In aid of Suicide Prevention & Awareness
Supporting the Charity The 3T’s – Turn the Tide on Suicide & 1life- www.1life.ie
The 3rd Annual Paul Stafford Foundation handing over a cheque for €70,000 to 1LIFE, Irelands first dedicated 24hr Suicide Helpline
Pictured at the presentation of €70,000 by The Paul Stafford Foundation to 1Life was Graham Stafford (The Paul Stafford Foundation), Noel Smyth (3T’s), Paul Kelly (1life), Craig Doyle and Laura Woods. The Paul Stafford Foundation was established in 2007 to raise awareness and address the serious issue of suicide in Ireland. It was founded by a group of people who were directly affected themselves by suicide and had lost someone they loved to this ever increasing problem. A young man called Paul Stafford is the inspiration for the foundation because in 1997 he took his own life, aged 26 and like so many suicide victims, left behind his distraught family and friends. 10 years later, those affected by this special man, felt a need to come together and do something to address the major issue of suicide in Irish society.
The committee behind the Paul Stafford Foundation are committed to raising awareness and funds to make a real difference and fight this problem which has affected so many Irish families. To date three significant events have been held in order to raise money and tackle the issue of suicide. Over €200,000 has been raised, and has gone directly to help Suicide related charities, with proceeds from this year’s ball, going directly to 1LIFE – Irelands first dedicated 24hr suicide helpline.
ABOUT 1LIFE - In figures
| Number of Calls: | Approx. 18,000 calls in the first 6 months of the operation of the helpline |
| Average monthly: | Approx 3000 but that figure is increasing every month |
| Centres: | HQ: Dublin Branches open: Galway & Celbridge Branches due to open in coming months: Cork, Limerick & Wexford |
| Services: | Freephone helpline number 1-800-24-7-100 Text Support Text “HELP” to 51444 (standard text rates apply) By invitation: face to face counselling and cyber counselling |
| Volunteers: | The helpline is staffed by a team of professional counsellors supported by a team of highly trained and qualified volunteers. We urgently require volunteers for all our centres. For information on volunteering possibilities, see www.1life.ie |
SPAR decided in 2006 that its nationwide presence could be put to good use in relation to fund-raising. SPAR had indeed been involved in raising funds for many charities on both a local and national level, however it was felt that more could be done and in 2006 we launched the SPAR Charity of the Year.
Because of our strength in numbers SPAR through a network of voluntary collectors nationwide are able to distribute collection boxes nationwide and in addition to local and nationwide fundraising events have the capacity to raise considerable money for charity.
We supported ‘The Irish Hospice Foundation’ from 2007 – 2009 and raised over €300,000 in much needed funds. These funds went to helping support one of their most important projects – the Hospice Friendly Hospitals (HfH) Programme.
Our current charity of the year is ‘The 3ts - Turn the Tide of Suicide’ which is a registered charity founded to raise awareness of the problem of suicide in Ireland and to raise funds to help lower suicide rates through dedicated research, educational support and intervention. Log on to www.3ts.ie for further information.
Be sure to drop into your local SPAR store to make a donation or look out in-store for the signs highlighting that a donation of 1 cent will be made with each purchase of this product to ‘The 3ts - Turn the Tide of Suicide’.
1life is Ireland’s first 24 hour dedicated suicide prevention helpline and is a joint venture between The 3Ts and Console. Funds raised from the SPAR Charity of the Year initiative will contribute to this very special initiative. This initiative was launched on October 21st in the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin.
1 Life is a 24-hour suicide prevention helpline for anyone in suicidal distress. Professional counsellors and volunteers respond to calls seven days a week to support callers in need of help. The service is of particular relevance to people who are feeling very low, have had suicidal thoughts or are self-harming, or who want to discuss any problems in relation to suicide. It is also available to those bereaved by suicide. In addition to listening and providing support, 1life provides a professional suicide intervention service, and can facilitate referrals to a wide network of support services throughout Ireland. 1life Suicide Prevention Helpline provides counsellors who are non-judgemental, empathetic and supportive, who work together with callers to solve problems. All calls to 1life are confidential and treated with respect. 1life draws on best practice in the field of crisis helpline counselling. All 1life counsellors and volunteers have attained recognised qualifications and accreditations in the disciplines of psychotherapy, psychology or counselling.