VOLUNTEERING:WHAT DOES IT mean to volunteer? It's keeping the lights on. Putting food on the table. Providing a bed for the night. Making sure Santa delivers to every boy and girl. Offering an ear to someone in distress. Even saving a life. It means wrapping up on a wintry night, leaving a warm house and going to the edges of society with a hurricane-light of hope in hand. It's people with extremely busy lives giving up their time to make sure others don't fall through the cracks of society, writes Miriam Mulcahy
And where would those people be, the lonely, the cold, the sick, without those angels who bring gifts of hope, generosity and faith?
Claire Connaughton
Children in Hospital Ireland
"Children who come in to hospital are not prepared for it. They come in during an emergency, in the middle of the night. It is such a daunting place - and the first thing they hear is a child crying behind a curtain."
Children in Hospital Ireland provides toys and books for playrooms on wards in hospitals, and volunteers run play sessions throughout the day. "Children are not like adults: if adults are sick, they lie in bed and look for sympathy; children, even an hour or two after surgery, will go to the playroom."
Trained play specialists work in the hospital, and the work done by the play volunteers frees up the play therapists to help children who really need it. At Christmas, the volunteers help out wherever they are needed: at film nights, Christmas parties, and helping the children make decorations and cards. Claire saw the need for the service when she was in hospital with her own son.
"I met young mums with babies, very isolated, a long way from home, so when I had more time I started volunteering. Most of our volunteers have spent time with their children in hospital, and if they can help a family going through a difficult time, they're delighted to do it."
James Byrne
World of Wonder
James Byrne works at the coalface of Christmas, and he sees the stark reality for many families. "We are acutely aware that children are missing out, that those who are not from a stable background are not getting lots of toys." Through the stores, they run a toy appeal, where customers can donate new toys, which are distributed locally by St Vincent de Paul, or make a donation, in-store or online, which goes to the ISPCC.
Last year, a house in Ballyfermot with nine children living in it burned down, and while all the occupants were safe, for the cache of toys hidden in the attic, it was a different story. "Through the appeal, we were able to replace each and every toy with the exact same item that was lost. Regardless what happened with the fire, Santa still came to those kids." The appeal brought in €50,000 worth of toys last Christmas, and this year everyone involved is striving to better it.
"There's a lot of satisfaction when you know we're doing well and we're getting closer to Christmas. When the Vincent de Paul come over to collect, it's such a buzz, the relief on their faces when they see the toys, it's fantastic." Why does he do it? "Children are our business and we feel strongly that every child should have a happy Christmas. The thoughts of a child being unhappy for whatever reason on Christmas Day - no-one wants to think about that."
Fr Peter McVerry
Opened his first hostel for young homeless people in 1979
"We don't do anything at Christmas we don't do the rest of the year. For our residents it's a particularly difficult, depressing time. We make a special effort to make Christmas a happy time for them, but we're conscious we cannot replace their homes. The reality that they are not living at home becomes much more real to them. It's also a time of enormous pressure.
"Many young homeless people tell me they would love to fall asleep on December 1st and wake up on January 1st. It's a horrible, horrible time for them. I can understand it. I hate Christmas myself, because I see the pressure on the young homeless people I work with and that is so unfair, so unjust, and it makes their lives so much more painful."
The Peter McVerry Trust employs staff to run the services, but volunteers still play a part. In December, people drop in clothes and gifts that the young homeless people can bring home to their families. Others volunteer to bring them home on Christmas Day, when there is no public transport and the cost of taxis is prohibitive. For McVerry himself, the job satisfaction is worth everything: "It's my vocation, it's not a job for me. You may only be able to do a little bit, but a little can mean an awful lot. There's nothing to be done at Christmas that doesn't have to be done all year round. There's a particular poignancy to it at Christmas, but the problems will still be there on January 1st."
Kathy Moore
Rathmines Women's Refuge
When a woman turns up at the door of the refuge, she often has nothing with her except her children and the clothes they are standing in. Moore is adamant that volunteers are what keep the refuge going. "What makes Christmas in this refuge is the donations that we get from members of the public. People deliver hampers for the women and children, pensioners bring in little bags of food, and people bring us in second-hand clothes. We wouldn't survive without them." Refuges all over the country provide temporary, emergency, safe accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence. "You see women coming in here, and they're a broken-down shell. You see them in a matter of weeks, leaving, and they look completely different. People underestimate what fear does to people - it absolutely paralyses them.
"Our greatest volunteer ever was Frank Crummey, a solicitor. For 21 years, he represented the women for free. You could ring him at 2am if something arose, and he'd drive the length and breadth of the country to help a woman. He was the best friend the refuge ever had."
Kathy spends Christmas Eve in the refuge, getting everything ready for the children. "I'd be absolutely heartbroken looking at the children, thinking of the sadness of them not being at home. Three years ago, this tiny lad came out to me and said, 'Kathy, this is going to be the best Christmas ever', 'Why do you say that?' I asked him. 'This year we're safe, and my mammy won't be beaten, and our toys and our dinner won't be thrown out and smashed up in the garden.' It gave me a whole new vision on it - you can sense the calmness, the way the women and children feel this is a safe and happy place."
Sean Murphy
MS Ireland
Sean Murphy's wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after the birth of their first child in the 1970s. Some time later, he was asked by his local MS committee to give a hand and he has never stopped since. "We know the problems our people have. We help with the cost of adapting houses for MS sufferers. As a society, we have to find a way to make sure people will be comfortable in their own house." At Christmas, he fundraises, organises a Christmas dinner and helps giving out hampers.
"We are the biggest fundraising branch in the country. What we love is seeing that money go out."
He refuses to be knocked by adversity or circumstance. "We can all sit back and moan about the cutbacks. There are ways out there of making money. We come up with gimmicks all the time. I just want to make sure that the person with MS gets the treatments and the funds they need from the Cork branch. "If only one person was let down, I'd finish up with it."
(Sean Murphy was named Volunteer of the Year 2008)
Dara Flaherty
Lifeboat volunteer
Dara Flaherty was not expecting a call-out on Christmas Day. He is a volunteer on the Aran Islands lifeboats, and for the islanders the service is not just for those in trouble at sea, it is a life or death link to the mainland. Last year, the islanders of Inis Mór had just had their Christmas swim and were sitting down to dinner when the pagers went off.
"I ran down to the lifeboat shed, the seven crew were there, we all got dressed up in our gear, took the rib out to the lifeboat and came back to the pier." Waiting there were a couple with their newborn baby daughter, seriously ill. "We brought her over to the mainland, where there was an ambulance waiting to take her to University College Hospital Galway." The family came home, all well, after St Stephen's Day.
His father was a coxswain on the lifeboats before him, and Flaherty has been on the crew for 11 years. "This is 24 hours a day, seven days a week - you're on call all the year around. There are plenty of boats around here, people I know, they're out fishing, and it's good to know that if they need help, we're there on call for them."
John Monaghan
Vice-president, St Vincent de Paul
They work, if not quite in the dead of the night, at least under cover of darkness, delivering hampers and toys, money and fuel to families in dire straits. These grey-haired superheroes in sensible coats are delivering much more than turkeys and cakes: they are delivering hope to families in need of it. "In the week before Christmas, throughout the country, the members are out, visiting people, delivering food hampers, and we do it at times when neighbours aren't aware of it. One of the crucial things is that the work is totally confidential. "When we walk out the door, we have forgotten where we have been." Their work is about much more than food hampers: local conferences help with utility bills, buying fuel and oil, and sometimes giving people money.
Calls to the society are up by 40 per cent this year. "We're seeing people who in the past would have supported us, now looking for help. Things are really getting bad. If you're a parent of a young family and you've no money and even less hope, that's very, very depressing. In all the regions, members are working harder than ever."
It's not just about Christmas. "We need to make sure to collect enough money to take us through what is often the coldest and bleakest time of the year. After Christmas people feel at their lowest. Problems and difficulties seem insurmountable." Monaghan believes volunteering is crucial to society. "If you rely on the State, it's very impersonal. Many volunteers are from a middle-class background, and it's an opportunity to see the reality of life experienced by so many. A wake-up call, and a shock to most of us."
Annie Griffith
Director, Kildare Samaritans
Annie Griffith joined the Samaritans because they provide something she values highly and worries is disappearing from our fast-paced society: being properly listened to.
"It's extremely fulfilling to offer that listening ear and give somebody your complete attention, for that time that they need you."
The Samaritans answer the phones all through Christmas, and see a sharp spike in calls.
"Every hour, Christmas week and over the new year, there's such a demand. People just need to talk about it, the upsets, the fears, the extra demands they are under. It could be financial [difficulty] and this year especially we're seeing that. It's a time of heightened emotions and expectations.
"Although we're obviously not going to solve any of those situations for them, when people phone and talk to us they can see things a little more clearly. They explore their options and confront difficult feelings."
The Samaritans is totally reliant on volunteers. Annie stresses the value of the work they carry out: "Right now, people are in great need. In this climate it's only the voluntary sector that can cover those needs."
Bill Curran
Simon volunteer
Ten years ago, Bill Curran came close to losing everything. "Everybody's life has ups and downs. Events in my life pushed me to the edge, I got very close to being homeless, and I got a very sharp shock. I recognised how easy it is to move into that situation."
The Simon chain begins with the rough sleeper team, who go out and identify those sleeping rough in laneways. "People walk past them, and there's an invisible wall where they can't connect. So the rough sleeper team makes the link with that person in the alley and offers them friendship."
Dublin Simon provides a tiered range of services, from soup runs to emergency shelters, supported housing, and resettlement.
Bill works in Simon's tenancy sustainment. "For me it's very rewarding, I've been to the edge of where they come from, which is a much darker place than where I was, and to offer them support is great."
He is full of admiration for his fellow volunteers: they work full-time, and yet they find time to help. "Our combined effort makes a big difference. It's very easy to write out a direct debit and give €10 a month. Why not forget about the €10 and give a couple of hours of your time instead?"