Our People

Our Staff

I didn’t know exactly what I was good at when I started with the organisation. … In my first role with COPE Galway, I started to realise that my heart was in working with clients, and that was a strength I wanted to pursue.”

Mags | COPE Galway

You have to be resilient to stay working in services this long. It’s not an easy job and you have to develop coping skills. The ethos of self-care, a healthy work-life balance and the support of colleagues here makes a real difference.”

Colette Mangan, 20 years of service at COPE Galway.

New Ways of Working

While Our People focus on delivering the best we can for our clients, it can be hard to step back and reflect on how far our teams have progressed. As staff responded and adapted to new ways of working with clients, our organisation also reflected and responded to the needs of Our People as a whole, particularly as we faced increasing challenges. Throughout 2021, we expanded initiatives to enhance staff well-being and development and ways to stay connected and engaged online when we couldn’t meet face-to-face.

Meet Katie

Katie hadn’t considered pursuing a career in homeless services before she connected with a member of COPE Galway staff at a virtual career fair. COPE Galway’s focus on serving the local community attracted her to a support-worker role. The position was also a way to apply learnings from her Law, Sociology & Politics degree to real-world issues.

Meet Kasia

Kasia began her journey with COPE Galway back in 2019. Since then, she has progressed from volunteer to staff member and discovered a supportive network of co-workers and volunteers through the COPE Galway community.

Our Volunteers

A Family Affair

It’s not every father and daughter who get to do this together!”

Tex and Louise agree that volunteering as a family is a fantastic way to spend time together while also serving the community.

Volunteering in 2021

In 2021, we were mindful of the personal challenges our volunteers faced while they continued to volunteer with such dedication and commitment. The pandemic highlighted that in a crisis, best practice in volunteer management was more critical than ever before. COPE Galway offered support and training and made every effort to make sure our volunteers felt valued, appreciated and safe.

When volunteering, I have an opportunity to meet new people and make friends. I enjoy chatting to the staff and other volunteers, helping customers and doing any work that’s assigned to me. It feels like I am doing something good.”

Colm Biggins, COPE Galway Charity Shop Volunteer.