Charities

Ulster Rugby Charities Season 09/10

In addition to its continued support of the IRFU Charitable Trust, Ulster Rugby also provide a level of support and backing to three additional Associated Charities during each season. These Charities are: The Wooden Spoon NI, The Samaritans NI, Crossroads Caring for Carers NI.

Nominated Charity

The IRFU Charitable Trust

A serious rugby injury is a frightening prospect for any player and in 1978 the IRFU recognised a need to set up a means to help seriously injured players by establishing the Charitable Trust to assist them in their daily lives and help to restore confidence.

There are currently 30 seriously injured players, all of whom receive help from the Trust and through its very active committee, the Trust maintains regular contact with each injured player and their families.

They help with locomotory expenses, specialised commitment, home alterations, medical expenses, nursing and care costs and over the past number of years the average payment for assistance has amounted to about €220,000 per annum.

The IRFU monitors the Trust's activities through five trustees who ensure that the Trust is administered properly and that all monies raised are distributed in an equitable manner - the day to day affairs of the Trust are managed by a committee appointed by the trustees, Ulster representatives include John Callaghan and Trevor Ringland.

IRFU Charitable Trust Website

Associated Charities

Wooden Spoon

Rugby's charity supporting disadvantaged children and young people. In the UK, one child in every hundred suffers from a lifelong disability that will profoundly affect his or her ability to lead a full and happy life. More than 3.5 million young people grow up in low income households or live in an environment where they are subjected to poverty of aspiration.

At Wooden Spoon, we believe all that all children and young people deserve the chance to live happy fulfilled lives regardless of the challenges they may face. Spoon harnesses the spirit and values of rugby to give disadvantaged children and young people in the UK and Ireland a chance to achieve their full potential in life.

We partner with the UK rugby community, receiving invaluable support for our activities and the opportunity to raise awareness of the work we do. In doing so, we involve some of the UK's top sporting role models in a making difference in the lives of young people in need.

Who we are: Wooden Spoon is a children's charity founded in 1983 that is dedicated to helping underprivileged children and young people all over the UK and Ireland to live happier, richer lives.

We comprise over 40 regional volunteer committees as well as a central national team and we boast more than 10,000 members across the UK and Ireland. The regional committees undertake local fundraising activities and ensure that the money is spent on projects in their community so that the benefit of our work is always immediate, visible and lasting.

During our first 25 years, over half a million young people benefitted from more than £15 million pounds of charitable support thanks to the efforts of our staff and volunteers. We are proud of our legacy, the work we do, and our ambitious plans for the future.

Our Mission & Values: Wooden Spoon exists to improve the quality and prospect of life for children and young people who are disadvantaged physically, mentally or socially.

What we do: We organise our own fundraising initiatives, raise the money and spend it where it is most needed. Over the years, our donations have diversified from purely capital projects such as medical treatment and recovery centres, sports and activity areas, sensory rooms and gardens, playgrounds and hydrotherapy pools to include outreach programmes for kids in their communities.

Up-coming Ulster event: The Wooden Spoon Ulster will host their Annual Formal Dinner at the Culloden Hotel on Thursday 22 October. This year's Dinner will have as its theme Ireland's Grand Slam triumph.

Project List Ulster

Honorary Presidents: Willie John McBride MBE, Dr Jack W Kyle OBE

1997 Oakwood Special School: £ 2,900
1998 Mitchell House Special School: £ 17,000
2000 Greenwood Special School: £ 27,000
2001 Refurbishing a training boat for disabled children £ 20,000
2003 Glebe House, Strangford: £ 33,300
2004 Ravenhill Rugby Grounds: Contribution towards wheelchair terrace £ 5,000
2004 Tor Bank Special School: £ 100,000
2005 Oaklands Respite & Assessment Unit, Armagh:£ 20,100
2006 Riding for Disabled, Armagh: £ 29,000
2006 Scrabo Children's Assessment Centre: £ 22,100
2006 Knockevin Special School, Downpatrick: £ 22,200
2007 Knockavoe Special School, Strabane: £ 41,200
2008 Cedar Foundation:£ 120,000
2009 Orana Children & Family Centre, Newry: £ 60,000
TOTAL: £ 519,800

REMEMBER EVERY £1 RAISED IN ULSTER STAYS IN ULSTER

How to get involved

Website: http://www.woodenspoon.com/

Contact: Peter Wood, Chairman, Ulster Committee, email: peterwood444@btinternet.com

Phone: 02890 486 326 (h) / 077 997 11914 (m)

Who are Samaritans?

Samaritans is a confidential emotional support service for anyone in the UK and Ireland. The service is available 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide. If you live outside of the UK and ROI, visit http://www.befrienders.org/ to find your nearest helpline. Volunteers offer support by responding to phone calls, emails and letters. Alternatively people can drop in to a branch to have a face to face meeting.

Across the UK you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 for the price of a local call. In the Republic of Ireland call 1850 60 90 90. You can also email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org, write to Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA or if you are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457 90 91 92. The service is offered by 17,000 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support. There are 202 branches of Samaritans in the UK and Republic of Ireland

We don't know when you might need us. That's why we're open 24 hours a day .

Samaritans provides confidential non-judgemental emotional support, 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which could lead to suicide. Whatever you're going through, whether it's big or small, don't bottle it up. We are here for you if you're worried about something, feel upset or confused, or just want to talk to someone.

We offer our service by telephone, email, letter and face to face in most of our branches. Samaritans is available to anyone in the UK and Ireland. If you live outside of the UK and Ireland, visit http://www.befrienders.org/ to find your nearest helpline.

Our Services

"I didn't know where else to turn tonight, and was afraid that I would either harm myself again, or worse. Talking to someone there has calmed me down and I don't feel so alone now." Samaritans caller.

Samaritans aims to benefit society by improving people's emotional health in order to create a greater sense of well being. Apart from being a 24-hour source of support on the telephone, by email, by letter or face to face, we also work in the local community, visiting:

Workplaces: Samaritans provide a wide number of courses to businesses, helping staff deal with customer conflicts and internal issues. Courses include our award-winning WorkLife programme tackling stress in the workplace, and teaching effective communication via email.

Schools: Schools are an ideal setting to reach large numbers of young people from a range of backgrounds. Samaritans DEAL programme is a flexible series of resources for teachers to use in a number of different subjects.

Prisons: Samaritans offers a number of ways for prisoners to get the support they need, from volunteers visiting prisons to the Listener scheme, which trains prisoners to offer confidential emotional support to their fellow inmates.

Vision Mission and Values

The Vision: Samaritans Vision is that fewer people die by suicide.

The Mission: We work to achieve this Vision by making it our Mission to alleviate emotional distress and reduce the incidence of suicide feelings and suicidal behaviour.

We do this by:

• Being available 24 hours a day to provide emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of emotional distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide
• Reaching out to high risk groups and communities to reduce the risk of suicide
• Working in partnership with other organisations, agencies and experts
• Influencing public policy and raising awareness of the challenges of reducing suicide

The Values: We are committed to the following values:

• Listening, because exploring feelings alleviates distress and helps people to reach a better understanding of their situation and the options open to them
• Confidentiality, because if people feel safe, they are more likely to be open about their feelings
• People making their own decisions wherever possible, because we believe that people have the right to find their own solution and telling people what to do takes responsibility away from them
• Being non-judgemental, because we want people to be able to talk to us without fear of prejudice or rejection
• Human contact, because giving people time, undivided attention and empathy meets a fundamental emotional need and reduces distress and despair

Website: http://www.samaritans.org/

Crossroads Caring for Carers (NI) Ltd

The sole purpose of this organisation is to provide care to carers of whatever age and disability. Crossroads promotes, offers, supports and delivers high quality services for carers and people with care needs. Crossroads is committed to treating carers and people with care needs with respect and sensitivity recognising the dignity and value for whom a service is provided.

We have been providing a service to carers in Northern Ireland since 1979, Crossroads provide in excess of 200,000 hours of respite care to more than 1200 families per year. Crossroads was the first organisation to recognise and provide help and support to both adult and young carers. We are responsive to the needs of carers and have provided care in the community for over 30 years. Crossroads is proud of the many partnerships we have developed for different aspects of our work.

For almost 15 years we have worked with young carers. We have been at the forefront of championing young carer issues and believe through this we have demonstrated that we have knowledge of the components necessary for appropriate support for young carers.

Crossroads Young Carers

In Northern Ireland there are more than 8,500 children and young people who provide care for a relative. Crossroads Young Carers Project offers services to these children and young people that include: Social outings, befriending, practical help and respite care.

Crossroads Young Carers Project believe that children and young people acting in a caring capacity within their families should enjoy the same life chances as all other children and we are here to support them and those who are ill or disabled by providing carer from funds raised through fundraising events and grant making bodies and trust.

We would like to thank Ulster rugby for selecting us to be one of their sponsored charities for the 09/10 season.

Crossroads Contact Details:

Address:

7 Regent Street
Newtownards
BT23 4AB

Tel: 028 9181 4363
Fax: 028 9181 2112

Email: mail@crossroadscare.co.uk
Web: http://www.crossroadscare.co.uk/young_carers/

Signed Memorabelia

In addition to the extensive community work that the Ulster Rugby team are involved in, Ulster Rugby receive many requests for help throughout the season and unfortunately it is simply impossible to support each one in a worthwhile and meaningful way. With this in mind unfortunately the club must limit its support for any other requests. Due to Ulster Rugby's merchandising policy, Ulster Rugby cannot provide any signed merchandise.