In Northern Ireland there are UNICEF Groups in Coleraine, Mid Ulster and North Down.
Coleraine UNICEF Group - an introduction by Margaret Binnie
The Coleraine and District branch of UNICEF has been in existence for 37 years since Joan Wintour, who had moved into the area, began selling UNICEF cards to her friends, one of whom was Edith Ludlow.
In 1971 they decided to start a UNICEF branch and called a public meeting in the Cloonavin Hotel, Coleraine. Six people turned up, and so the branch began.
Over the years the branch has hosted an international painting exhibition by children of the world, a fashion show which was opened by Lady Grey of Naunton, wife of the then Governor of Northern Ireland, numerous musical evenings, street collections and table quizzes. Local schools have also been involved in fundraising for UNICEF.
As the Causeway Coast is a popular holiday destination, the branch members took stalls selling bric-a-brac and cakes at local events such as the Lammas Fair in Ballycastle and the Raft Race in Portrush.
In 1992 UNICEF benefited from the proceeds of the first night of a production of The Messiah. Another fundraising venture was a golf tournament in 1998 at Radisson’s Golf Resort, Limavady. In April 1999 the Chairperson Mrs Margaret Binnie travelled to London to receive the UNICEF Long Service and Commitment Award on behalf of the branch.
In February 2007, the branch hosted their most prestigious event - a fundraising dinner for UNICEF in the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine, with UNICEF UK Ambassador James Nesbitt as the guest speaker. James is no stranger to the area as he was educated in Coleraine and began his acting career in the town’s Riverside Theatre. UTV personality Paul Clark, who is also a UNICEF UK Ambassador, took part and the compère was local BBC sports commentator Jackie Fullerton. The dinner and charity auction raised over £39,000 for the work of UNICEF.
The Coleraine branch still continues to raise money through street collections, quizzes and musical evenings, which have been organised for many years by Gwen Appleby. A new venture in 2008 has been joint collections with the North Down and Mid Ulster branches at IKEA Belfast. New members are always welcome.
Mid Ulster UNICEF Group - an introduction by Eileen McGuiggan
The Mid Ulster Group was formed when the first Northern Ireland Regional Officer Carol Conlin was appointed twenty years ago. Five of this initial core group are still involved! The group organises a variety of events each year but the main ones are flag days and marathons because they achieve maximum publicity and bring in the funds. We also leave collection boxes with various families, businesses and churches, and this brings in a good amount every year.
We try to promote UNICEF as much as possible: we give talks to schools and also other groups, e.g. the Women’s Institute, and are particularly focused on UNICEF’s campaign to eradicate HIV. The group is very committed to UNICEF’s aims and particularly the Education aspect of their mission and how UNICEF supports the Rights of the Child.
This year Group member Helen Suiter took part in the UNICEF trek to Nepal and raised an amazing £13,100, which will go towards improving the lives of children in Nepal, especially helping girls to attend school.
North Down UNICEF Group
On 5 May 2010 we held a very successful charity lunch in aid of Haiti. 91 guests attended and we raised £1,437. As we are such a small group of volunteers we will not be organising any more events until the Annual Coffee Party in November.
If you would like more information about any of the groups in Northern Ireland or would like to set up your own, please email groups@unicef.org.uk or phone 020 7375 6110 for further information. New members are always welcome.
