Do you have skills that you feel you are not using to their full potential? Do you want to gain valuable experience to add to your CV? Do you want to enrich your social circle by meeting new people, and to have a busier social calendar? Do you have a little time to spare each week and want to help change your community for the better?
The Midlands Simon Community believes that in 2011 homelessness should not still affect the vulnerable in our county - do you?
Midlands Simon are asking people to show their solidarity for those experiencing homelessness in Westmeath by joining Westmeath Friends of Simon. Anyone is welcome to join. You can make a difference by fundraising and campaigning to help end homelessness.
Often people don’t realise the value of volunteering or they feel that they cannot offer anything, but nothing could be further from the truth. Midlands Simon relies on volunteers in all areas of its work. Without volunteers it cannot continue to provide essential services in Westmeath and the Midlands. Volunteering can be a rewarding experience and the Midlands Simon Community prides itself on valuing its volunteers in all areas of service support. Volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and skill-sets find the experience to be highly rewarding.
In just five short years Westmeath Friends of Simon have raised over €100,000 to finance efforts to support those experiencing homelessness. This is a significant contribution in support of a local issue, and proves how, when we work together, everyone can make a difference.
CEO of Midlands Simon Community, Tony O’Riordan, says: “No one chooses to be homeless, but by volunteering with Westmeath Friends of Simon individuals can help to put an end to it. By working together, we can overcome the challenge of homelessness and continue to provide the supports necessary to enable people to move out of homelessness and into a permanent home.”
The Midlands Simon Community aims to enable people to move out of homelessness by providing a wide range of services and supports, including the provision of emergency accommodation and a settlement service; addressing any difficulties people face with health, addiction, or poverty; maintaining a network of volunteers to support individuals returning to education or employment; providing a voice; and sometimes someone to simply listen.
Since 2005, the Midlands Simon Community has supported over 900 people in the midlands region, including over 200 in Westmeath.
For more information on the Midlands Simon Community or Westmeath Friends of Simon please contact Cormac Lally on (087 ) 9925083 or come to the open evening in the Prince of Wales Hotel, Athlone on Tuesday February 15 at 6.30pm. You can also find them on Facebook or email [email protected].
