Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
2
Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
Staff News
All Summer long!
In staff news this Autumn, we are delighted to welcome back Claire O’Mahony, Munster Housing Manager who has recently returned from maternity leave.
The long, hot summer provided plenty of opportunities for members across the country to get together and host a range of events.
Our Childcare service in St. Finian’s also welcomes two new staff members - Shamika Zaheer and Therese Boutrous Nada, while Annette McDermott has joined the team in Brookview. Congratulations are also in order for Padraic Clancy, former Development Manager for the Leinster region, who has just been appointed Acting Head of New Business. But, with the changing of the seasons, also comes the news that John Masterson, our Head of Finance, will be leaving us when he retires at the end of the year. John has been a wonderful asset to the CHI team over the last number of years, and we’ll miss him terribly – don’t miss us too much John!
Dublin South Co-operative Housing Society members held their annual Street Party in Kilcronan on August 5th. There were games, food and face-painting galore. Members of Dublin West Co-operative Housing Society in Avondale held a Neighbours’ Day on August 6th, complete with face-painting and other activities, a BBQ and music. A summer party was also held down south in The Tannery, Bandon, which boasted sports activities, a barbeque and an ice cream van. To bring it all to a close, an End of Summer Party was held in Fruithill Manor on September 16th. The wellattended event was a roaring success and included a bouncy castle, a BBQ, terrific weather and two of our very newest co-operators (new-borns!).
Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
Community spirit
Upcoming events
Ensuring that local co-operatives are equipped to finance community projects is very important to us.
So, it’s Autumn, and for some of us that means only one thing – we’re getting ever-closer to Christmas!
With that in mind, we were delighted to learn that Dublin South and South Leinster were both successful in securing funding through the Community Enhancement Scheme, operated by the Local Authorities. The funding will go towards the vegetable and herb garden in Kilcronan and the updating of the play area in Fruithill. Well done to both societies! Be sure to keep in touch with your local Housing Officer for latest updates on funding opportunities available to your society.
To get us into the Christmas spirit, South Leinster are holding an outing to Santa’s Enchanted Castle Experience at Enniscorthy’s Castle Museum on Castle Hill, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford on December 12th from 4.30 p.m.- 6.30 p.m. for members based in Gorey and Enniscorthy. There will be a small tour of the Enchanted Castle & Santa will have a small gift for each of the children. Maria Butler, South Leinster Housing Officer will collect completed forms on her estate visits. All members in the area welcome! In conjunction with the UCC Centre for Co-operative Studies, we are holding a screening of ‘A Silent Transformation’, a documentary examining cooperatives in Canada, on Wednesday, October 17th. The screening, which takes place at 6 p.m. in the Creative Zone in the UCC Library, will offer an opportunity to learn more about co-operatives globally and to discuss their importance and relevance. Cooperative members and members of the public are welcome. Register here: http://tiny.cc/filmdocu
3
4
Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
Weaver’s Wood launch On September 11th, we were thrilled to host the official launch of a brand-new 33-unit development in Clonsilla, Dublin. Weaver’s Wood is in a mature residential cul-de-sac within five minutes’ walk of Clonsilla Railway Station. It is close to Blanchardstown Centre and St. Mochta’s primary school and Hansfield Educate Together school. Each home is spacious, modern and A-energy rated with 2 car-parking spaces. Developed in collaboration with Fingal County Council, G. McGreevy Construction, and Downey Planning & Architecture, the Weaver’s Wood scheme was funded by the Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
The official launch, attended by Mayor of Fingal, Anthony Lavin and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Damien English, as well as a range of other stakeholders, presented a fantastic opportunity for members to meet new neighbours and celebrate moving into their new home and community. One new member even baked a delicious cake for the event! The event was widely covered in the national media, including RTE News.
Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
Going Green We’re gone all green-fingered across a number of CHI estates in Dublin! Patricia Whelan, a member of Dublin South, spent all summer planting and maintaining the community garden in Rockfield. Members of Dublin South in Kilcronan, Clondalkin also officially launched their community garden in July. The garden, which was opened by South Dublin County Mayor Mark Ward, was picked up by the local media, The Echo, which praised it for its bee and child-friendly credentials! A community clean-up morning was also held in Hunter’s Green in Gorey in July, which offered a great opportunity for members to get to know each other. Many hands etc.!
Competition Corner We are very excited to launch our COMPETITION CORNER in this season’s newsletter. The Competition Corner will offer the opportunity for our younger co-operators to really get creative and get involved. For this edition, we’re asking children up to 12 years of age to submit a picture that represents what living in co-operative housing means to them. The winner will win a €50 Smyth’s voucher, 2nd place will win a €30 Smyth’s voucher, and 3rd place will win a €20 Smyth’s voucher. All entries, including your name, age, local co-operative and address should be submitted to Fiona Dunkin, Co-operative Housing Ireland, 33 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. Take a look at Dublin South member Lacey’s gorgeous picture and description of their new chicken coop in Kilcronan for some inspiration!
5
6
Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
AGM Update Our 2018 Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday, September 29th in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin. Members from across the country travelled to the event, which offered the opportunity for member discussion, updates from CHI staff, and distribution of copies of our recently published 2017 Annual Report. We were delighted to welcome our newly elected Board members on the day. They are listed below. We wish them all the very best for their two-year term.
John Power Loughlinstown
Kim Olin Dublin City
Kim Byrne South Leinster
Lisa Kinsella-Colman Dublin South
Frances Kawala Connacht
Pearse O’Shiel Ralahine
Taoufik Hammami Munster
Co-operative Housing News Autumn 2018
Getting Winter ready The weather might be all over the place at the moment, but it’s still well worth gearing up for Winter. Below are a few energy-saving tips that might come in useful: 1.
2.
3.
4.
Bleed your radiators regularly. It can be a pain, but if you don’t, it may mean your radiator is not working as efficiently as it could be. Try washing your dishes and clothes at a lower temperature. You probably won’t notice a huge difference if you bring the temperature down gradually to ensure that your cleaning remains as effective! Keep your curtains closed in the evenings. A huge amount of heat escapes through windows, and it’ll be dark out in any case! With the dark evenings, we’ll be switching more lights on in the house. If you don’t already, try to make a habit of switching off lights in rooms that aren’t occupied.
5.
With the arrival of the colder weather, it’s more important than ever to be aware of fire safety. Please ensure that you know where fire extinguishers are located in your home and in common areas. If you notice that a fire extinguisher has been tampered with or appears to be damaged, please make this known to your Housing Officer immediately.
Similar tips are to be found in our upcoming Member Handbook, which will be made available to members in 2019.
Correction In our Summer Newsletter, we incorrectly referred to member organisation Cloughjordan Co-Housing as Cloughjordan Community Co-operative Society. We wish to apologise for this error.
7