Ahead of a church gate collection on Saturday and Sunday Mallow’s Anchor Treatment Centre is reminding people that donations given locally stay locally and make a real difference. In the wake of recent scandals about national charities, the Spa Glen-based centre is moving to reassure those who donate to the charity that all funds go towards offering support to the people of Mallow and north Cork. The centre, established in 1995, is a not-for-profit organisation, a registered charity, and operates under the ethos of equality respecting the dignity of the individual and their right to privacy.
The Centre’s focus has always primarily been in supporting up to 300 families and individuals each year who are affected by problematic drinking, drug use, gambling and other addictions but also offer a general counselling service to people. They operate an open door policy, with people urged to get in touch if they feel they need assistance.
Sr. Miriam says, “The Anchor Centre provides a warm welcome for people under pressure, offering individual counselling sessions, family counselling as well as structured rehabilitation programmes for recovery from addiction. We also offer holistic therapies as well as ongoing referral for those who need additional support”.
The need for fundraising at the current time is critical, as the centre endeavours to provide a service to anyone who is in need of it irrespective of their ability to pay. Sr. Miriam says, “Unfortunately, due to the current economic conditions, we are experiencing a huge increase in demand for our services while at the same time trying to cope with reductions in the funding for those services”.
The Centre is part funded by the Health Service Executive and the Southern Regional Drugs Task Force and part funded by client contributions and fund raising, such as church gate collection and flag day. Without this generous support from the people of Mallow, the centre would be unable to continue.
Sr Miriam says, “It’s a sign of the times that people are not generally in a position to be able to give freely and now they are more questioning about the charities they do support. We want our donors to be assured that every cent we raise through public or private sources goes directly toward providing services for the community. The Board of Management at Anchor comprises volunteers who give their time freely and are unpaid, there are none of the massive salaries or secret payments to directors or executives that we have seen in certain other organisations”.
The centre is urging people to support their church gate collection this weekend and wishes to thank those who have given generously to the service to date.