On Saturday, June 11, 2011, at Belfast’s Ormeau Park, Cruse Bereavement Care-Belfast will hold its third annual Memory Walk, to raise funds to continue its work supporting bereaved children and adults in the local community.
Cruse Belfast was established in 1984 and has been at its current location, 10 College Green, since 1996, where it sees around 1200 people each year, providing counselling and emotional support to anyone having difficulty coping after experiencing a death.
Sponsorship of last year’s walk totalled over £4,000, which was used to train and develop new volunteers to provide services at Cruse Belfast. In the past year more than 6300 hours of time has been given by volunteers carrying out the work at Cruse’s Belfast office. It is hoped that this year’s walk will be an even greater success.
Over 100 people came out to take part in the sponsored walk in 2010, and as with last year’s walk, there will be a balloon release at the end of this year’s walk. As well as being able to dedicate their sponsorship donations in memory of someone who has died, walkers can also attach a personal message to their balloons, in memory of a loved one departed.
There is still time to register and take part in the walk. Contact Cruse Belfast on 02890 434 600 or email them at crusebelfast@btconnect.com to get more information and a sponsorship pack. Registration on the day will begin at 10:00 am at the Ozone Leisure Centre in Ormeau Park, with the walk beginning at 11:30 am. The short course is completely accessible and suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Registration costs £10 for adults and children are free; it will also be possible to register on the morning of the walk.
For fifty years Cruse has been helping to restore hope to bereaved people and demand for its services is continuing to increase. Last year in Northern Ireland, Cruse took over 9,000 enquiries from bereaved people and Cruse volunteers conducted over 7,500 one-to-one bereavement support sessions.