Manpower sought for town's Gateway Club

If so, Ballymena Gateway Club would love to hear from you because they are in tremendous need of extra ‘manpower’ at their bi-monthly meetings.

The Club, which has been in existence for some three decades, has long had the puzzling problem of attracting male volunteers and 2010 is no exception.

Currently, just two of their 12-strong team are male, and with around 60% of the Club’s 50 members, who are aged 18-65, being male also, Chairperson Patrina Dalrymple has issued a timely appeal.

“We’ve always had trouble getting men to join us for some reason,” she said.

“Maybe it’s a fear thing. Perhaps they think there may be toileting to cope with or something but Gateway is really just a youth club for vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and our volunteers get a lot out of it.

“The disabilities our members have are mild and they are so easily pleased. - They enjoy simply having a chat with a volunteer about every day life and, of course, for us a new volunteer is another pair of eyes.

“Obviously, volunteering isn’t for everybody but we would welcome people who would like to give it a try,” said Patrina.

“It would be ideal, for example, for a young person doing Duke of Edinburgh Award community service or for those who are considering a career in social work or nursing or perhaps those who have already experience in those areas.

“A lot of our volunteers, like myself, have had hands on, personal experience of working with vulnerable adults with learning disabilities but experience isn’t necessary,” she added.

“At a meeting in January we had four boys volunteer from Ballymena Academy, for instance, and we are hopeful that they will come back”.

Ballymena Gateway Club, which is granted aided by the North Eastern Education and Library Board, is based at Broughshane Community Centre and meets on Monday nights from 7.30-9.30pm on a fortnightly basis, though many of its meetings take the form of outings.

The Club runs from September to May and prior to the summer break-up an annual Open Night and a Summer Trip is held.

Members pay just 2 per night and that covers the cost of their supper, outings, Christmas dinner etc.

Patrina, whose uncle, Vincent Montgomery is, at 65, currently the oldest member of Ballymena Gateway Club, pointed out that volunteers, both male and female, are vital to its continued success.

“We have 12 very dedicated volunteers, many of them have been with us for years and we couldn’t operate without them.

“Ideally, if we could attract a lot more, we could set up a Junior Gateway for those aged 10-16 in Ballymena,” said Patrina.

If YOU would like to find out more about the Club or joining Patrina and her team as a volunteer, just give her a call on 07714331772.