June, 2011

Welcome

Welcome to the September issue of the Volunteering and Fundraising Newsletter from Dublin Simon Community. All the articles have been written by staff, volunteers and service users so I hope you'll find it full of interesting and useful information. If you would like any further information on the Dublin Simon Community you can check out www.dubsimon.ie or give us a call in the office.

Many thanks,
Sharon Remidianakis
(Acting Up Volunteer Manager)

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Fun Run 2011 - A Silly Run for a Serious Cause

Join us on the 8th October for the Annual Fun Run in the Phoenix Park!! Every year events like the Fun Run raise vital funds for Dublin Simon services so you can have Five Miles of Fun and help a serious cause. We're looking for people to run the race, help at the race and to just come and have a fund day out!! 

Thanks to the generosity, dedication and goodwill of our supporters it has grown into an annual sporting event and the longest running charity event in the Phoenix Park. It’s a great family day out with 2 kid’s races, goodie bags, prizes, facepainting and of course the main event – the 5 mile Fun Run!

In 2010 we had in excess of 2,500 people taking part and this year we are hoping for more! The Fun Run is an integral fundraising event for Dublin Simon and we would be extremely grateful for your support.

You can take part by registering at www.funrun.ie or if you’d prefer to help out we are always looking for volunteers to assist with registrations, water stops, stewarding, etc. If you’re interested please call us on 6715551.

The 2nd Service User Development Group Social took place on the 6th August 2011 - an challenging hike with the Dublin Mountain Rangers from Tibbraden Mountain to Kilmashogue Mountain in the Dublin Mountains.
In all, we hiked 9.6km over three and a half hours with an hour for lunch - a very impressive average of 4km p/h. 

Apart from a really heavy rain shower, the weather held out for another super day for everyone who went. My hat goes off to Meadhbh who, at 7 and half months pregnant, did the whole lot, not a problem to her. Plus, she also made us a lovely lunch. So thank you Meadhbh, you’re a star! Also, thank you to the Pioneer Volunteers who joined us and help us out with our Saturday Socials.

There was a good crowd out, about twelve of us and two Dublin Rangers. And let’s not forget Albert the Ashtray which Meadhbh made me carry from start to finish. Nobody got hurt but John and Matt did end up on their back sides to our amusement.

With the fresh air and spectacular views, we were lucky enough to take it all in. It was well worth the effort of the early morning. I’d recommend everyone to get out hiking and enjoy what it has to offer. And remember that it’s only twenty minutes from the city centre and its ‘free’. I will be going to do it again when I get the time and am really looking forward to it. Thanks to everyone who made it happen and for making the day such a success.

Robbie

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Room to Improve, Helping Us Out

‘Room to Improve’ is not just about painting or gardening, it is about volunteers gaining an experience, meeting people who work for Dublin Simon and meeting those who are accessing our services. It’s about making a real difference to the services we provide and helping us create a homely and welcoming environment for people who are homeless throughout Dublin. 

The main concept of ‘Room to Improve’ is that a company will recruit volunteers and choose a service they would like to help. They are then given a brief of what is required for the project and the cost which will cover all the materials, paint, soft furnishing – whatever is required for the specific project.

Since it began, companies such as Deutsche Bank and Bank of Ireland have painted, decorated and provided soft furnishings for rooms in the Dublin Simon Rehab and Detox services. Bank of New York Mellon have completed gardening projects in both North Circular Road and Sean Mac Dermott Street, even putting in a vegetable plot so that service users can grow their own veg.

During the summer months we have had fantastic support from Google, who painted our shops, Metro Herald who created a brand new recreational room in Ushers Island and Pioneer Investments who painted and refurbished two apartments in our supported housing in Dorset Street.
There’s plenty more to come for ‘Room to Improve’ with Rabobank taking on the challenge of painting and decorating two bedrooms in our night shelter in Island House; Heineken painting several rooms in the Emergency Shelter; and Deutsche Bank returning to paint,decorate and refurbish two apartments in Dorset Street.

If you have a company team who wants to get involved in ‘Room to Improve’ please contact Kelly Crowley today on 01 671 5551 as we have plenty of opportunites to help improve our services.

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Simon Week 2011

This year Simon Week will take place from October 3rd. There’s an array of events happening around the country so to stay up to date check out www.simon.ie .

The main event in Dublin will be the National Health Conference on Monday October 3rd. 

Simon will also be holding a political briefing in Leinster House on the Thursday of that week and an exciting Volunteer event in the Aviva Stadium on the Friday. Dublin Simon will be having their Community Day on Wednesday the 5th and of course we’ll have the Fun Run in the Phoenix Park on Saturday October 8th. And keep your eyes peeled if you’re around Grafton Street on Thursday October 6th as we’ll be collecting for Simon - so be generous if you see our volunteers out and about!

We’ll be promoting Simon Week through a Believe in People TV campaign and online so please support us in any way you can, even if it’s to discuss the issue of homelessness with friends and family. Everything makes a difference.

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Take the Jump for Simon...

Do you want to fundraise for the Dublin Simon Community but would like to something a bit different and exciting? A charity Bungee Jump has been organised for 10th September 2011 in Naas, Kildare and we are inviting all you daredevils out there to participate on behalf of Dublin Simon. 

And don’t worry you won’t be alone on the day; there will be 64 other nervous bungee jumpers ready to take the plunge for charity! For more information about the jump just email bungeejumpforcharity@gmail.com and they will provide you with all the necessary details. The Dublin Simon fundraising team can also support you by supplying sponsorship cards and any other fundraising merchandise you require. You can get in touch with us by email at fundraising@dubsimon.ie or by phone 01 671 5551.

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European Year of the Volunteer - Roadshow!

The Dublin Simon Volunteer office set up a stand on Monday the 22nd August in the EC house in Dawson Street for the European Year of the Volunteer Road Show. The venue had many exhibitors on the day including SVP, The Irish Red cross, Marriage Equality, Order of Malta to name but a few others. 

We did not know what to expect so we set up our stand with the help of Sinead Nolan our full-time volunteer from the Service User Participation (SUP) Group. We included general information on volunteering for Dublin Simon Community (Always hopeful we brought with us Part Time and Full time Application forms!) Also making a guest appearance at the road show, fresh from his radio interview on RTE was our own SUP Volunteer Pete McDonagh. Majella Darcy, Head of Specialist Services and Sam McGuiness, CEO also called in to say hellow.

The Official opening of the EYV Road show was held at 11.00am and included speakers Marian Harkin, MEP, Yvonne McKenna, CEO Volunteer Ireland and Wendy Osborne, CEO of Volunteer Now.
Marian Harkin, MEP gave some really interested facts on volunteering in Europe - there are 100 million people involved in volunteering across Europe, which is almost 20% of the European population. She talked about the impact that Volunteers make to both society and the economy – it’s particularly worth mentioning that Irish Volunteers make an economic contribution equating to 2 percent of the GDP (3 Billion euro!)

Wendy Osborne, CEO of Volunteer Now, spoke about ‘Active Citizenship’. She said that “Active citizenship creates a sense of belonging to the community as a whole and volunteering promotes active citizenship in reclaiming communities and making a difference to people’s lives”.

The rest of the day passed talking to other Volunteer exhibitors about their volunteering practices and members of the public asking about how they could apply to volunteer with Dublin Simon Community.Overall the Road Show was a great learning experience and to top it all the Irish Red Cross offered hand and neck massages thoughout the day for any tired exhibitors!

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Detox & Rehab - Volunteer Experience

I volunteered in the Simon Community Social Club on Capel Street in 2009 for a year and found it very rewarding. When I left I missed the work and wanted to get back and get more experience. I decided to apply for the detox/rehab service. This time I applied to use my own skills as an English teacher, and take groups, as opposed to the wider social role in the club. The training was excellent. We learned a lot and did practical roleplays which gave us an idea of what to expect. 

I started in the detox service shortly after and straightaway I found the atmosphere there friendly and positive. The centre is in Ushers Island and you’d hardly know it was there! The staff and team are helpful, encouraging and supportive. A full time volunteer sits in with me and this works well to get feedback and tips afterwards! I am doing sessions on different topics of communication from job search and interview skills to positive language.

I was nervous starting out but the service users were very friendly and welcoming. Also, there was the worry about getting questions I couldn’t answer or just in general what do I know that could be helpful? But then I realised that others in the group can answer questions, give suggestions and often provide the best answers. We brainstorm a lot!!! From the first session, I was really impressed by the attitude and input of the guys in the groups, especially as they are in a rigorous detox process. In detox the groups can change from week to week, (clients just spend 3weeks in the detox). You might have half the same group and half new faces each time. I have been lucky so far most weeks with the group dynamics, but it’s never predictable and one person can change the whole group. In my 6th week I did have two guys break into a full on argument over a point made in the session, it got pretty heated, I was torn about what to do: should I butt in or allow the guys to get it off their chest?! I tried to do a bit of both and it just sorted itself out. That’s where the team advice was crucial for me, and following up on how everyone was afterwards. I am learning a lot myself every week, about the guys’ daily issues in the struggle to break an addiction, especially when homelessness is a factor. I have moved from detox into rehab and now use more of my typical English teacher skills - working on business letters, interviews and so on. You tend to have the same attendees each week there. It’s interesting for me as some of the guys from my first two or three weeks two months ago are now in these sessions. It s just incredible to see the amazing progress they have made and how well and positive they are.

I have learned that people from all walks of life can be affected by homelessness. I find the people I have met very inspiring - workers and service users alike. The Dublin Simon Community is a much-needed organisation doing vital work to assist people in a traumatic phase of their life, I admire the work they do and hope to stay on and learn some more.

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