ALONE thanks volunteers and organisations for their support during COVID-19

The organisation is grateful for the continued support of volunteers, community groups and organisations individuals across the country

Dublin, 21 September 2020:    ALONE, the organisation which supports older people, wish to offer their sincere thanks to all volunteers, donors and partner organisations for their continued support for ALONE’s work with older people. As the organisation celebrates National Volunteer Week this week, the organisation believes that it is important to highlight the important work carried out by its volunteers since the arrival of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Volunteering has been a key principle of ALONE’s vision where staff and volunteers work together to support older people to age at home. The organisation would not be able to provide such a wide range of services to the older people who need them without the support of their network of volunteers, donors and partner organisations. ALONE is grateful for the hard work and dedication of its volunteers, and would like to remind all volunteers of the importance of taking some time out to focus on their own individual health and wellbeing during these uncertain times.

ALONE currently has volunteer working across a wide range of support services; such as National Support Helpline Volunteers, Telephone Support and Befriending Volunteers, Visitation and Support Befriending Volunteers, Fundraising Volunteers, Administration Volunteers, Board members and other project volunteers. Since the onset of COVID-19, alone have adapted their volunteer training and are currently using a blended approach to deliver training modules to volunteers across the country, with over 1,200 volunteers have completed training online.

Seán Moynihan, CEO of ALONE said, “On this National Volunteer week, it is important to acknowledge all of the hard work and dedication of our wonderful volunteers. Volunteering is intrinsic to ALONE’s work and is interlinked in all areas of our organisation. Put quite simply, ALONE would not be able to provide the services it does to the Older People of Ireland without the support of our amazing network of volunteers, therefore we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to each and every individual involved with our work.”

He continued, “One of the positives that we have seen through the course of the pandemic is the amount of people wanting to volunteer and to see the wonderful work they do every day to help support older people throughout Ireland. Our volunteers quietly go about their work, with great humility and compassion and change older people’s lives for the better every day.”

This time last year, ALONE had 1,845 volunteers engaged in its work supporting older people across the country. That figure has grown over the last twelve months, with 2,862 volunteers engaged in this work today. This Increase shows the level of demand for our services and the wonderful response from the community to support our work. Everyone in ALONE understands the value of our volunteers and our staff work hard to ensure they are trained, supported and acknowledged for all the great work they do.

Due to the increasing ageing population in Ireland, ALONE will grow its volunteer numbers to around 9,000 in the next few years and will make more roles available for prospective volunteers. The organisation also intends to further implement the use of technology to assist volunteers to connect with older people engaged with ALONE’s services. For information on volunteering with ALONE, email volunteer@alone.ie with your full name, phone contact details and location, or visit www.alone.ie

ALONE is encouraging older people who need advice to call ALONE on 0818 222 024 from 8am-8pm, seven days a week. Contact ALONE if you have concerns about your own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of an older person you know. Further information can be found on www.alone.ie.