Innovative video diaries tell the stories of volunteering in Callan

Volunteering is alive and vibrant at the heart of our communities, and an innovative project from the Kilkenny Volunteer Centre and KCETB is shining a light on a wide variety of groups and projects support by volunteers.

A series of video diaries showcasing the impact of volunteerism in Callan has been launched by Minister Malcolm Noonan and Councillor Maria Dollard during National Volunteering Week in KCAT Arts and Study Centre. Scroll down to read more and click NEXT to see more photographs from the launch  night!

The launch marked the culmination of a 12-week digital storytelling project where representatives from a variety of Callan based community organisations were given the opportunity to upskill in the area storytelling, filming and video editing - and tell the stories from the heart of their organisations.

The theme of this year's National Volunteer Week was 'Connecting Communities.' It was a celebration of the power of volunteering to enrich our communities, bridge social divides, and create opportunities for meaningful connection. 

Kilkeny Volunteer Centre was delighted to launch this project which really encompasses that sense of belonging which they hope everyone will see evident in the diaries - The video documentary is available to view on Kilkenny Volunteer Centre’s website  www.volunteerkilkenny.ie or on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTyxx45V-k

To promote volunteering, Kilkenny Volunteer Centre wanted to develop projects in rural Kilkenny this year and decided to bring this project to Callan . 

The volunteer diaries from Callan are reflective of all the work that is happing in lots of small towns across not just the County of Kilkenny but the country and Kilkenny Volunteer Centre wants to acknowledge all the amazing volunteerism that is happening in our local sports clubs, community centres, and grass roots groups. 

The idea of the "Diary of a Volunteer" was to invite participants from various organisations to upskill in digital story telling in order to showcase the impact of volunteering in their organisations in Callan and to show the work that often times goes unseen .  

Speaking at the launch, Paula Harte, Volunteering Development Officer with Kilkenny Volunteer Centre,  said: “I want to personally thank all the participants: Anne McKeon, Sandrine Dunlop, Shahala  Thanasee , Katherina Kegel who represented L’arche Kilkenny and captured the real community ethos in Larche.  I want to thank Sian Moloughney who so expertly captured Callan Town Team and the fantastic work the group are doing in the town. 

"Thank you to the dynamic Nicola Teehan who showed the work of Callan Tidy Towns so wonderfully. To Kristina Doyle who really captured her heart and soul and the work of Droichead Family Resource Centre. To Br Christy Carroll the sage amongst the group who is the epitome of “blooming where you are planted” and represented Callan Active Retirement and Heritage Society.

"To Celina Benz and Caroline Loughman who represented KCAT arts centre and gave a wonderful sense of value of volunteers to KCAT. Thank you to also Linda Adriano and the team of dedicated Volunteers from Callan Cardiac First Responders.

"Their sense of commitment, motivation and generosity of spirit to the project is also indicative of the wonderful volunteering spirit they have here in Callan.”

The Diary of a Volunteer project was developed by Kilkenny Volunteer Centre in collaboration with KCETB Community Education and was facilitated by local filmmaker Gillian Grattan.    

“Kilkenny Carlow ETB were delighted to support this wonderful initiative.   One of the key roles of the community education service is to offer people the opportunity to explore new interests and learn new skills in an informal and inclusive environment," said  Siobhan O'Brien, Community Education Facilitator.

"This project enabled local community volunteers, many who had no previous experience in film and video editing, to work with a talented filmmaker Gillian Grattan, develop their talents and produce a series of video diaries, showcasing the inspirational work of their voluntary organisations and volunteers.  We hope the skills they learned will continue to benefit to their organisations long into the future.”

Gillian Grattan, Project Tutor, said: “This project has been an amazing achievement for this lovely group and genuinely turned out to be one of the most positive projects I have worked on, mainly because those involved are passionate about their volunteering work. Their passion and warmth comes across in each video that was produced over the course. The participants embraced every aspect of the process, from research to story structure to the final edit. I would encourage anyone with an interest in volunteering to watch these videos as they give a great insight into what is involved and why people get involved in volunteering.”

Minister Malcolm Noonan could not be present on the night but in his video address to gathered guests he noted: “I was struck by how innovative the project was by bringing together arts and culture funding to help upskill local and volunteer groups to plan, produce videos to help them tell their story in a very compelling way especially for our digital age and to use those stories in turn to attract people into volunteering.

“I want to warmly congratulate everyone involved , its shows the dedication and value of our network of volunteers but also the broad range of opportunities that is out there .Where ever you are what ever your skills or interest if you have time to give there will be an organisation out there that you can get involved in.” 

In his absence Cllr Maria Dollard was in attendance on the evening and said she was privileged to help launch the Diary of a Volunteer in KCAT Arts Centre. "Callan is where my volunteering journey started many years ago with L’Arche. Callan is a great place with great people," she said.

“I liked the project a lot, because we all started at the same point but we all got such different results, which are very good, it was a lot of fun to meet up and meet people in other organisations.” Katherina Kegel, one of  project participants said. 

A lovely evening was had in KCAT Arts Centre, who hosted the project for the past 12 weeks, on Friday the 19th of May.  Gathered guests from the Callan community were treated to a screening of the diaries followed by lovely refreshments catered by Etaoin Holahan and the team at Fennelly’s in Callan.