Probus ladies club enjoys April outings

THE first April meeting of Dungannon Ladies Probus Club took the form of a visit to the Grand Opera House in Belfast for a matinee of hit musical comedy, ‘Sister Act’.

A total of 20 members thoroughly enjoyed a lively and professional performance.

Then, for the second meeting of the month, the ladies were guests of Dungannon’s First Steps Women’s Centre and its chief executive, Michael McGoldrick.

The ladies were treated to a very informative talk on the services and facilities on offer.

‘TRANSFORMS’

Michael described his organisation as ‘one which transforms women’ and said that the quote, “I was broken and First Steps Women’s Centre helped put me back together”, from a survey carried out in 2022, best describes the impact their work has on the lives of women who avail of their services.

Michael then went on to dispel some
misconceptions about the centre and emphasised the many and varied courses on offer, from English and
IT classes to craft, wellbeing, counselling, maths,
yoga, pilates, first aid and health and safety,
many of which lead to recognised
qualifications.

The centre provides the tools to help women gain in self-confidence, self-worth and qualifications for opportunities for employment.

Unfortunately, all this work is expensive to deliver, and with spiralling costs acquiring the necessary funding is increasingly difficult.

The cost of electricity for the centre has gone up by £8,000 over the past year alone.