Giving something back to the local community in Nenagh
Nenagh Éire Óg has answered the call for assistance during the Covid-19 crisis and its volunteers are fully embracing the opportunity to give something back to their local community.
Like many clubs and organisations around Tipperary, members of Nenagh's GAA club have been shopping for groceries, collecting pharmacy prescriptions and offering whatever other help they can to people confined to their homes during the crisis.
They initially set up their support network for club members whose loved ones were cocooning or self-isolating at the outset of the pandemic. Then they were in contact with the HSE, which asked the Éire Óg volunteers to co-ordinate shopping for some of the residents at the Sue Ryder independent living centre.
After that their duties were further broadened with Éire Óg's inclusion in Tipperary Co Council's Community Response Forum. Local chemists also asked the club's volunteers to deliver items to those in need of them in the community.
Bartley Ryan, Éire Óg's Healthy Club officer, reported a busy couple of months since deliveries began on March 27th. He has a WhatsApp group of 53 volunteers supported by business people in the town who are helping every way they can.
Bartley said the volunteers try to maintain a “buddy system” whereby they work with the same person all the time. They also tend to shop for the same client so as to get used to their personal necessities, such as dietary requirements.
The Sue Ryder support has proven very effective, with Éire Óg volunteers collecting shopping lists compiled by the residents and coming back with their groceries, receipts and change. They carry out around 30 shops per week for the residents, with whom they have no physical interaction as the volunteers do not enter the building. They also deliver the parish newsletter every week, for which there is great demand.
Bartley said the volunteers have also been busy supporting people who were cocooning, and those who were self-isolating as a precaution against coronavirus.
“This is a scary time but we do follow the HSE guidelines,” he said, adding that the feedback from all involved has been very positive. And he described the voluntary service as a very welcome undertaking for Éire Óg, members of which are ready and willing to join in mutual support in this time of crisis.
“It is totally rewarding because we can give something back to the community,” Bartley said. “The community have sponsored us down through the years and we've always been delighted to give something back. Where the community gave to us in the past, we can give something back now.”
The Healthy Club Officer also took heart from the spirit of goodwill among Nenagh's business commmunity that he and his fellow volunteers have experienced.
“There is a very strong level of goodwill out there and the staff in local shops are so willing to help us. It is great to see.”
Éire Óg's activities are co-ordinated by the GAA's Healthy Club Project, which aims to enrich the lives of club members and players while further strengthening the club’s ties with the their local community. The Nenagh club was the first in Tipperary to take part in the project. Bartley took the opportunity to acknowledge the support of Cora Moroney of the Healthy Club Project, which has acted as a liaison between the club and the HSE.
FURTHER DETAILS
Anyone who wants to find out more about Éire Óg's community support service can contact Bartley at 086 735 8359.