Mid and East Antrim Mayor announces chosen charities

Wednesday 17 September 2025

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford, has announced his chosen Mayoral Charities for his 2025-2026 term of office.

Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke and the Northern Ireland’s Children’s Hospice are each close to the Mayor’s heart.

They will now receive support from Council through both fundraising and awareness-raising activities.

The Mayor said: “I am proud to be supporting the invaluable work of these charities during my term as Mayor.

“I hope to be able to help make a difference by working with them, and the local community, to increase awareness of their work – particularly in our own Borough – and to raise vital funds.

“I hope everyone will join me in supporting these worthwhile causes.”

NI Chest Heart & Stroke has been leading the fight against chest, heart and stroke illnesses in Northern Ireland for nearly 80 years, since 1946.

They charity, which relies on donations for almost 90% of its funding, provides expert care and support to anyone living with chest, heart and stroke conditions.

It also works to prevent these illnesses through helping with early detection, funds research to advance care, and campaigns for better treatments.

As many as 470,000 people in Northern Ireland are living with a chest, heart or stroke condition.

In Ballymena, NICHS has delivered a pilot programme offering free health checks to areas deemed most in need of support, including Ballee, Ballykeel and Harryville.

In Ballee, 60% of those attending were signposted to their GP with mainly high blood pressure and, with treatment, were able to help prevent or to delay the onset of an early stroke, heart attack, or other conditions.

NICHS also runs its Post Rehab Exercise Programme (PREP) and wellness sessions for stroke patients in Ballymena and Carrickfergus, and works with schools and workplaces across the Borough.

Gavin Adams, Director of Income Generation at NI Chest Heart & Stroke, said:

“We are so grateful to the Mayor, Councillor Jackson Minford, for selecting us as one of his charity partners for the year.

“Almost 90% of our income comes from public donations so all money raised will enable us to continue to help the local community and provide life-changing services for people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and their families.”

NI Children’s Hospice is the only service of its type in Northern Ireland providing specialist palliative care to babies, children and young people living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

Care is offered in the dedicated Children’s Hospice, Horizon House, and is tailored to meet the unique needs of children and their families.

In the past year alone, the hospice provided care to 31 children from the Mid and East Antrim area and their families, who spent a total of 204 nights at Horizon House.

The support offered is wide-ranging and includes supported short breaks, practical nursing care, end-of-life care, and family and bereavement support.

Children’s Hospice also works in partnership with the NI Health Service to provide an antenatal care service, Tiny Horizons, giving support and guidance to families who receive devastating news their child may have a palliative condition even before birth.

The hospice recognises the effect of a child’s life-limiting illness on the whole family and its Family Support Team provides emotional, practical, and bereavement support for parents, siblings, and carers.

Most of the charity’s funding comes from donations and, while it takes £37 to deliver an hour of specialist nursing care, it welcomes all contributions, big or small.

Kieran Buchanan, NI Hospice’s Community Relationship Manager for the area, said:

“A huge and heartfelt thank you to the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford, for choosing NI Children’s Hospice.

“The Mayor’s fantastic fundraising assistance will really help us continue making a difference for local patients and their families whom we support with our specialist palliative care.

“The majority of NI Hospice funding comes from the kindness of the local community, and we simply could not continue providing our services without such generosity.”

For further information or to donate online to the Mayor’s Charities, visit the Mayor's Charity webpage.