Jericho House Dundee is an Alcohol Recovery Unit, that provides a clean and safe environment in which men have the opportunity to address their alcohol problems. Unfortunately, in 2008, the minivan that the Dundee charity had came to the end of its useful life and had to go to the scrap yard. There were no extra funds available to buy a new minivan. Jericho Benedictine Society headquarters kindly advised David McEnroy, the Manager of the Dundee House, that if they raised £7000, this amount would be matched by the Trustees of the Society.
Since then and with the help of a newly-formed small support group of volunteers from St John the Baptist Scottish Episcopal Church, Albert Street, Dundee, a sustained fundraising effort has taken place to raise the necessary funds to get the charity a new minibus. This has included sponsored walks over the Tay Bridge and along part of the West Highland Way, a Disco and Karoake night and a large raffle. The service users and staff also wrote, produced and acted in two plays with the proceeds going to the minibus fund.
The new van can now take the men to meetings and on outings together. Service users and staff will now have annual breaks together, one 5 day trip to country house in Inverness and a long weekend at Jericho House in Girvan to join other recovery groups. The minibus will now also support their West Highland Way adventure.
The various fund-raising projects have also played a vital part in the men’s recovery giving them targets to achieve and helping them co-operate with each other, as well as enhancing their social and personal skills, and all together giving us all a most marvellous sense of achievement.
Here's a couple of photographs from the photocall this morning, together with my interview on Radio Tay news this morning on the event:
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| Cutting the ribbon! |
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| David McEnroy, Jericho House Manager, interviewed by STV News |