Volunteers all around the County came out in force for the various local projects as part of Give it a Swirl Day 2009 - the National Day of Volunteering. Give it a Swirl is an initiative of Volunteers Centres Ireland who encourage as many projects as possible to be rolled out throughout the country. Give It a Swirl- the National Day of Volunteering is designed to provide people of all ages with an opportunity to get involved locally and try their hand at something new. Sligo Volunteer Centre along with local communities was involved in 7 projects in Sligo town and county.  

Launch of Positive Ageing Week Glass House Hotel

A preamble to Give It a Swirl 2009 was the launch of Positive Ageing Week an initiative of Sligo LEADER and Age Action Ireland. This was launched by the Mayor Cllr. Jimmy McGarry in the Glasshouse Hotel on Friday September 25th last. Sligo Volunteer Centre was on hand at the event to give information to older people who wanted to volunteer and to older people who were already running community groups and needed additional volunteers to provide support for their activities. A large crowd from all of the Active Age Groups throughout the town and county came out in force and the transport was provided by Sligo Rural Transport Scheme. The packed week of events included a Photographic Exhibition, Storytelling and Folklore, Sports Fest, Health & Beauty Taster Treatment Sessions, IT Technology Day, Intergenerational Arts Project, with the week being rounded off with a Gala Ball in the Raddison Hotel where a large crowd took to the floor.   

“Best Foot Forward” as Reflexologists & other Therapists volunteer their time

20 holistic therapists provided taster treatments for older people at the Positive Ageing Health & Beauty Event in Sligo Town and in Tubbercurry on Tuesday Sept 29^th & Wednesday Sept 30^th last. Therapists along with students from North Connacht College provided Holistic Treatments to older people from Sligo Town and around the county.  Feedback from therapists and recipients was excellent!   

IT Technology Day for Over 65s

38 volunteers kindly gave of their time and expertise and included pupils from the Sligo Grammar School and St Attracta’s in Tubbercurry. Students and volunteers were on hand to provide basic skills in how to use the internet, how to look up holiday offers, set up an e-mail account, e-mail family and friends and pay bills etc.  This event proved a great success and will go towards narrowing the gap in these times of global communications.    

Collooney Gets a Makeover12 volunteers came out in force on Saturday 26^th September last for Give it a Swirl Day with Collooney Tidy Towns. All of the volunteers are to be complimented for their hard work on the day. Paula from Sligo Volunteer Centre presented all the volunteers who took part with certificates to acknowledge their participation in the event. The work that was carried out included litter picking, weeding and bulb & flower planting for next year.  

Intercultural Sports Day – Sligo Travellers Support Group 

Saturday 17th October was one of those rare Indian Summer Days as the sun shone brightly on all of the athletes and the volunteers who took part in the Intercultural Sports Day at Sligo IT Sports grounds. 9 Volunteers coached and assisted participants and put them through their paces through to the finishing line. The day proved to be a great success and was enjoyed by all who took part. Sligo Volunteer Centre staff, Ciara Herity and Paula Naughton said “We are delighted with the success of Give it a Swirl 2009. It is fantastic to offer people the opportunity to volunteer in their locality and to take part in such a diverse range of projects.” Ciara added “Now that people have had a taste, perhaps they will be interested in continuing to volunteer”.