Well now, can you believe it’s September already? At the start of this year the airwaves and social media were filled with ideas and initiatives about 2020 vision. Everyone was looking ahead, planning, dreaming and using the 2020 reference to say we could see the way ahead clearly! However it appears none of us saw our friend Covid-19 waiting to reveal itself to us all. Indeed once it did it’s safe to say that everything changed utterly. Our plans, hopes, dreams, desires, assumptions, certainties and resilience reserves have been tested and challenged to the extreme. So today as I write this I’m thinking about vision.
Now given the damp summer (understatement) we have just come through I find myself thinking about that song “I can see clearly now the rain has gone”. Covid-19 in many ways landed like a mist and it took us a while to get to grips with it, to assess the impact of it and to figure out ways to work around it. The team at SOS has been magnificent in it’s response. You see they had to think of ways to work remotely, to design ways to continue to fundraise so that our programmes could continue, to adapt to ways to deliver our ground breaking and life changing workshops, to imagine new ways to use web based technology so that people could have access to resources that will help them navigate life even when they are challenged by dips in their emotional wellbeing. Like all of you, our world changed utterly but our vision has not.
Suicide or Survive are still passionate about the vision set for us by our founder and outgoing CEO Caroline McGuigan to be an organisation that works towards breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, so that more people will engage in help seeking behaviour, so that less people die by suicide. Vision has always been the ingredient that has carried us through troubled waters and so as Caroline takes her leave from us we are proud and honoured to carry on that vision.
In this edition of our Newsletter you will meet folk who have caught the vision realising that no one person can do this alone but that together we are unstoppable. So meet fundraisers, team members, supporters, cheer leaders each and every one a hero , each and every one a visionary. So all together in your best singing voice, “ I can see clearly now…….”
Kind regards
Robert.
The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown up many and varied challenges for all of us. Many familiar things are on hold, normal supports are not accessible and networks that we usually rely on, are for now just out of reach. We know this is a challenging time for many people and we are committed to doing all we can to offer support. With the funding of the HSE and the National Office for Suicide Prevention, we are continuing to offer a series of live interactive personal growth and development workshops.
Learn more about our workshops here
Book on to our webinars here
* Remember to click yes to GDPR to recieve updates and reminders of each webinar
Pictured left to right: Joe Evans, Róisín Doyle, Dave Morgan
Mental Health awareness programmes and personal development tools are very important to us here in SKY, it’s part of what makes SKY such a great place to work. For a long time we have been providing access to the Wellness Recovery Action Plan programme through SOS and we just can’t get enough of it. Earlier this year we embarked on our own WRAP facilitator journey under the close supervision of SOS and Rona. Despite having to pause our WRAP facilitator plans due to the pandemic we feel we have struck gold by creating our ‘WRAP Orientation’ programmes, also with the support of Rona and SOS….
Meet the Team: Anthony Doran
I joined team SOS in May 2019 in a new role in the organisation as
Project & Events Coordinator.
I came into the organisation bringing experience from the events industry coming from various roles across the board. I started off in the music industry, playing in a band as a signed artist & touring extensively around the world – from that experience it lead to starting my own events company, running live gigs & artist management. This led to running my own bars and nightclubs as well as taking on management roles for bars & clubs across Ireland. Experience gained from these roles has definitely helped me in my position with SOS.
My role as the Project & Events Coordinator as well as head of fundraising brings many tasks, such as sourcing new business through fundraisers & donations and to build the SOS brand through relationship building with new partners as well as previous connections that have supported SOS in the past.
Connecting with our existing & new corporate partners is a big part of the role and we bring these together in different events & challenges throughout the year. Events like the Soccer Palooza and also the 20-4-20 campaign have brought many people from different areas together to talk about mental health and raise funds. The most recent event is the Wolf Run, which is a great and simple idea. Run, walk, cycle a 2,5, or 10k in aid of Sucide or Survive. You can read more about this at the end of the newsletter.
In my spare time, I like to spend time with my kids as much as I can. I’m a fanatic Liverpool FC fan and play 5-a-side with my friends weekly.
I still pick up the guitar now and again, someday I might come out of retirement (haha!)
20-4-20 Campaign
Check out this video from Mary, who is taking part in the 20-4-20 campaign.
To learn more and to support this fundraiser, please click here
Suicide or Survive are thrilled to say we have partnered with the 2020 Business Show and a portion of ticket sales will go towards SOS and our work on mental health awareness and suicide prevention. To book your tickets and learn more, click here
Suicide or Survive are thrilled to be once again partnering with the Copeland Center to offer WRAP seminar one workshops to the people of Ireland online. The Copeland Center is the only organisation that hold the license to offer seminar one WRAP programs online and the partnership with Suicide or Survive has enabled SOS to continue offering WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan ) online during this worldwide pandemic.
A big thank you to the Copeland Center and all their support.
To find out more about WRAP please click here.
To visit the Copeland Center click here.
We hope that it will not be long before we are able to offer in person WRAP workshops utilising our panel of highly skilled and experienced WRAP facilitators.
Join us for this virtual run, walk, treadmill, cycle or any form of exercise where you can record your kilometres – 2K / 5K / 10K
You can complete your challenge in any location that suits you, between now and Thursday, 10 September 2020 (World Suicide Prevention Day).
The flexibility will ensure you can complete your challenge conveniently, happily and safely in adherence to Government Covid Guidelines.
So far we’ve had over 300 participants and we would love to hit the 500 mark before September 10th. Sign up today to support Suicide or Survive and Mental Health Awareness.
To learn more please visit here
So until next time, stay safe, stay well, keep working your own wellness plan and perhaps we might talk soon, on one of our personal growth and development webinars
Robert
