On September 20th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, we held our Annual General Meeting, opened by Charles Bamford, Chair of MindWise.  This year was a little bit different, in which we dedicated half the event to celebrating our staff and volunteers who Make a Difference.  Well done to all our wonderful volunteers and staff who were nominated for awards. And huge thanks to the Ballyclare Music Group, who provided a gorgeous trad accompaniment to our lunch and really set a wonderful tone for the day (you can watch a short video on the MindWise Facebook page)  We said goodbye to Edward... We said goodbye to our Chief Executive Edward Gorringe after 5 years at MindWise.  Edward is moving on to a new role as Diocesan Secretary for Durham, and we said goodbye to him in style at our AGM.  Deputy CEO Anne Doherty gave a presentation highlighting some of Edward's achievements and contributions to MindWise over the last half a decade, including securing our new home in the beautiful surroundings of Newforge Lane, and of course, our lucrative partnership with Lloyds Banking Group, which has funded services such as our Mum's Wellness Project and our Carer Support. Trustee and volunteer Stephen Carson delivered a funny and touching speech, presenting him with a leaving gift to show our appreciation.  Edward also said his thanks and goodbyes to MindWise, honouring the work of our staff and volunteers in making a real difference to people living with mental ill health across Northern Ireland and supporting people to discover a recovery that's right for them. He also thanks the Chair, Charles Bamford, the board of Trustees, Anne Doherty and the team of Directors.   Thank you Edward, we'll miss you and wish you all the best.  We looked to the past year and the year ahead Our Trustees and Chair were re-elected, with no changes. We also launched our annual report, which details some of the year's highlights, including our continuing partnership with Mental Health UK, the opening of Ben Crom and our Healthy Body, Healthy Minds campaign alongside the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke.  You can download a copy of our annual report here.   Our guest speaker was Nicole Devlin.  Nicole is a blogger, psychology student at Queens, a person with lived experience of personality disorder and is part of Harm-Ed, which provides bespoke training to organisations on self harm. Nicole has been working with us over the last few months to research and develop a peer led personality disorder training programme, with people with lived experience of borderline personality disorder its heart. Nicole outlined the plans for the training programme, which will be piloted before the new year and is hoped to have a genuine impact across multiple settings. She shared how she felt about the surreal moment she went for a meeting at St Luke's hospital where she'd been in inpatient in 2004, and how it signified just how far she's come.  We'll keep you up to date with this innovative new programme.  We've loved having Nicole in the office, thanks for all her hard work, and for sharing her experiences with us.  We premiered our, "Making a Difference" videos To celebrate what our volunteers and staff contribute to MindWise and our clients' lives, we worked with Redcap Productions to make two videos highlighting your stories.  A massive thanks to everyone who took part - we know it can be really nervewracking being filmed but you all did a fantastic job! Watch the videos below: Our staff Making a Difference  Our volunteers Making a Difference  We celebrated our staff and volunteers who Make a Difference Volunteer Awards Then it was onto the main part of the day in which we celebrated our staff and volunteers Making a Difference in 2018. Our volunteers were presented with a certificate, and the award winners with a prize, too. Well done to all our volunteers! Here's the full list of winners and runners up: Award for Ten Years Volunteering - Georgina Glassey and  David Simmons Community Ambassador Award   - Runner-up : Noel McKee of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Community Ambassador Award - Winner: Maria Scullion Miriam Walsh Charity Shop Volunteer Award - Runner-up: Anne Dillon Miriam Walsh Charity Shop Volunteer Award - Winner: Lyn Vokes Community Partner Award   - Runner-up: Hagan Homes Community Partner Award   - Winner: Noel McKee and The NI Fire and Rescue Service Patsy England Volunteer of the Year Award - Runner-up: Cheryll Taylor Patsy England Volunteer of the Year Award- Winner: Celine Bradley   Staff Award nominees and winners This year, our staff awards were decided by you, our colleagues, in a staff vote. There were lots of nominees who were all celebrated with a personalised certificate from Edward: Their nominees were: Ashleigh Beggs Rebecca Cooper Lisa Devine-Caldwell Anne Doherty Caitlin Leatham Raymond McGurk William McKee Marie Mullholland Phillip Salinger Fiona Scullion Elaine Sherridan Matt Thompson Siobhan Weinger Sally Wishart   The team nominations were: NIAAS team  Corporate Services Team  Downpatrick Team Huge congratulations to our winners, who were presented with a certificate and the Tom Beare Award.  Phillip Salinger, who manages our housing services in Kilkeel.  You said,  "Phillip was instrumental in the development of the new Ben Crom Housing service in Kilkeel. Without Phillip's flexibility and willingness to to see challenges as opportunities, MindWise would have been unable to have transitioned with such ease to this new service" Lisa Devine-Caldwall, Team Leader of our community support services "Lisa displays such passion for her job and staff team. She has been instrumental in developing the community based services within MindWise" "Without Lisa at the helm of the community services, MindWise would not be able to provide this excellent service". And to our team winners of the Making A Difference award, NIAAS, the Northern Ireland Appropriate Adult Service.  "I am nominating the team for "making a difference to people in crisis".  The people may be facing a scary experience in a police station, some as young at 10 years of age. They are supported in a non judgemental way, whether they have broken the law or not.  The team have made a difference for approx 3,800 people supporting them 24/7, every day of the year; all contribute to making a difference for the service users and the professionals seeking their services. The NIAAS staff make a difference by responding 24/7 to reduce time in custody which makes a real difference to children held in a cell. We see staff getting out of bed at 1am or working late in to the night to provide support. We also see staff travelling to police stations across country, as well as attending to calls on public holidays, not knowing how long they will be away for. Staff make a difference by remaining with people no matter how long it takes, which is a relief for people in custody under stress, staff go to assist people not knowing how long it will be before they can return home".

If you'd like to come to our next AGM, and get involved with MindWise's work, become a member today. 

When: 9.30am -1pm, Wednesday 30th January 2019

Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 117 Miltown Road, Shaws Bridge, Belfast

In challenging working environments, resilience is increasingly an essential competence. People who are resilient are better able to cope with unexpected change, with setbacks and disappointments, with high stress environments and with periods of excessive workload.   Learning the skill of being resilient in the moment and building overall levels of resilience capacity assists individuals to cope with day to day challenges and unexpected setbacks which might otherwise have stressed or diminished them.

In this masterclass, we will:

• Explore the core principles of a resilient person
• Explore resilient reactions – resilience a trait or a state?
• Look at a Systems View of Resilience
• Learn how to utilise the ROSE Model – A Resilient Coaching Tool
• Learn some resilience tools and techniques

About the Facillitator

Paula King - Director, Kingstown College

Paula is a psychologist and leadership coach. She is registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) on the Register of Competence in Psychological Testing. She is a member of the Society for Coaching Psychology. Paula holds an MSc in Coaching and Organisational Development and is Past President of the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC) Ireland. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Paula’s clientele consists of leaders with influence, CEOs, politicians and members of the media. She brings genuine warmth to her coaching interventions,whilst consistently assisting her clients to achieve goals which may have seemed unachievable through an empathic and challenging approach.

Cost and how to book

To book your place call MindWise on 02890402323 or email workwise@mindwisenv.org Fees: £60 per person OR £40 for MindWise/Kingstown Mental Health & Wellbeing Coaching students/graduates

MindWise is a leading mental health charity which supports those affected by severe mental illness and other mental health difficulties and promotes earlier intervention. To help make this a success we are looking for individuals to spare a few hours a week to volunteer. We currently have volunteer opportunities in the following roles:

• Experienced Fundraising and Event Volunteers – to help with a range of fundraising events (e.g. bag packs, street collections, marathons etc)
• Volunteer Facilitators – Carer and Family Support Service – based in Antrim, Ballymena or Coleraine
• Research and Information Volunteer – Carer and Family Support Service
• Walking Group Leader – Thursday morning, Belfast Resource Centre
• Chess Volunteer – Belfast Resource Centre
• Music / Mindfulness Volunteer – Belfast Resource Centre
• Woodwork Volunteer – Magherafelt
• Volunteer to teach Guitar - Magherafelt
• Gardening Volunteer - Carrickfergus
• Activities/Walking Group Volunteers –Newry, Antrim, Banbridge, Lurgan
• Arts and Crafts Volunteers – Newry, Lurgan

If you are interested in applying for any of these roles please contact the volunteer co-ordinator on 028 9031 5060 or email niamh.scullion@mindwisenv.org for an application pack and role description.

What's it like volunteering for MindWise?

Hear from our volunteers themselves on what being a MindWise volunteer is like.

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