A message to Rosie’s Trust volunteers from Bronagh

As Rosie’s Trust continues to mark ten years of caring for people by caring for their pets throughout 2025, the charity is honoured to share a very special letter from founder, Bronagh O’Neill, addressed to all of the charity’s volunteers from over the past decade.

Dear Rosie’s Trust volunteers,

I am very grateful for this opportunity to send you all a message in this special 10th anniversary year of Rosie’s Trust.

I have vivid memories of the time in September 2014 when I made the decision to give up my job and start planning the possibility of getting this wonderful charity off the ground in Northern Ireland.

When I look back, I have to smile as I remember sitting at my kitchen table and writing out a plan, a hope – a vision, to provide what I felt was a much needed service to support some of the most vulnerable people in our community; older people with mobility issues, those receiving end of life care and people undergoing cancer treatment. All of whom have one thing in common - the love and friendship of their companion pets.

The realisation that when someone finds themselves in such a vulnerable position, the worry of how they are going to cope with continuing to look after the practical needs of their beloved pet and the question they might be facing ‘what will happen to my pet if I die?’, can become overwhelming, fuelling their stress and worries at a time when too much is happening, too much is changing in their everyday life.

The work began: writing policies and procedures, volunteer induction training manual, Charity Commission submission, knocking on doors, speaking with contacts in other charities including Marie Curie, Macmillan, Age Concern and animal charities, Volunteer Now and NICVA to further research need and garner more support.

It very quickly became apparent that in order to properly support our human and animal beneficiaries more than just once or twice a week - we had to be there for as long as we were needed, to ensure lasting and real peace of mind.

If that was going to happen – we were going to need a LOT of likeminded people! Rosie’s Trust would never have got off the ground if I had not been fortunate enough to meet those ‘likeminded people’. All volunteers – from friends who agreed to be the initial three Trustees (thank you so much) to absolute strangers who were so supportive, had skills I didn’t have, and who became as passionate about Rosie’s Trust as I am.

These pioneer volunteers gave me such encouragement in those early years, and I am proud to say that many of them are still involved providing their wisdom, compassion, and dedication.

The volunteer base mushroomed – it was amazing. We began supporting beneficiaries facing then, as now, many heartbreaking circumstances and challenging environments, but what always shines through is the Rosie’s Trust ‘can do’ attitude, and that commitment to make things a little better.

Rosie’s Trust volunteers – all of you – make a difference, every visit and beyond 365 days a year!

The charity has grown from strength to strength. The support of so many fundraising events, donations and grants from National Lottery Community Fund NI, and others, enabled us in 2017 to employ a small number of much needed staff to support volunteers and beneficiaries.

New Trustees with specialist skills and wonderful enthusiasm all helped keep this brilliant charity going for the benefit of our community.

With much sadness I had to step down from Rosie’s Trust in 2022 – primarily because of health reasons.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of Rosie’s Trust, how grateful I am to the Trustees, staff and patrons who work tirelessly to ensure the charity’s aims and objectives continue to be met and to safely grow the charity’s reach to help more people and pets throughout Northern Ireland.

Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all Rosie’s Trust volunteers – past, present, and future.

Thank you for making Rosie’s Trust happen. Thank you for your compassion, dedication, and kindness, which you deliver with every visit, every foster care, every rehoming, every fundraiser and every opportunity to raise awareness.

You are Rosie’s Trust!

Congratulations everyone – and here’s to the next 10 years!

With much love and gratitude,

Bronagh O Neill

Founder