Ann McVeigh began her volunteering journey back in 1994 and has been an unstoppable force ever since. When we spoke to Ann about what motivates her to get so involved and volunteer as much as she does, she told me ‘I feel really lucky and blessed in the life that I’ve had so my motivation is to try and give something back.’ Ann also said she likes to get involved with things that are important to her. ‘Things that resonate with me and touched my life I like to get involved with and give back.’

Ann started out as a volunteer on the parent’s council of her son’s school and is still part of the team now an amazing 27 years later. Ann said, ‘it makes me feel connected to the school’ and ‘it’s a great way to meet people who are in the exact same position as you’.

Ann is probably most well-known in her local community for her amazing role with Drogheda Hospice Homecare. Ann was inspired to get involved with Drogheda Hospice Homecare team 12 years ago due to the help and support they offered her through an incredibly tough time in her life when her husband Jim became unwell. Her husband needed 36 treatments in Dublin and with 5 young kids Ann was struggling to see how they would manage to do everything that needed to be done. It was at this moment Drogheda Hospice Homecare team stepped up and said they would take Jim to and from all his treatments. Ann knew she wanted to be the person on the other end of the phone to offer a family the same comfort and support through what is an incredibly difficult time for any family.

Ann registered with Louth Volunteer Centre in 2016. Ann loves her relationship with Louth Volunteer Centre as she feels ‘everyone in Louth Volunteer Centre is always there at the end of the phone or you can always walk in to have a chat.’ Ann found the support of Louth Volunteer Centre particularly helpful when she was trying to get all the drivers garda vetted for Drogheda Hospice Homecare she was able to get guidance and support from Louth Volunteer Centre on how to carry out the process. Ann also found the training she was able to avail of through Louth Volunteer Centre extremely helpful for her work with Drogheda Hospice Homecare. Ann said, ‘I would have been lost without them, you could always pick up the phone and say I don’t know what to do and you always felt that the volunteer centre had your back.’

‘The volunteer centre will also touch base with you to see what they can do to help.’ Ann finds this particularly helpful as someone who often finds herself as a leader in volunteering or the person to head up a lot of things. At times Ann has felt inexperienced at doing certain things and found it good to have Louth Volunteer Centre there to link in with for support and guidance. Ann has felt the support from Louth Volunteer Centre in her time linking with them has been brilliant and she has a good relationship with the staff from the centre.

 Ann would encourage everyone to get involved and volunteer. There is so much to be gained from it. ‘Learning new skills, tapping into abilities you didn’t even know you had. Getting to meet excellent people and make friends. Gain Confidence in yourself to try new things and being able to network for other projects you may be involved in.’

Ann has been involved in so many different volunteer roles at this point she can’t even begin to remember them all but to name a few there has been the parents council, Drogheda Hospice Homecare, the Fleadh, neighbourly Order of Malta food drop, Drogheda clean ups, the ‘off your arse’ group on the north strand, CRiTiCall and Music at the Gate. Ann’s favourite volunteer role has been Music at the Gate ‘Every month when that would take place, I would skip down the road at a quarter past eight in the morning to help set it up and steward it for the day.’

Ann’s favourite moment throughout her volunteering journey was just before the Fleadh. Ann put a call out on Facebook saying ‘Hey guys, lets clean up the town. We’ll meet at 6 o’clock on Narrow West Street and see what we can do.’ Ann was shocked when over 60 people turned up, sweeping brushes and cloths in hand. Everyone took a section of the town and over the course of 4 hours they gave every bit of the town a good clean. From cleaning windows to even giving one of the local Chinese restaurants a fresh coat of paint. ‘For me this is what I feel volunteering is all about, community based. I always feel really connected to the community when I volunteer.’

In Ann’s words ‘Volunteers do it better’.

If you are interested in getting involved and starting your volunteer journey, please get in contact with us at Louth Volunteer Centre www.volunteerlouth.ie