Local volunteers in
the Strabane area who have been devoting their time to helping the local
community during the COVID19 pandemic will be rewarded for their efforts by a
local charity.
The Kathleen Graham Trust today handed over £4,450 of Strabane Gift Card
Vouchers to be presented to 89 local volunteers in recognition of their
tireless work helping others through the crisis.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane Council, Councillor Brian Tierney, will attend
a special reception on August 4 for the volunteers and added his praise to the
major community effort that was sparked in response to the pandemic. Hundreds
mobilized to support the work of community organisations and charities in the
area, helping to deliver vital aid to those in need.
Thanking the Trust for their ongoing support of the community response, and the
gift card rewards for volunteers, Cllr Tierney said: “The Kathleen Graham
Trust has been extremely active in supporting a wide range of community
initiatives right across the Strabane, Sion Mills and Castlederg areas
throughout the crisis.
“This donation of gift cards to local volunteers is another wonderful
gesture and much deserved by the volunteers who will receive them. It’s a fitting
way to support local businesses by investing the money back into the local
economy via the Strabane gift card scheme.”
Vice Chair of the BID group leading on the Strabane Giftcard scheme, Michael
Kelly, said: “We are delighted that the Kathleen Graham Trust has chosen
to support local and acknowledge the work of our volunteers by further
supporting the Strabane community. This means the recipients can spend their
rewards at a wide range of local stores, so the gesture is giving back to the
community on a number of levels.”
Caroline Clarke is a Trustee with the newly established charitable group, which
aims to support positive initiatives and individual enterprises of merit in the
wider Strabane area. She explained more about some of the work the Kathleen
Graham Trust has been contributing to in recent months.
“We had been hoping to launch the charity in May but with Coronavirus that
was put on hold unfortunately,” she explained. “But we have been
working behind the scenes with local community representatives and groups, as
well as Derry City and Strabane District Council, to distribute support for
some of the wonderful projects that have been offering essential aid during the
pandemic.
“It’s been very humbling to see how proactive the local community has been
in responding to this crisis, the many creative and selfless ways that people
have reached out to help others. And it’s been so rewarding to see how
donations from the charity have had such a big impact and how these groups can
make the money go such a long way in helping people.”We’ve been so inspired by the work being done on the ground that the
Trust wanted to acknowledge the contribution of the local volunteers who have
had such an essential role in recent months. “The Strabane Gift Card scheme
offered the perfect way to reward local people and also support local business.
I’m a strong believer in contributing to the local economy where possible and
shopping local, especially at a time when many businesses have been impacted by
Covid19.