The Irish Wheelchair Association will celebrate a half century in the county with the unveiling of two plaques in its Mullingar and Athlone resource centres this week.
The Mullingar unveiling occurs at lunchtime today (February 19 ) and the celebrations will be held at the Springfield Centre on the St Loman’s campus, while the Athlone event was at the Clonbrusk facility on the Coosan Road yesterday.
The anniversary unveilings are being held to commemmorate the lives of past, present and future, members, staff and volunteers, and will be followed by light refreshments and local entertainment.
The IWA has hosted 50 such parties nationwide this week (February 15-19 ), as today, February 19, is the 50th day of the year. The Association was founded in 1960 by a small group of wheelchair users committed to improving the lives of people with physical disabilities in Ireland.
From modest beginnings the IWA has grown into a vibrant network of 20,000 members and over 2,000 staff, as well as many dedicated volunteers. The IWA is inviting any members, volunteers and fundraisers who have supported the organisation over the years to attend the events. Members of the local community who turn 50 in 2010 are also invited to join IWA in celebrating its 50th birthday.
This event is part of a series of IWA 50th anniversary events that will take place nationally throughout 2010. To find out more about other IWA 50th anniversary events, please visit www.iwa.ie/50th For further information on your local event, please contact: Maria O’Callaghan, service coordinator (044 )9347511, [email protected] or
Hugh Farrell, regional manager, (09064 ) 71166, [email protected]
