonn Porter, Chairperson