“A great way to break the ice”

Caitlin Connors

In the words of newly appointed Events Coordinator of the Westmeath Volunteer Centre, Graham Dowling: “It's easy to forget that there are people out there that are feeling alone and left out.”

This is essentially the heart and soul of the new ethos Mr Dowling is beginning to implement at the Westmeath Volunteer Centre.

Although the new Events Coordinator has only taken over the mantle since mid-to-late August, he is already committed to a new approach of strengthening engagement within the wider Westmeath community.

Sharon Timothy, Co-Ordinator of The Westmeath Volunteer Centre, said: “This is a really exciting development for Westmeath Volunteer Centre. We have always connected volunteers with organisations, but Graham’s role allows us to become much more involved in the process.”

Before his latest position, Mr Dowling’s event management and community background began to take shape. Beginning as a musician, he segued into event planning having worked in the UAE for the Department of Foreign Affairs, and as an employment officer for the Westmeath Community Development.

However, he found,“working in community roles and community development to be more rewarding”.

As Events Coordinator, Mr Dowling's new role means supporting what is already happening in local communities and boosting the volunteer opportunities within them: “You know, not the old Irish way of all hands-on deck,” he joked, “That can be kind of confusing for the volunteer when they don't know what they are volunteering for. So, we try to make the role specific for the volunteer.”

With this, Mr Dowling, has slid head first into this new role, having already coordinated with the Belvedere House Apple Festival. Six volunteers were placed by the Westmeath Volunteer Centre with the objective of offering support before and after the event, in addition to the main event, helping with tasks such as stewarding and crowd control.

“It went really well,” he outlined, “Really good feedback from the organisations about the volunteers and the process. It is my job really, to make that [process] as easy as possible for organisations and events, that we get the volunteers on board; we manage them and help make sure they are suitable for the role and to help with the communication.”

As well as engaging more events and organisations, Mr Dowling hopes to achieve more integration within the community: “A big part of the role, the event role here, is community integration. We're reaching out as well to all kinds of new communities and new settlers in the community.

“So, if there is anyone new in Westmeath, whether it be Mullingar, Athlone, Moate or wherever you are settling in, if you want to get in and meet new people and join community groups, volunteering can be a great way to break the ice in the community and meet new people.”

Additionally, the centre is aiming to grow the impact of the work they do as a whole, and to emphasise to organisations that the volunteer centre is a free service for them to use if they wish to do so.

“If any organisations need anything last minute, we are always there to help. So, it is a great service. We just need to get the information out there into the community that we are here and we want to help,” Mr Dowling concluded.