Carla Lockhart said:

“Every weekend across Upper Bann there are so many individuals and groups doing amazing things to make a difference.

This weekend I was able to attend Waringstown Church of Ireland Craft Fayre, which proved to be a fantastic event with such a wide range of wonderful arts and crafts. A real showcase of local creativity! A great event and so well supported by the local community.

Then I joined with folks at Carleton Street Orange Hall for a fundraising breakfast for Hiking for Little Heroes Killimanjaro, with Brian Murdock and his team. This is a very worthy cause and it was so encouraging to see the level of support and money raised to make a difference in the lives of those less well off than us.

Over at Portadown Football Club, the Club Youth Academy held a superb breakfast to raise funds for their ongoing activity. The Academy is bringing forward some real talent on the pitch and it was a pleasure to support this fundraiser and chat to some of the young people, and parents, who keep the Club Academy going.

Finally, it was a real pleasure to call with Phil Hartin, a local Christian outreach worker with Serve Youth, who has opened the ‘Serve Hub’ at Turkingtons, to provide a space for local people to meet up for a coffee and chat, and support one another. This is a great outreach work and I know Phil will pour his heart and soul into this project. I would encourage young people in the area to go along to the Hub!

A really busy weekend, but another weekend where I have been struck by the amazing volunteer work of so many people in our community. My thanks go to each and every one of them for their positive influence in our community.”