Northern Ireland's Fane Valley backs Action Mental Health

Fane Valley, Northern Ireland's biggest farmers' co-operative and leading food processor, has kicked off a new partnership with leading college St. Ciaran's in county Tyrone to help support the Ballygawley school during a recent Action Mental Health - Personal Resilience workshop and breakfast morning for staff.

Fane Valley, based in Moira, county Down, is one of Ireland's most progressive agri-food businesses founded over 114 years ago and is still a 100 percent farmer owned farmers' co-operative with interests in red and dry-aged meats, porridge oats and breakfast cereal, feed compounding, agricultural supplies, livestock identification and beef fat drippings operating across UK, Ireland and Europe.

With Fane Valley companies such as Linden Foods based in Dungannon, Fane Valley Feeds operating its mill in Omagh, Kettyle Irish Foods located in Lisnaskea, county Fermanagh and an agri retail store close by in Augher, county Tyrone, St Ciaran's College Ballygawley is the perfect partner school for Fane Valley and recently both have commenced a relationship to collaborate and communicate about industry specific and topical issues, including apprenticeships, employment innovation, butchery skills, sales & marketing and more notably mental health and physical well-being.

Geraldine Maguire, Fane Valley, HR manager, said: "It was our pleasure to help support St. Ciaran's College with their Personal Resilience training in association with our charity partner Action Mental Health. We at Fane Valley found the workshop extremely beneficial, so we offered this service to Mr. Lavery and his staff at St. Ciaran's. We also wanted to reinforce the well-being message and arranged for one of our award winning companies White's Oats from Tandragee, county Armagh to provide a healthy breakfast for all, before the training."

Paul Lavery, principal, St. Ciaran's College, Ballygawley added: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with such a forward thinking company such as Fane Valley. As a school we understand the importance of being connected to our local community and we look forward to developing further our positive relationship with Fane Valley for the benefit of our pupils and staff alike. Fane Valley takes its Corporate Social responsibility very seriously and I want to thank them for helping St Ciaran's raise awareness about strategies that can be used to improve personal resilience and for providing the delicious 'mood-changing' breakfast."

Pictured, from left, Geraldine Maguire, Fane Valley HR Manager, Paul Lavery, principal, St. Ciaran's College and Kelly Adams, White's Oats, marketing executive