Annual Report 2019
Another very successful and productive year, here are some of the main activates.
After spending 2017 working very closely with the HSE we finally opened our Distribution Centre in Greenhills Industrial Village in March. This was a major undertaking and could not have happened without the support and hard work of Tony McKeown. We initially thought that about 20% of the 400 clients would opt for our delivery service in reality only 5% did.
For safety and the increase number attending, the Easter raffle took place for the first time in ST Peters parish hall .The change of venue was very successful although the pre ticket sales was very disappointing.
We worked a lot with the Noirin Coghlan the new administrator in the Louth Leader Partnership. She helped us with grants for the computers in the new distribution centre and the new heating system and porch for the office.
In January we applied for a TUS worker, Keith Farrell commenced a one year contract with our Care & Repair team.
We arranged for 6 people to go on the Lions Club holiday in Trabolgan as well as arranging for 40 people to go to the Lions Club Tea Dance in October .Both events were very successful and very much appreciated.
We gave a talk to the ladies of the Drogheda branch of the ICA and attended the Louth Support Group conference in the Westcourt Hotel.
The Care and Repair team undertook 399 jobs; an increase of 12% compared to 2017 .The main activities were gardening followed by general household maintenance. Fitting both internal and external hand rails had also increased. We have a very dedicated committed and reliable group of volunteers and we continued to receive “thank you” calls on a regular basis from some very appreciative clients.
We had to purchase a replacement van, this will be used for the Care & Repair team and the deliveries from the distribution centre. This was our largest capital expenditure since we started in 2011.
Our trusted traders list now includes a plumber, carpenter, electrician, roofer, TV man, washing machine man and a rodent controller
Befriending continues to be very active in 2018 we had 69 referrals, 58 assessments resulting in 44 introductions. Since 2015 we have matched 75 people.
Good morning Drogheda now has 15 volunteers, we phone 87 people every morning that’s 21,376 phone calls a year.
We helped in the opening of the Memory Technology Resource Room in the Ballsgrove Health Centre.
There was a definite increase in the demand for panic buttons in 2017 we arranged for 56 installations this increased to 110 in 2018 a 100% increase.
In May 30 People travelled on a 3 day trip to Donegal. The package included travel, food, outings and entertainment. A Big thank you to Bridie for once again organising this trip.
Positive Ageing Week took place in October; again this went very well with the usual activities. Thanks to Vera and Bridie for organising this.
Failte Isteach has had a successful year and is continuing to grow thanks to Helens leadership and enthusiasm. At the beginning of last year there were 22 registered students and ten teachers, the majority of whom have been teaching with us since the classes started back in 2011. This year we have gained one new teacher and we are now consistently up to twenty five students a week. We have made an effort to promote the English classes by placing notices in the local newspaper and displaying posters in strategic locations around the town.
Our success was measured by the number of students who obtain certificates at the annual ceremony in The Highlanes Gallery in June.
Our 1:1 computer classes were suspended in September 2018 this is due to the lack of volunteer teachers.
We received significant donations from councillors which included Maeve Yore and Emma Coffey from Dundalk and Paul Bell from here in Drogheda.
The office continues to be very busy with helping people with all matter of queries and problems. Some of the most common being,
Phone, electric or gas charges
Entitlements
Form Filling
Local Property Tax
Housing adoption grants.
Wills
The fare deal scheme for nursing homes
Some unusual cases,
For the first time we assisted a lady through the process of having a cataract operation preformed in the North of Ireland.
We also managed to help a lady get a pension from the time she worked in the Isle of Man.
We helped a client to successfully fight a very harsh littering fine.
Our rodent exterminator removed both mice and rats from a house. They were so noisy running up the walls and attic that the poor man couldn’t sleep.
The Monday afternoon crochet classes are going very well with regular attendees.
Paulette was presented with an award at the Louth Community and Volunteer Awards Evening. A great acknowledgement of the work she does with the Befriending programme.
On a sadder note, 2018 was a year we didn’t have Joan McEvoy. Joan suffered a stroke at the end of 2017 and as a result she has been in a nursing home ever since. She was a founder member of our organisation, a key person totally involved in everything we did here and represented us on several committees in Dundalk. We really miss her.
Befriending Drogheda Annual Report 2018 -2019
Staff Activity 2018 to 2019:
Attended Alone Seminars, GDPR Training, Safetalk Training, Customer Service Training, Carers Association Event, received an award from PPN of Louth County Council.
Over the last year we have maintained a steady clientele mainly being referred through PHN and the Cottage Hospital. We hosted Volunteer training and processed a large number of volunteers mostly coming through the Volunteer Centre, retaining approximately 14% for the service. Liaised with Alone in Dundalk regarding clients in our area of Louth and Meath.
| Clients Referred 2018 | 69 |
| Clients Assessed | 58 |
| Matches and Introductions | 44 |
| Successful On-going Matches 2018 | 13 |
People did not proceed due to:
- Not interested in service,
- Moved to long term care
- RIP
- Not suitable for our service
- No suitable volunteer available and continue to be awaiting match.
Clients are referred to us; we then make arrangement to call to visit them at home. We call out and assess their needs and circumstances. We then arrange and bring a matched volunteer to introduce to the client. We then keep in touch weekly with the pair for first few weeks after which we follow up less often.
Total active current Befriending matches 35 (Total Befriending matches to date 76).
Good Morning Drogheda Annual Report 2018 – 2019
Phone Service 9am to 12 pm daily Monday to Friday
15 dedicated Volunteers
21,376 calls made in 2018, approx. 87 calls daily
Volunteer Activity Annual Report 2018-2019
We invite Volunteer s in to the office to meet with us and we go through the Garda Vetting process and Volunteer profile with the prospective Volunteer. Their GV is processed and they then wait for approval when we then contact them again before assigning them to a client.
| Volunteers Assessed | 70 |
| Garda Vetting Processed | 45 |
| Volunteers Registered | 40 |
| Volunteers Active | 21 |
| Volunteers Unsuitable | 03 |
| Volunteers coming through Louth Volunteer Centre | 80% |
Fundraising:
- Flag Days in May & September
- Easter Raffle and Coffee morning
- Bag Packing in October and December
- Carol Singing in Scotch Hall in December
- Carol Singing in Town Centre in December