Stepping it out, selling bric-a-brac and sipping coffee – all for Good2Talk

Annmarie McEvoy has been busy fundraising again, this time for Good2Talk, the non-profit charitable secondary care clinic providing mental health support for the community of Mullingar.

Annmarie raised €1,042 over a six-week period. “Everyone’s been so generous regarding the cause, we need a lot more emphasis on suicide awareness,” she said at a coffee morning and raffle in the Annebrook House Hotel on Thursday week last.

Annmarie began the fundraising on February 1, by walking 200,000 steps.

“Because it was February, it was wet and wintry, and I had another idea to up the fundraising – and that was market stalls selling pre-loved items, which we held in Collinstown and Clara, each market giving us a stall for free to support the cause,” the Mullingar woman told the Westmeath Examiner.

Annmarie said that in the previous week alone, she attended three removals, all of them suicides.

“Young and old, it affects all ages. The message Good2Talk want to promote is that if you meet someone on the street, spare a minute and have a chat, meet for a coffee, chat about the weather – because that can save a life,” she said.

“Everyone is so busy, it can be hard to meet up and have a chat with someone, but you never know what someone might be going through."

Starting by giving his sincere thanks to the Annebrook Hotel, Tomás Nally, chairperson of Good2Talk, said the organisation is coming up to its 10-year anniversary, and each year it gets more and more difficult to secure funding.

“We’re in the middle of a review at the moment so hopefully we can keep going, but it gets harder and harder every year and it’s people like Annmarie that gets us over the line,” he said.

“I also want to Bill Collentine Heating and Plumbing for sponsoring the event, the Annebrook Hotel for hosting so many of our events, and the Westmeath Examiner for their coverage of our cause. Most importantly though, I’d like to thank Annmarie because she has put in a huge six weeks of work, running markets, doing her steps, making hampers, she’s a fantastic person and we’re delighted to have her support for Good2Talk.

“And, to everybody that’s here today, thank you all so much for buying tickets. It all goes directly to suicide prevention and counselling, none of the board members claim any expenses or anything like that – it all goes to Good2Talk, so it goes directly back into the community.”

Annmarie paid tribute to Teresa Nixon and Tom Birmingham for their support throughout the fundraiser, the businesses of Mullingar who gave so generously for raffle prizes, and Breda Hussy, who helped her with the events.

Annmarie is already planning another fundraising drive for September, this time for Parkinson’s Disease.