London Irish Chaplaincy: Making a difference - person to person

"Thank you for reaching out to so many people. It is good to know there is someone out there thinking about us all year… and we really appreciate the cards that the children send us from the school." This is the message from Ann, one of the seniors with whom the Irish Chaplaincy has made contact over recent years.

This spring the Seniors Programme of the Chaplaincy is looking out for new volunteers. Paul Raymond, manager of the programme says "We want to reach out to more isolated and lonely Irish in London. We are looking for people who can give a few hours a month, in person or over the telephone. This can make a huge difference in a person's life."

The Chaplaincy, based in Camden but working all over London, offers support to people living in their own homes and to those living in care homes.

Anne-Marie is a teacher at Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Action. She writes "I joined the Irish Chaplaincy as a volunteer before establishing a partnership between the charity and the primary school where I teach. This work has since grown and flourished. We send out personalised cards each Christmas and Easter and host social events for the seniors." Most recently the school hosted a tea-party for some seniors, bringing them into the school where the pupils served and chatted with them.

Tom, is a former social worker and visits people in their homes and keeps phone contact. He writes, "I have empathy with older people who are socially isolated. Older Irish people are away from their original communities in Ireland and are now isolated for various reasons including mobility issues, changing of social meeting places and not being up to date with IT."

Might you have time to give on a regular basis? Here you can see what the role involves: https://tinyurl.com/4a45w4cp and to make direct contact admin@irishchaplaincy.org.uk

The Chaplaincy, founded in the 1950s, is social action charity providing high quality services and support to excluded, vulnerable and isolated Irish people in Britain. Other projects involve advocating for the human rights of Irish Travellers & Gypsies, providing support and education for those in the criminal justice system and offering advice and information to prisoners and their family members

Read more about the the Irish Chaplancy here: www.irishchaplaincy.org.uk