Friends of The Arc

05/09/2026

🌟 Great Things Happening at Edenvilla! 🌟

There’s plenty happening around the grounds at Edenvilla, with some exciting projects getting underway! 🎨🌿

🚧 A Splash of Colour on the Driveway!
Work has now started on the bollards along the driveway. These won’t be your ordinary bollards — they’re set to be transformed with a fantastic selection of colourful cartoon characters! 🎨🖌️ We can’t wait to see the finished results and watch the driveway come to life.

🌺 The Secret Garden Gets a Red Makeover! ❤️
Our Secret Garden has been given a beautiful bright red colour lift, thanks to the fantastic hard work of service user Jim.

Jim has been working away himself and has planted over 30 trays of stunning red begonias! 🌺🌺🌺

A huge well done to Jim for his dedication, creativity and green fingers. The results are already making a fantastic difference to the garden! 👏👏

It’s brilliant to see our service users getting involved, taking pride in their surroundings and helping to make Edenvilla a brighter and more colourful place for everyone. ❤️🌿🎨

Well done to everyone involved! 👏

04/09/2026

🎉 Friends of the Arc – AGM 2026 🎉

Friends of the Arc recently held a successful Annual General Meeting, with a great turnout and plenty of enthusiasm for the year ahead. 👏

We are delighted to announce our new Officer Bearers for 2026–27:

👤 Chairperson: Darren McNamee
👤 Vice-Chair: Sean Kelly
📝 Secretary: Anita Clarke
📝 Assistant Secretary: Brendan Teggart
💰 Treasurer: Patrick McDonnell
💰 Assistant Treasurer: David Jones
🌱 Eco-Ambassador: Martin McKeown

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported Friends of the Arc over the past year, and to our outgoing officers for their time, commitment and hard work. 👏

We look forward to another busy and successful year, working together to support the Arc and our local community. 💙

Here’s to 2026–27! 🙌

10/08/2026

🚨🚨🚨 Friends of the ARC AGM 🚨🚨🚨

Wednesday 12th August in ARC Dayroom 1:30pm

08/07/2026

☀️🕶️ What a fantastic afternoon was had at the Friends of the ARC Shorts ’N Shades Summer Party! 😎🍦

There was plenty of craic, lots of laughs, great music, and smiles all round as everyone got into the summer spirit. We even had a chance to create a fun photo montage to capture some of the brilliant memories from the day! 📸🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and helped make it such a special event. Days like these remind us what Friends of the ARC is all about – friendship, fun, and making memories together. 💙

Roll on the next one! 🌞

30/06/2026

🎉 Birthday Celebrations at Friends of the ARC! 🎉

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had the pleasure of celebrating two very special milestone birthdays with our Friends of the ARC family.

A huge Happy 40th Birthday to Jason Myles and a Happy 30th Birthday to Jonathan Evans! 🥳🎂

We hope you both had fantastic celebrations surrounded by family and friends. Thank you for bringing so much fun, laughter, and positivity to the ARC. Wishing you both many more happy, healthy, and memorable years ahead!

Please join us in wishing Jason and Jonathan a very happy birthday! 🎈🎁🎉

28/06/2026

🏅 Congratulations to Our Special Olympics Ireland Games Medal Winners! 🏅

Everyone at Friends of the ARC would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our service users who proudly represented their clubs and communities at the Special Olympics Ireland Games last weekend.

A huge well done to:

🐴 Jonathan Evans – Equestrian
🎳 Kyle Herron – Ten Pin Bowling
🎳 Eamon O’Reilly – Ten Pin Bowling
🏊 Gareth Cloughley – Swimming
⚽ Patrick Donnelly – Football
⚽️ Scott Gray - Football

Your dedication, determination and sporting spirit have made us all incredibly proud. Each of you has worked so hard to achieve this success, and your medals are a testament to your commitment and perseverance.

Congratulations once again to all our athletes, coaches, families and supporters who helped make the weekend such a memorable one. We are so proud of you all! 💙💛

21/06/2026

18/06/2026

As part of Learning Disability Week and Carers Week, we were delighted to hold a coffee morning at The ARC, Bessbrook, to celebrate these important occasions.

It was a wonderful opportunity to come together, enjoy a chat, and recognise the valuable contributions of people with learning disabilities and the dedicated carers who support them every day.

A sincere thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the morning such a success. Your support, friendship, and community spirit are greatly appreciated.

18/06/2026

A huge thank you to Theresa Kerr and the Armagh Social Work Team for hosting us today.

It was wonderful to come together during Learning Disability Week and take the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the continued hard work, dedication, and support provided by the team on St. Luke’s site. Your commitment to making a positive difference in people’s lives every day is truly appreciated.

Thank you for all that you do, and for making today such a welcoming and enjoyable occasion. 💙

04/05/2026

Some video highlights from yesterday’s Belfast City Marathon Relay 🏃

Some achievement from all the runners you done everyone proud 💙

Still time to donate to its open until Friday!

👉 Donate here https://gofund.me/1900e2dcf