SEPTEMBER is Arthritis Awareness Month and will feature a number of events, organised by the Arthritis Foundation of Ireland, right across the country.
The Royal Hospital Kilmainham is to host the foundation's first information day on Saturday, September 7th, from 10.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The following Monday (9th) sees the first of a series of lectures on arthritis, with their Butterfly Week fund raiser beginning on the 18th. For information, phone 01 6618188.
DETAILS of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland's 1996 National Tea Day, which has been set for October 3rd, were announced in Dublin yesterday. The society is hoping to encourage people around the country to get involved in the fund raising effort. Outside help is much needed. The society's number is 01-2846616.
RP Ireland Fighting Blindness will hold its AGM at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin on Saturday, September 14th at 2 p.m. A leading eye surgeon is to address the meeting.
Professor Peter Gouras of Columbia University in New York, who has achieved an international reputation for pioneering the transplantation of retinal cells, has been involved with Retinal Pigment Epithelium a process of cell transplantation that has shown promise in treating blindness in the human eye.
Over 65,000 people in the country suffer from retinal degenerative diseases.
THE closing date for applications for a two year specialist certificate in grief counselling, entitled "Letting Go", is this Friday (23rd). The course focuses on grief, loss and separation, and takes place on two consecutive days each month (Friday and Saturday) from October to May.
The teaching is aimed at psychotherapists, counsellors, doctors, nurses, teachers, welfare officers and others dealing with the public. The course will be led by qualified psychotherapists, and is organised by Turning Point, the bereavement counselling group. Applications must be on the official form, so if you don't already have one, contact Turning Point today at 01-2800626, fax 01-2800643.
COMMUNITY Love and Action for Special People (CLASP) is a voluntary group which organises social outings and events for people with disabilities in Dublin, in the parish of Bayside and surrounding areas. The group will be fund raising outside the Church of the Resurrection in Bayside this Sunday (25th), and will hold its first meeting after the holidays at the Bayside Community Centre from 2.30p.m. to 5.30 pm. on Sunday, September 8th. New volunteers should contact Mary O'Connor at 01-8325269.
THE Irish Diabetic Association is hosting an evening charity recital by Finghin Collins (piano) on Tuesday, September 3rd. The concert, which features works by Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov, takes place at the Arts Centre next to the Bank of Ireland at Foster Place, Dublin 2, at 8 p.m. Tickets, at £5, are available from head office, phone 01-8363022.