HOTLINE: (01) 8771600 Services for Older People WE OFFER A COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF SERVICES FOR OLDER PEOPLE. JUST GIVE US A CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION! Social Club Welcome! Welcome to the Autumn edition of the The Gos. This edition is packed with some great news for the community! I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our new Junior Infants the best of luck as they begin their first year of school! GOLDEN YEARS CHRISTMAS PARTY! TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE ANNUAL GOLDEN YEARS CHRISTMAS PARTY! Wednesday 10th December Ayrfield Club 7:30pm til Late Tickets €7 CONTACT US TODAY TO BOOK! (01) 8771600 GOLDEN YEARS ACTIVITIES Morning Drop-in Service: Mon - Fri 9:30am - 1pm Monthly Movies: Monday 3rd November Monthly Sale of Work: 30th Oct & 27th Nov Art Classes: Wednesdays 11am - 1pm Men’s Club: Thursday Afternoons 2pm - 4pm Women’s Club: Friday Afternoons 2pm - 4pm OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: Day-Care | Care and Repair | Social Alarm Installations | Social Club | Drop-in Service Men’s and Women’s Clubs | Activities Programme | Art Classes | Monthly Movies | Care Calls Home and Hospital Visits for more information call our HOTLINE FOR ALL OUR SERVICES: 01 8771600 Edition 32 October 2014 JIGSAW CENTRE WILL REMAIN OPEN! The Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service Ltd (the Jigsaw Centre) is delighted to issue the news that it will be remaining open. It has been a very difficult past 6 months for the parents and children as they faced the uncertainty of closure due to ongoing government cuts. Our Summer Festival ran on the 24th August; it was a fantastic day for the whole family! Our sports day was a great success. All the children loved showing off their medals and trying to win more. I would like to thank all the staff and volunteers that made the day possible. We are looking forward to doing it again soon! Finally, as we approach the last months of 2014, I am delighted to report that our Golden Years Centre is doing very well since we officially opened in May. We are constantly working to improve the lives of older people in our community and we have a packed house almost everyday! Inside this issue: - Jigsaw Centre News - Farewell Alan! - Village Centre Summer Festival - Community Pride Project News - Candlelight Vigil - Difference Days - Community Noticeboard - Golden Years News and Services For more information, contact us: Tel: (01) 8771600 [email protected] www.darndalebelcampvc.ie Like us on Facebook! Warm Regards, Linda Hayden CEO However, a sustainable model has now been implemented and, with the thanks of local organisations and fund-raising support, a fee increase to parents, staff pay cuts and 2 redundancies, the Centre has been able to pull through. The Centre is the largest Community Childcare Provider in the country with 260 children and almost 100 staff attending daily. It was delighted to achieve the prestigious Siolta award for quality childcare provision in 2013, and has recently been training with other crèches and the Preparing for Life team in the Aistear Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Closure of the service would have had a detrimental effect on the community. They just passed the €26,000 mark in their fund raising efforts and hope to achieve €100,000 by mid 2015. The management and staff want to say a huge thank you for all the support they have received over the past number of months. It’s greatly appreciated and has ensured the doors of the centre will stay open. FAREWELL ALAN! It’s with great regret that the Darndale Belcamp Village Centre has to announce that Mr. Alan Wyley has stepped down as Chairperson of our organisation. Alan became the head of the Darndale Bel- camp Village Centre board in June 2005, he worked as an invaluable member of our board. He provided indispensable guidance and worked tirelessly over the past number of years. He was a key figure in the planning, development and launch of our Golden Years Centre for older people. In a professional capacity, Alan works as the Chief Commercial Officer for Luzern Solutions, an ECommerce Solutions Provider. He is also the nonexecutive chairman of Staycity, which is an independent serviced apartment operator. Some other notable positions he has held in the past include: CEO of Connected trips, a global travel website, CEO of Euro Commerce and Finance Manager of Oracle Corporation. In the volunteering and philanthropy sphere, he is the Chairman of Barnardos Ireland while at the same time being chair of both our organisation and the Darndale Belcamp Initiative. Alan is known for his care and support for Human Rights, Children’s Rights and Social Services. As well as providing strong support to Barnardos Ireland through his role as Chairman, he is also a supporter of Focus Ireland, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin and the Saint Vincent de Paul. We would like to wish Alan all the very best in his future endeavours. We were very lucky to have him providing guidance and expertise for so many years. SUMMER FESTIVAL 2014 Our Viking Themed Summer Festival took place on Sunday the 24th of August. Thank you to everyone who turned out for the event, and to everyone who contributed to make it a huge success. We would like to especially thank our volunteers: DJ Steven Mangan, our band for the day True Rumour, and our Golden Years members who volunteered on our Sale of Work stall. We had bouncy castles, a pet farm, DJ, a magic and puppet show, a hip hop dance troupe, viking displays, a live band, face painting, an athletics track with events, two five a side football pitches and loads of other fun games for the kids. Somehow the rain managed to stay off for the full day and the sun was even on our backs. Here are some pics from the day. To see the full album of photos go to our Facebook page! www.facebook.com/ darndalebelcampvillagecentre Suicide Prevention Candlelight Vigil On Wednesday 10th of September, as part of World Suicide Prevention Day, a Candlelight Vigil and remembrance night was held in the Village Centre Square. This was run in conjunction with The Andy Morgan Foundation Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness Group. The group, set up in 2011, has the stated aim of spreading the message of hope to everyone who has lost someone to suicide and those suffering from depression. Andy Morgan was a father of three who took his own life on New Year’s Eve 2010 to the devastation of his partner Joanne, their family and friends. The Foundation was set up as a response to this tragedy and in tribute to Andy. On the night, people were encouraged to bring photos and mementos of loved ones they had lost through suicide. These were placed on a table that was the centrepiece of the night. Candles were lit in their memory. The evening proved to be a very sad, poignant, but hopeful one. Helpful and uplifting stories and words were contributed by members and friends of the Morgan family, as well as by young people who had experienced depression. The Andy Morgan Foundation will be running another event, The Wall of Hope, on Friday 14th November at 8pm. If you have a photo of a loved one you would like displayed on the wall, please contact the foundation by email: [email protected] A BIG DIFFERENCE IN OUR LADY IMMACULATE SENIOR SCHOOL incomparable artist Nikki. The non-community volunteers came from The Underwriting Exchange Company, fourteen of whom travelled from London. Denis “The Boss” runs Difference Day, the body which organised and funded this school transformation, which every child in the school now delights in. Part of the impetus for change came as a request from the school’s 12 member Student Council supported by staff and the school’s Board of Management. Teachers have a new range of possibilities for their pupils’ education and pupils have the fun of exploring a newly stimulating and exciting environment. The 9th September 2014 was a red letter day for Our Lady Immaculate SNS, but it was also blue, green, orange and all the colours of the rainbow. 80 adults, in addition to the staff, parents and community volunteers, joined together to transform the physical environment of the school. An outdoor classroom, 2 soccer pitches with removable goal posts, a Cowboys and Indians Mini Park were all set up outside. Inside, both corridors and the Assembly Area of the school were painted according to themes from Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson & David Walliams. Adults and children recreated book illustrations. Scenes from the curriculum-history, geography, science, music, drama, art, etc. now decorate the walls and resource the teaching and learning of the pupils. Some illustrations are reputedly based on the teachers, though those teachers deny it! Repairs were made to the Cookery Room and foods and fruits have now become distinctive characters. So many were crucial to the success of this venture but we can only single out a few: Denis O’ Reilly, Adam, Ger, Maurice and the Community Noticeboard New Life Centre PLACES NOW AVAILABLE FETAC Level 3 & 4 Awards in: Catering, Childcare, Health & Fitness, Oﬃce/IT Skills and Woodwork TRAINING ALLOWANCE: 16 - 17 Year Olds: €40 per week 18 - 21 Year Olds: €160 per week CALL TODAY FOR AN INTERVIEW! Contact: (01) 8771661 Community Pride The Village Centre received 3 awards at the City Neighbourhood Awards Ceremony recently. The Darndale Park Renewal Project also picked up awards for their excellent work in the park and the effort put in by the community to improve the local playground. There has been a massive effort put forward by the Community Pride Project and the Park Renewal Project in an attempt to clean up the area and improve the community of Darndale. The City Neighbourhood Awards are a great way to acknowledge all the work being put in by both the community and local organisations who take pride in the area and want to improve it. Please support our work and help maintain your area by using your bins and disposing of rubbish appropriately. The New Life Centre After School Groups have started back for the new school year. We will also be starting grinds in October! We are offering various courses too! More information is available at the New Life Centre Reception. A counselling service is also operating from the New Life Centre. If interested in any of the above please call in to reception for more information. You can contact the New Life Centre on: Tel: (01) 8474599 Email: [email protected] We’re also on Facebook! Subscribe to Darndale Belcamp Village Centre’s YouTube Channel! www.youtube.com/darndalebelcampvc We regularly upload videos of local events, community work and issues that affect our community.