Campaign 2009
The Ireland InVOLved Awards is an awards scheme that makes a difference. Organised by Volunteering Ireland and sponsored by Specsavers, it is about showcasing the work of volunteers across the country and celebrating Ireland’s volunteers!
On the 5th of November, we honoured thirty individuals at an awards event and dinner hosted by the Taoiseach’s Office in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. We announced the ten overall category awardees and President Mary McAleese presented the award for the Irish Volunteer of the Year 2009 to Christine Buckley from the Aislinn Education and Support Centre for Survivors of Institutional Abuse. This event celebrated the amazing work of all those who volunteer in Ireland.
Christine as Irish Volunteer of the Year will go on and represent Ireland at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This international final will take place in the French city on Saturday 5 December to coincide with International Volunteer Day.
Quotes from our patrons and supporters
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Any opportunity that allows people to contribute beyond themselves, facilitates self growth, unlearning and adds value to the collective consciousness of the world, and that’s a magnificent legacy for any award scheme.
Marie Carroll, Irish Volunteer of the Year 2008 |
| I am delighted to be invited to the Ireland Involved Awards on 5 November. I have always attached tremendous importance to voluntary and community work throughout the island of Ireland. I know that the men and women who give so generously of their time, energy and skills do not do so in the hope of public recognition or acknowledgement; rather their reward is the joy and fulfilment of giving something back. Nonetheless, these unsung heroes deserve our utmost gratitude and it will be a great joy and honour for me to join them at the Ireland Involved Awards Ceremony 2009.
President Mary McAleese |
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As Minister with responsibility for Active Citizenship I recognise how important volunteering is to a local community and also to the Country as a whole. I commend the efforts made by volunteers who look beyond their personal interests, their own ambitions, and sacrifice the time they could spend with their own families.
Minister Pat Carey |
| The Ireland Involved Awardees are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They are people of courage, determination, passion, commitment, hunger for justice, hunger for change. They are the ones who are prepared to put their time and energies where their values and convictions lie. They are the change-makers, role models, advocates, the ones who bear witness, the ones who don’t give up, and we badly need their stories to be told so that the message can go out that our actions matter and that we can all make a positive difference in the lives of one another and the world we live in.
Elaine Bradley, CEO Volunteering Ireland |
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