Attendees at the Farming Life Awards dig deep for Rural Support

Rural Support would like to thank the organisers for giving the charity the opportunity to raise funds through a prize drawn raffle and donations of attendees.

La Mon Hotel, Castlereagh, Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen, Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown and Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena, United Feeds, Fane Valley, Mash Direct and Castlewellan show kindly donated the prizes which generated such interest in the raffle. Rural Support would also like to thank all the guests at the awards evening who gave so generously to the charity. Donations from the night, including the silent auction, totalled £4,170.

Jude McCann, Chief Executive of Rural Support commented that “as a charity which relies heavily on ongoing fundraising and donations to continue our work, we are extremely grateful to Farming Life for their support and to those who gave so generously on the night. With the increase in the demand for our services the donation will help ensure that our volunteers, mentors and staff can continue to deliver a high standard of service and enable us to meet the needs of our clients.”

These are very uncertain times for the farming community and many are finding it difficult to cope with the pressures they face. Dealing with day to day farm business issues can be extremely stressful and sometimes makes it difficult to think about the future. Stress can have a detrimental effect on our physical and mental health, making it difficult to think clearly. Symptoms of stress include disturbed sleep patterns, changes in appetite, unexplainable aches and pains and prolonged stress can lead to depression.

If you are experiencing stress you may have difficulty with concentration and you might appear irritable or agitated. Sometimes you may even feel overwhelmed and isolated. Often telling friends or family can seem impossible. Rural Support wants to remind individuals that they do not have to face difficult circumstances alone.

Rural Support’s trained volunteers and highly experienced mentors provide support both face-to-face or via its confidential helpline. They can help to analyse your current farm business position, identify options and explore possible ways forward.

Assistance is available on business finance and debt, succession planning concerns, physical and mental health issues, farming paperwork, technical and enterprise issue. If you do require assistance or are experiencing a challenging period, you are encouraged to contact Rural Support as early as possible so that options can be explored.

To speak to someone in confidence contact the freephone helpline on 0800 138 1678. The helpline is available from 9am - 9pm, Monday to Friday (voicemail and support options available at all other times).