Hi there! My name is Hannah Crawford and I am a Children and Young Person’s Support Worker at Women’s Aid Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey (ABCLN). I have worked for Women’s Aid ABCLN for three years as a Children and Young Person’s Support Worker. One of my roles within my job is providing 121 support for children and young people affected by domestic abuse. Sometimes the victims of domestic abuse are often the smallest, it can affect both their confidence and self – esteem. I am also a classroom assistant at The Diamond Primary School. I love both my jobs as I find them so very rewarding.
My name is Chloe and I am a full time student studying Geography and I have been a young volunteer for Women’s Aid ABCLN for 9 years. This charity has given me many wonderful opportunities such as working with many incredible children, delivering programs in schools on bullying, self-esteem and healthy and unhealthy relationships and in June 2019 I had the honour of winning The Diana Award for my volunteering efforts. Women’s Aid ABCLN is something I'm incredibly passionate about and I have seen first-hand what this money we are raising will do to impact the lives of these women and children. Also through my degree I'm acutely aware of the impacts that litter can have on the environment, wildlife and people's mental health an incredibly important issue during these times.
During lockdown, we were going on more walks than usual as I am sure a lot of people were. The litter that we noticed on the country roads was so shocking so we thought that we should start litter picking them whilst turning it into a fundraising opportunity for Women’s Aid ABCLN.
Thus Ladies who Litter Pick was born!
The challenge?
Litter pick 40 hours and use this idea to raise funds for Women’s Aid ABCLN.
Where we up for the challenge? YES WE WERE!
Our story so far...
We have completed 42 hours of litter picking, collected 52 bags of litter and walked 20 miles. Keep reading to join us on our litter picking adventures, where we talk about the days that stood out for us the most!
Day 1: Thursday 9th July 2020
Oh, our little sore feet! We challenged ourselves to litter pick on the Old Portglenone Road, which is just outside Ahoghill. This was a very warm day and Chloe realised she was very unfit, after not doing a lot for months. 5 hours later, we were sore, exhausted and sweaty and Chloe had complained no less than 27 times! However, the sense of achievement we felt after collecting four bags of litter was overwhelming. We were so motivated by the friendly toots of drivers and the people stopping to ask what we were doing.
Day 4: Friday 21st August 2020
We had nearly £300 raised already. This day we had the privilege of coming across the kindest people yet! Whilst we were out on the Glenhugh Road, a cyclist stopped out of curiosity to see what we were doing. He was very passionate about his views on the litter he has come across when out on the country roads. He kindly donated towards our efforts!
Can you imagine our surprise when we got back to the car to discover a little envelope and a bag of Twix’s on the windshield? Inside was a handwritten note with words of encouragement and a generous donation from an anonymous kind person! Still to this day we don’t know who it was!
Day 5 and 6: 9th and 12th September 2020
Ladies who Litter Pick ventured out to Benone and Downhill beaches where we battled against high winds and a very STUBBORN fishing net. On our first attempt to get it out of the sand we used what we found around us, that being a rusty spade and children’s beach toys. Obviously, this was not successful! However this did not deter us! We came back a few days later suited and booted with proper tools. After many hours of digging, cutting and pulling WE DID IT!
Our litter picking adventures always have had positive outcomes, this time being the surprise of bumping into friends we hadn’t seen since just before lockdown.
Day 10: 14th July 2020
On this day we didn’t collect one bag or even two, we collected a shocking 12 bags in the village of Cullybackey. We were able to get the support of Bertie from the Cullybackey Partnership to get us permission to litter pick in private property where there was so much litter - even a giant barrel full! We found a range of many wonderful things this day, from a chicken egg to tyres, bottles to many footballs! We had the pleasure of getting to meet Bertie at the end of the day where he provided much encouragement and appreciation for what we were doing for his community.
Day 13: 5th November 2020
OUR FINAL DAY! On this day there were a range of emotions from us. We exceeded our goal, completing 42 hours of litter picking and collecting a whopping total of 52 bags! We have enjoyed doing this so much that we have decided we will continue litter picking, planning a Christmas themed one later this month!
We have currently raised over £600 for Women’s Aid ABCLN. Being a worker and a young volunteer for this charity we have seen first-hand how fundraising benefits the women and children involved. We have had support from Anne Marie at BBC Radio Ulster, Sarah McKinely at Cool FM and our local Ballymena Guardian to promote what we have been doing.
We would also like to say a massive thanks to Jeff Hamill who is the Waste Operations Supervisor at Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. He was able to supply us with litter picks, gloves, high vis vests and bin bags. He also organised for our bags of litter to be picked up when needed which was a big help for us!
We honestly have both enjoyed litter picking so much! It is so easy to organise and can be done right at your front door to further afield. We hope this blog encourages others to do the same. Litter picking out in the fresh air does wonders both physically and mentally.
If anyone would like to donate to Women’s Aid ABCLN, here is the link to our JustGiving Page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ladieswholitterpick
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our blog!
About the Charity
Women’s Aid ABCLN provides confidential support, information and emergency accommodation for women and children who are affected by domestic abuse.
Feeling Inspired?
Why not sign up to Adopt A Spot? Adopt a Spot enables volunteers across Northern Ireland to adopt an area and look after it. Adopters can be anyone, from families, community or youth groups, schools and sporting associations. Live Here Love Here will provide groups with an adoption pack containing all the equipment you need, including a hints and tips booklet on how to run a successful clean up. For more info click here.
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