Organisation Stories

Hub 21 (formerly the Down Syndrome Centre North East)

Hub 21 (formerly the Down Syndrome Centre North East) is a charity supporting children and young people aged 0–18. We have worked closely with Monaghan Volunteer Centre for many years and have used a wide range of their services, particularly in recruiting volunteers for our weekly classes, flag days and spring and summer camps.

The impact of this support has been significant. Volunteers sourced through Monaghan Volunteer Centre have enabled us to support more children, run additional activities, and safely increase participation in our programmes. Extra volunteers have meant that more children could attend camps and classes, receive one-to-one or small-group support, and take part in inclusive activities that would not otherwise be possible. Volunteer support at fundraising events has also been essential in helping us raise vital funds to continue our services as a non-funded charity.

Many volunteers initially recruited for short-term roles have gone on to stay with us long-term and return year after year, particularly during our summer programmes, providing continuity and familiar faces for the children and families we support.

We also complete all Garda vetting through Monaghan Volunteer Centre. As we work with children and vulnerable young people, this service is of critical importance, and without it some activities could not go ahead. The training provided around vetting and volunteering has been extremely beneficial in strengthening our organisation.

Volunteer Centre staff have been consistently friendly, professional, and supportive, making the service easy to access and invaluable to the ongoing delivery of our work.

Denise Marron

Services Coordinator & Deputy Manager
Hub 21

Teach na nDaoine Family Resource Centre

Over the last number of years, we have regularly used the Volunteer Centre to advertise roles across a range of our programmes, including our youth clubs, breakfast club, homework club, and most importantly our annual summer camp programme. The process of posting volunteer opportunities has always been straightforward and accessible, not only with IVOL but with your team, who have consistently been helpful, supportive, and responsive whenever we required assistance.

Through this service, we have had the pleasure of welcoming several reliable and talented volunteers from the local community and from a variety of backgrounds. Many of these volunteers have become familiar faces within our centre, returning year after year to support our programmes whenever they can. This continuity has been invaluable, helping us to build strong relationships and maintain a welcoming, consistent environment for the children and families we work with.

The impact of this support has been significant. Having access to committed volunteers enables us to safely run and expand our programmes, particularly during our busy summer camp period. Their involvement allows us to provide more places, deliver a wider range of activities, and ensure that children and young people in our community have access to positive, inclusive experiences. Without the support of Monaghan Volunteer Centre, recruiting volunteers would be far more challenging and would limit our capacity to deliver these important services.
We greatly value our established partnership with Monaghan Volunteer Centre. Your service plays a vital role in strengthening community organisations like ours in supporting local initiatives and delivering Family Support.

Michael Bravender
Community Development, Teach na Daoine

Victim Support at Court

Pictured above are Emily Healy, Victim Support at Court, Sinéad Keenan, Monaghan Volunteer Centre and VSC volunteer Patrick Caldwell. Patrick won the 2024 Co. Monaghan Volunteer of the Year Award.

‘We have used Monaghan Volunteer Centre to recruit volunteers, and the process has always been very easy to access. The staff have consistently been helpful and friendly, making the experience very positive. Through the service, we have successfully recruited volunteers, including one who has been with us since we first started offering support in Monaghan in 2023. Having reliable volunteers is essential to our work. Thanks to their support, we have been able to assist just over 370 people in Monaghan Courthouse since we began. Quite simply, without our volunteers we couldn’t do what we do, and Monaghan Volunteer Centre has played a key role in making that possible.’

Emily Healy

Regional Manager

Victim Support at Court

Monaghan Tidy Towns

Monaghan Tidy Towns has benefited considerably from the services and support of Monaghan Volunteer Centre. First through connecting new volunteers to our group, secondly in connecting companies seeking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) opportunities and helping to organise many worthwhile activities and projects with them. The Volunteer Centre has been invaluable in supporting projects with migrant communities on a regular basis.

These extra volunteers have supported MTT in completing more ambitious projects, particularly in landscaping and gardening, resulting in amenities that the whole community can enjoy.
The service is easy to access and very helpful and the volunteers it has brought us have an excellent history of continuing involvement.

Emer Brennan
Monaghan Tidy Towns

Bawn Latton Community Employment

Bawn Latton Community Employment childcare scheme has participants placed in childcare services throughout Co Monaghan to complete work experience and training. Monaghan Volunteer Centre process the Garda vetting applications for all participants to come on to the scheme. This is a key part of our recruitment. The staff are always helpful and friendly and provide a great service and we hope this can continue on into the future.

John Mc Geough & Brenda Ingram
Bawn Latton Community Employment Childcare Scheme

Doohamlet Community Centre

Doohamlet Community Centre undertook Garda Vetting training with Monaghan Volunteer Centre, which has made a massive difference to our organisation. Anyone working with children or vulnerable adults must be Garda vetted. Having the ability to carry out vetting through the Volunteer Centre means we can ensure full compliance with our safeguarding policies in a timely and efficient manner.

As a result, we are now able to run a wider range of classes and activities for all age groups, confident that we are maintaining the highest standards of safety and governance. Without the support and training from Monaghan Volunteer Centre, this simply would not have been possible.

The support has been outstanding. Any questions we have are answered promptly, and they always ensure we have the correct guidance. We are extremely grateful that they are just a phone call away and consistently there to support us.

Gwen Murphy
Manager
Doohamlet Community Centre

Vision Ireland (Monaghan Shop)

Being a new charity shop manager I have found the help and support from Monaghan Volunteer Centre invaluable. Their system of referring volunteers to assist in Vision Ireland is a god send.

I have volunteers that came through through Monaghan Volunteer Centre some time ago and are still working here. The Volunteer Centre are a great service to the community.

Claire McCaul

Manager of the Vision Ireland shop in Monaghan Town.

Organisation Stories