HELPING HAND WATERFORD
Giving dignity in adversity
Our Organisation helps raise funds through various events and initiatives, and we’d love for you to get involved with Helping Hand Waterford. We depend on your support in order to improve lives and make our city a better place for those people, who have found themselves homeless and in need of supports. Join us today to learn all about volunteering and donating options.
WHAT WE DO
Helping Hand Waterford, located in the heart of Waterford City, is a charitable organisation dedicated to helping those in need. We are a non-denominational organisation that aims to help and support those who find themselves on the margins of society regardless of age, religion, gender or nationality. Our volunteers engage with everyone with a smile, a kind word and are always non-judgmental.
With the dedication of our volunteers and partners, we strive to improve the lives of everyone who needs help within our community. We provide a drop in centre serving hot meals, food, tea and coffee's 6 nights a week in St. Patrick's Gateway Centre.
In addition to providing hot meals, we also provide sleeping bags, tents, toiletries, clean clothing and advocacy support to all homeless, rough sleepers and those in need. In the months of November and December we run a shoe box and hamper campaign for families and individuals, the homeless and rough sleepers in order to try and make the festive season a little bit happier.
Contact us to see what you can do to bring about positive change.
NEWS
Over the coming months Helping Hand Waterford will bring you news of our Service and updates on our activities, developments and information.
4th Annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal 2020
2020 marks Helping Hand Waterford's 4th annual Christmas shoebox appeal for homeless and vulnerable men and women in Waterford. The filled shoeboxes will be distributed to those in need, who face a difficult festive season with either a roof or home to call their own, or who have no family to celebrate the Christmas Season with. The boxes show that we as a community care about each and every person going through difficult and hard times. Helping Hand Waterford over the years has distributed shoeboxes to our clients who visit us at St. Patrick's Gateway Centre, as well as handing the shoeboxes to those living in emergency and sheltered accommodation throughout Waterford City. We are asking the people of Waterford to remember and help others through these hard times, by donating a filled shoebox of various items, such as deodorant, showergel, shampoo, socks and underwear, razors, sanitary products, gloves and a few small treats. All the shoeboxes can be decorated in Christmas wrapping and marked for either a man or a woman, and dropped to us at St. Patrick's Gateway Centre, Monday to Saturday 6.30pm-8.30pm where our volunteers will be in attendance providing dinner, food, teas and coffee's, sandwiches and snacks as well as tents and sleeping bags to those in need. Helping Hand Waterford is there for anyone who needs help, regardless of age, circumstance, religion, nationality or gender, we offer hope, friendship and support to one and all. We have never asked for anything in return from those who come to us, only that we can lend a hand in their difficult times. So please, if you can, help us to help others this Christmas.
Due to the recent Public Health concerns re: Covid-19, Helping Hand Waterford has continued to meet the needs of the homeless and those people and families who are in emergency accommodation. Throughout this outbreak, Helping Hand Waterford has maintained a service, Monday to Friday at St, Patrick's Gateway Centre providing meals to those who have attended our service. We are glad to announce that we are returning to six days a a week and our new opening times, are 7pm to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. Helping Hand Waterford is committed to fulfilling our service and serving those people who, in these times, need extra support and care. We would like to thank all those people, communities and businesses that support us in the work we do, now more than ever. Helping Hand Waterford will continue to reach out to those who need a helping hand.
EXTENDED OPENING TIMES
Since the first week in January of 2020 we have moved from providing service 5 nights a week to now including a Saturday Service for our clients. Our opening hours are 7pm to 8pm and this was facilitated by new volunteers coming on board with us, so thank you one and all.
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BE PROUD WATERFORD
Over the last few weeks and months Helping Hand has been very busy, both in terms of numbers using our services, but also in the display of generosity and support from the people of Waterford City and County. We cannot do what we do, without the generous support from communities, schools, businesses and philanthropic groups of Waterford. The outpouring of kindness, compassion and generosity for families and individuals who have found themselves in dire and unfortunate circumstances has been both amazing and very humbling for us here at Helping Hand. Sometimes the phrase thank you, can be either be misused or does not impart the huge sense of gratitude required. However, we here at Helping Hand would like, on behalf of our clients, families and volunteers to say a massive and heartfelt thank you, to everyone who helped in their own way, the people of this City and County who felt alone and empty of hope. Thank you for making a difference to so many people.
SING WHEN YOU'RE WINNING
In 2019 for our Christmas dinner, we were lucky and fortunate to be serenaded by the amazing High Hopes Choir. The Choir brought a great sense of Festive
OUR CAUSES
Helping Hand Waterford works tirelessly to provide dignity, practical support and hope for all those on the margins of society. Our most significant contributions are those that are often forgotten by most. We strive to provide dignity, hope and understanding to those who need it most, and we would love for you to become part of that change today.
GIVING HOPE
Helping Others
PROVIDING BASIC ESSENTIALS
Providing Support
DELIVERING HOME COOKED HOT MEALS
A place to rest and be treated with dignity
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together"
Vincent van Gogh
READ ALL ABOUT US
Helping Hand Waterford is always interested in promoting the charitable work we do. If you would like to stay informed about everything happening at Helping Hand Waterford, including the latest news, upcoming events, and fundraising activities, check out the latest below. We do our best to update our section with the newest and latest so you’re in the know.
November 2020
Firstly I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our website for Helping Hand Waterford. This portal will serve to give our community here in Waterford an insight to developments and activities of Helping Hand Waterford. Throughout 2020, Helping Hand Waterford has continued to serve the homeless, the vulnerable, the marginalized and families struggling to provide a hot meal or food for themselves. We have had a difficult year as a charity based organisation, with the cancellation of festivals, fund raising opportunities and the growing public health crisis of Covid-19, however we have dug deep, and continued on. Since March, Helping Hand Waterford and its volunteers have continued to provide badly needed services to those who need the most help, our volunteers have kept the show on the road with dedication, hope, belief and with so much kindness to everyone who has attended our services from St. Patrick's Gateway Centre. In line with all public health guidance and Government regulations we have introduced safety protocols for our volunteers and clients alike, to ensure that we are there for everyone who needs us, in a safe and secure environment. It has meant we have to do things a little differently, as situations change, so do we, but one thing that doesn't change is our dedication and commitment to the weaker members and families of Waterford. We as an organisation are delighted to announce that we are returning to providing service and support 6 days a week from St. Patrick's Gateway and we continue to shine a light for those in the darkness of these Winter months. Our opening hours are 7pm to 8pm, Monday to Saturday.
We would ask if people of Waterford will consider us as a charity of choice as we head into the Festive period. Helping Hand Waterford has for the last 5 and a half years provided food, hot meals, teas, coffee's, sleeping bags and tents, clothing and food hampers to every person who has asked for or needed help. Every cent that is donated to Helping Hand Waterford goes directly to providing our services, and we cannot help others without the help, support and generosity of the people of Waterford.
ALLTOGETHER NOW FESTIVAL
August 5th 2019
Helping Hand Waterford would like to thank the organisers of the Alltogether Now Festival for allowing us to gather up discarded and donated sleeping bags and tents from the generous concert goers. The tents and sleepings bags will go along way in providing much needed comfort and shelter to our very vulnerable and needy clients. Helping Hand Waterford would like to also thank the Pilltown Foroige Club for their help and support both on the day and throughout the year as well as the brave voluntold supporters who came along, and provided the vans and enthusiasm to help us out. Thank you, one and all.
THANK YOU
September 3rd 2019
Helping Hand Waterford would gratefully like to thank Sun Life Financial for their kind donation recently from their Corporate Responsibility Committee. We would be unable to do the work we do without your generosity.
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To Eleanors Hair Salon, their customers and staff, thank you for your kindness and generosity, it means so much to us at Helping Hand Waterford that you chose to donate to us.
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Our service is run purely on donations, fundraising events, raffles and every cent goes completely and directly to providing help, support and care to everyone who attends our daily service.
CONTACT US
St. Patrick's Gateway Centre,
Patrick St,
Waterford,
Ireland.
(089) 2399882