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WE ACT STORIES

Our staff and volunteers are as diverse as the people we serve.

The We Act campaign is about telling their stories. 

34,331 organisations

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164,922 employees​

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76,000 trustees​

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1 million+ volunteers

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So many stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

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Let's hear it for the drivers, the cooks, the bucket shakers, and note takers.

 

The jersey washers, the litter pickers, the social workers, and the entrepreneurs.

 

The carers, the high-vis wearers, the night nurses, and the day jobbers. 

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Social Media Manager at spunout

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Advocacy Officer at Fighting Blindness

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Sharon

Fundraiser with Irish Cancer Society

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Séan Broderick

Trustee at Oesophageal Cancer Fund

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Befriending Volunteer at ALONE

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Áine Crotty

Trustee with Gerri's Place

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Sarah Murray

Treasurer at Galway Pride

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Iryna

Administrative Officer at Gort Cancer Support

Lorraine
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Intercultural & Refugee Programme Admin

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Founder of The Reclaim Project

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ICOS Fellow & Volunteer

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Educational Facilitator at ShoutOut

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Counsellor and Head of Business

Margarida holding Mozambique flag

Irish Fellow and Volunteer

Busola Sanni Onasa smiling with sunglasses

Volunteer at St. Patrick's Festival

Roisin Lonergran founder of Five Lamps Arts Festival

Founder of Five Lamps Arts Festival

April Tambling smiles in front of pride flag

Youth Advocate and Volunteer at YMCA

Parth Parekh sits in road and smiles

Volunteer at St. Patrick's Festival

Abi O'Callaghan Platt stands with reusable menstrual products in a school hall

Project Manager at VOICE Ireland

Tara Murray from Shona Project

Senior Ambassador at The Shona Project

Oilean stands with hangers of clothes in a sunflower field

Community Engagement at Change Clothes

Jessica Curtin smiles in front of a GOSHH banner

Youth Worker at GOSHH

Ashleigh at Barretstown has her face painted by a camper

Camp Volunteer at Barretstown

Mustafa smiles in front Tiglin Lighthouse entrance

Volunteer at Tiglin Lighthouse

Alpana at Hope Yoga Evening taking a photo with her phone

Fundraising Officer at Hope Foundation

Danny Forde Volunteer Firefighter stands wearing fire gear in front of the air ambulance

Volunteer Firefighter at Irish Air Ambulance

Amanda Zahringer speaking at a conference

Board Chair of Community Finance Ireland

Eoghan murphy wears a blue fleece and stands in front of tree with changing colors

Civil Servant & Charity Trustee

Scouts stand with Board Member Lorraine Lally

Barrister & Board Member   

Donncha - Le Cheile Mentoring

Volunteer Mentor at Le Chéile 

Ann smiles proudly with her 5k medal

Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator 

Kelvin Akpaloo smiling

Volunteer & Artistic Director at Eurobug

Emily Larkin holds an Invisible Disability card on Dublin bus

Founder of Invisible Disability Ireland

Paul running with the Sanctuary Runners

Sanctuary Runner

Joanne Dunphy Allen stands with Missionvale volunteer

Volunteer & Trustee

RNLI Lough Derg volunteer, Ania, stands with the RNLI lifeboat

Volunteer at RNLI Lough Derg

Fiona from Barretstown stands in front of We Act banner

Community Fundraising & Events Manager

Aoifes Clown Doctors hold fundraising check

Dr Fluffy Toes at Aoife's Clown Doctors

Karl founder of Gaeil Aeracha looks out on football pitch

Founder of the Rainbow Gaels

Kay Lynch holds resource cards from DRCC

Victim & Survivor Support Volunteer

Conor staff at Purple House stands in garden

General Manager of Purple House

Aoife Martin, TENI volunteer

Activist & Board Member at TENI

Gustav Hospice Volunteer smiles in garden

Volunteer Receptionist at Mayo Hospice

Aoife Cullen 50808 Volunteer sits in hiking gear

Textline Volunteer at 50808

Joanna Joyce Debra Ireland Headshot

Advocacy & Policy Manager at DEBRA Ireland

Kerrie Donohue

Services & Information Coordinator

Aine and Anne 22q11 smile with awareness t-shirts

Chairperson of 22q11 Ireland

Saint Josephs of Shankill volunteer wearing masks

Clinical Nurse Manager at St. Joesph's Shankill

Dr Susan Murphy headshot

Services & Information Coordinator

Youth volunteer at the Kabin Studio recording a podcast

Youth Volunteer at The Kabin Studio

Pat Towey Men's Sheds at mountaintop

"A lot of our time is banter and a cup of tea."

Pat Towey
Chairperson, Ballaghaderreen Men's Shed, Roscommon

You can’t ask men who struggle with mental health issues to go into a health centre in rural Ireland, you haven’t a hope in hell. The big secret to our success from a health and wellbeing perspective is you bring the professionals into the shed. The men, if they’re familiar with the surroundings and they’re familiar with each other, they’ll open up a lot more. 

 

We have a great workshop but we haven’t an awful lot of work that goes on in it! A lot of our time is banter and a cup of tea. On any given night we could have up to 25 or 30 guys in playing cards or playing pool.

 

At our last AGM I was trying to encourage some of them, so I told them I’d spent the last eight weeks going to a counsellor. After the meeting, one of two of the guys said, “Jesus, aren’t you awfully brave admitting that” and I said, why? I had a problem and I needed it to be fixed. There’s all these misconceptions. Men don’t always want to hear about mental health, they don’t feel it’s for them.

 

There’s a lot of men who live in Ballaghaderreen that don’t have an awful lot to do because there isn’t a lot to do. They walk around the town all day and either go into the bookies for company or go into the local pub for company, but they’re not drinkers and they’re not gamblers. They’re just missing the people connection. 

 

We wanted to stay connected during Covid so we came up with this concept of townland walks. Each man in our shed had to invite us to his townland, he had to pick the route, and give us a little cultural talk. A lot of guys come into the shed with low self esteem, they prefer not to engage, so we brought the engagement out to them, to spaces they’re familiar with, and it was a huge success.

 

We had a doctor join us one evening, the men on the walk were able to ask him stuff they’d never dream of asking a doctor, because, he looked like them, he was roughly their age, they were able to relate to him. That’s the beauty of the Men’s Shed. 

Debra Ireland starting line mini marathon 2019

We're always looking for volunteers and staff to tell us what motivates them, what wakes them up every day, their big 'why'. Share your story or the story of an unsung hero in your community!

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