His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Stan Cain JP, has selected three charities for his mayoral charity appeal.

Three charities will benefit: Cruse Bereavement Care, Douglas Live At Home Scheme and St Mary’s Lourdes Youth.

The Mayor and Mayoress with representatives from the three charities selected for the 2014-2015 mayoral charity appeal

The selection was announced at a reception at the town hall for the charities’ representatives and supporters.

Rebecca Watson of St Mary’s Lourdes Youth told guests how she enjoyed working with other young people to help ailing pilgrims gain maximum benefit from the Lourdes experience, sentiments echoed by fellow helper Vida Manuel who said being in Lourdes had been ‘an eye opener’. 

St Mary's Lourdes Youth's Rebecca Watson, Vida Manuel and Annette Briercliffe

Gill Skinner from Cruse Bereavement Care explained how the charity operated monthly social gatherings for young people affected by ‘the isolating experience’ of bereavement and delivered training and awareness programmes. The charity’s work with young people was poignantly illustrated in a short film made for the BBC in which the subject, ‘Lizzie’, said: ‘The hardest thing [about bereavement] is saying “I can’t cope.”’

Douglas Live at Home manager Jan Farrell outlined how the Douglas Live at Home Scheme was helping older people continue to live independent lives for longer in their own homes. Services provided aimed to relieve social isolation and encourage older people to take an active part in their communities.

Live at Home Scheme's Jan Farrell and Anni Pearsall