Good Morning Down Celebrates Winter Warmer Success
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Good Morning Down (GMD) recently celebrated the success of their first “Winter Warmer” event held in Ballynahinch.
The theme of the day was how to keep warm in the cold weather. The event was attended by 150 people including GMD call recipients and representatives from County Down Rural Community Network’s older people’s group and New Horizons AMH.
Funded by the Big Lottery’s Awards for All programme, the day included an information session in the morning, a lunch, and entertainment in the afternoon including several games of Boccia which not only encouraged some physical movement, but also a bit of healthy competition!
Multiple agencies were in attendance to provide information on keeping warm and essential services for the elderly and vulnerable such as crime prevention, home accident prevention, and community safety.
Speaking at the event, Linda Baker, GMD Co-Ordinator, commented, “We’re delighted with the support we have received from all the agencies and from everyone who has come along to participate. The event could not have taken place without the support from the Big Lottery NI and the Housing Executive. Our morning telephone calls have proved a valuable lifeline to many over the years and their popularity continues to grow. We hope to continue to organise events like these to bring people together in a social setting and provide information useful to our clients.”
Conor Flanagan, Operational Services Manager for Supporting Communities, congratulated the organisation saying, “Good Morning Down continues to serve their clients by offering new and informative ways to facilitate engagement as well as providing those important calls to the most vulnerable in our society. Supporting Communities provide ongoing support to Good Morning Down and this is something we would like to continue in order to protect this vital service.”
Bronagh Magorrian, Team Leader in the Downpatrick offices of the Housing Executive, was happy to support the event commenting, “Helping to ensure the comfort and safety of some of the most vulnerable members of our society is at the heart of the Housing Executive’s work. This service is proving vital for many of our tenants in the District and we were pleased to support the project.”
The day ended with the distribution of Winter Warm Packs, thanks to funding from the Big Lottery and the Housing Executive. These packs consisted of a fleece blanket, a thermal hat, scarf, gloves, socks, and a torch - a fitting way to end a very successful day.
