Longford Volunteer Centre honours Raymond Grehan with Lifetime Achievement award

Raymond Grehan was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Longford Volunteer Centre Volunteer Awards last Thursday, March 14 in the Longford Arms Hotel.

Ten other individuals and four groups were also recognised on a memorable night where the contribution of volunteers was celebrated.

Longford Volunteer Centre Coordinator Gerry Smyth explained that there were a huge number of nominations and the judging panel had the hard task of choosing the amazing recipients. He expressed thanks to all the award winners and to all the volunteers that were nominated.

He remarked, “Everyone can volunteer, whether you are young or old, male or female, unemployed or working a full-time job, and whether you are rich or poor. What volunteers give to our communities is the biggest commodity of all…..their time.”

Mr Smyth continued, “Volunteering helps to foster greater understanding and tolerance between different groups in society and we sincerely thank all volunteers in Longford for all that they do.

“I am very fortunate to have both Bronwyn Slevin, our Outreach and Development Officer, and Verona Gray, our Volunteer Support Worker as members of our crew of three and I would like to convey to both a massive thank you in helping to organise the awards night and for all their day to day hard work and contributions to help make the volunteer centre the invaluable resource that it is today.

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“I’d like to sincerely thank our CEO, Adrian Greene and the Board of LCRL, the Department of Rural and Community Development, Sean Regan the SICAP Programmes Coordinator and Vicki O’Connell and the crew in Volunteer Ireland, and to my colleagues in Longford Community Resources.

“Lastly, I’d further like to convey a very special thanks to Ciaran Flaherty, Tina Kelly and the staff in the Longford Arms Hotel and to the fabulous deaf interpreters at the awards ceremony, Ciara Flatley and Shannon Clarke.”

Lifetime Achievement Award - Raymond Grehan
Raymond gives up so much of his time in his desire to help others. His love of all sports is hugely evident as he has taken part in countless park runs both as a run director and volunteer and is hugely active with Longford Town FC where he is a volunteer steward and is present at all fundraising events for the club and you’ll also see him out volunteering at the Longford Marathon.
Raymond also helps out at nearly every event and festival from the St Patrick's Day parade to the Summer Festival and on through to Halloween and Christmas events.
Nothing is too much trouble to him and he carries out his volunteering duties with the height of professionalism and respect and is a great help to others and is so well liked by all of his volunteering colleagues.
Having had hearing loss since birth, Raymond and his siblings are great advocates among the deaf community on the daily struggles that deaf people face in our society and he has highlighted the barriers that they continually face in the community.

Individual Award Recipients

Pride in the Community
Mary Ross: Mary has run many local events to raise money for charity and has great pride in her estate in Lanna Aoibhinn and is regularly involved with litter picks and organising events for residents.

Arts, Culture & Festivals
Helen Carleton: Helen has immersed herself in all Community Arts events in the county and is always a willing, reliable and enthusiastic volunteer at the varied events taking place from the Longford Lights Festival to the Cruthu Arts Festival.

Advocacy
Edel Kelly: Edel continues to freely give up her spare time advocating for people from all backgrounds and to ultimately empower them to be able to resolve similar issues themselves in the future.

Children and Youth
Margaret O’Connell: Margaret is a positive advocate for young people and links in with County Longford Youth Service to help out when she can and has helped homeless young people gain access to services.

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Environmental
Tommy Sherlock: Tommy’s commitment and hard work to Longford Tidy Towns, along with his fellow group members and locals, has ensured that Longford Town is in the top part of the league in the tidy-towns competition.

Health and Well-Being
Noeleen McTaggart: Noeleen is a volunteer whose background in healthcare has enabled her to bring her expertise to the causes she gives up her free time to, and these include, organising daffodil day for the Irish Cancer Society and she also facilitates meetings for the Irish Heart Foundation.

Community Support
Tena Keown: Tena is a definite all-rounder when it comes to volunteering her time to help others and is most definitely a resource person with a great knowledge and understanding of the thoughts, feelings and concerns of local people, as well as their cultures, faiths and backgrounds.

Social Inclusion
Christine Collins: Among her many other volunteering activities, Christine has worked tirelessly to make Colmcille Community Centre the heart of the village of Aughnacliffe. Over the years she has applied for and got a new heating system, new stage, new meeting rooms and organises fundraising events thus ensuring it continues to be a socially inclusive hub for many years to come.

Sports and Recreation
John Moran: John gives up his time, effort and expertise to each and every child that passes through the ranks at Melview Football Club and, as chairperson, he has kept Melview running smoothly and strongly through his own diligence and hard work and is an outstanding mentor to all.

Services to the Elderly
Owen Harrison: Owen brings his computer experience to the Longford meals on wheels office every week and has done so for several years. He also provides cover for the meals on wheels deliveries at short notice. He is very generous with his time and also collects for the charity at church gate collections when needed.

Group Award Recipients
Ballycloghan & Carrickboy Development Association: This group was originally set up to make the local hall in Ballycloghan the central hub of the community once again but, once completed, that certainly wasn’t the ending of the hard work involved and they continue to develop the area and take great pride in it.

CASA: The Caring and Sharing Association enables members to develop friendships through social events and also provides pilgrimages for people who are sick or have special needs. Steered locally by Bernie Belton, the group here in Longford have an absolutely amazing bank of volunteers that help in fundraising efforts for the organisation.

Backstage Youth Theatre: Backstage Youth Theatre is a great social outlet for local young people in Longford to explore the visual and performing arts and is a lifeline for many. It’s a safe place where in-person connections thrive, creativity is celebrated, and individuals are accepted and every year they put on a fantastic pantomime for all to enjoy.

LCRL Foodbank Volunteer Group: This volunteer group takes in the delivery of donated food on a weekly basis and then packs parcels into individual boxes and then go out to deliver it to the 80+ individuals and families who avail of the service. Working in conjunction with members of the Social Inclusion team in Longford Community Resources, the trojan work done by Miroslav, Marek, Julius and the rest of the crew ensure that the ongoing future of this vital service is in good hands.

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