Desperate Farmwives calendar launched

There was nothing desperate about the launch of Offaly Macra's latest charity calendar offering last Wednesday night in the Bridge House in Tullamore. The most glamorous calendar of 2012 is no doubt the one put together by Offaly Macra to help mental health charities Aware and Grow. Cheekily entitled 'Desperate Farmwives', the €10 calendar features the lovely ladies of Offaly Macra in a collection of farming situations while wearing the most glamorous of clothes. Two charities will benefit from the calendar's proceeds. The first is mental health charity GROW, which focussed on promoting positive mental health through group work and the delivery of a community education programme. Anonymous, confidential and open to all, GROW was originally founded in Australia in 1957 and is essentially a twelve step programme. Meetings are held weekly for two hours and deal with four Ps - one person, one problem, one practical task and one part of the programme. More information can be found on the organisation on www.grow.ie or by calling 057 9351124. The second charity to benefit from Offaly Macra's calendar is Aware, the national organisation that provides emotional support and information to people experiencing depression as well as their families and friends. The organisation works to create greater public awareness about the nature and consequences of depression, which affeects more than 450,000 people in Ireland at any one time. Aware services include support groups, a helpline (1890 303 302), an email support service (wecanhelp@aware.ie), a secondary education programme and a free information service. More information is available on www.aware.ie or by calling 01 6617211. On the night Offaly Macra thanked the following sponsors, who made the production of the calendar possible: Paul Guinan Construction, Bridge House Hotel, IFAC Accountants, Quirkes Chemist, Glenisk, Liffey Mills, FBD, Queen of the Land Committee, Bank of Ireland, Hugh Lynches, Tullamore Show, G and R Heavin Builders, Loughrey's Bar and Guesthouse, Flaherty's Insurance, Peter Fox Pharmacy, Tullamore Mart, Capital Securities and Calor Gas.