News and Events

Press Release

Drogheda Community Forum press release

Drogheda Community Forum hopes to help boost the morale of local voluntary groups in September with two seminars aimed at developing a vision for the future and working together for the good of the community. And they have got the help of one of Ireland’s leading leadership development consultants.

“In these recessionary times community groups are losing a lot of their funding and staff and some are even having to shut up shop,” said Forum chairman, Tony Mullins.
“But on the other hand there are more people getting involved in voluntary work and it looks like we could be returning to the days when community work was done largely by volunteers.

“While the advent of paid community workers was a huge asset to groups, perhaps we got a little too used to someone else looking after the administration of projects. If nothing else the current downturn will certainly make the role of volunteers more important again,” he added.

The seminars will be facilitated by Dr Ardawan Lalui, a Galway-based leadership consultant who has 25 years experience in corporate training and coaching and who has worked with some well-known multinational companies such as Samsung and Danone.

At present he is involved in a European project which with the help of a €6 million EU grant has the aim of delivering a model for successful, sustainable and socially responsible businesses.

The first seminar takes place on Friday September 9th and will focus on the potential of groups to develop a vision for the future and plan for success. The second, on September 14th, will deal with community groups working together and creating a common vision. There will also be a module on organising effective meetings. Both seminars will be in the Westcourt Hotel from 9.30am to 4.30pm and lunch will be included.

They are free to all members of community groups and individuals. Anyone interested can book by contacting Brian Conyngham (086-8567131) or the Forum - Phone: 041-9843708. E-mail: info@droghedacommunityforum.net.

“We were very lucky to be able to get the services of Dr Ardawan, who is a very busy man and I would urge at least one member of each community group to attend. I can assure them that both seminars will be highly worthwhile,” said Tony.

Training Seminar

Drogheda Community Forum is delighted to offer 2 training seminars to the Community Sector in September 2011. This programme is funded by Louth Leader Partnership.

These full day seminars will be focused on moving forward and working together; they will begin at 9:30am and run until 4:30pm. Lunch will be provided

The programme will include:

Friday September 9th

1)      “How to stay positive during recession”.
a.      Discovering our potential.
b.      Focussing on our strengths.
c.      Developing a vision for the future.
d.      Planning and achieving success.

Wednesday September 14th.

2)      “Organisations working together”:
a.       How to work with others in unity.
b.      How to make decisions and collaborate more effectively with other organisations.
c.       How to create a common vision.
d.      How to run effective meetings.

For more information contact us

History Exchange

History Exchange, this week we began an exchange between DAWN and HURT group.

A group from Drogheda Area Women’s Network travelled to Banbridge where they met with a group from the Lisburn and Banbridge area.

The entire group had a lovely visit to Navan Fort, a Medievil site in Armagh full of celtic history, myth and legend.

The Northern Irish women will come to Drogheda for a visit in the near future and will take in some of the historical sites in this area.

DVD Launch

DCF hosted a DVD Launch recently for the HSE’s production “Open Your Eyes to Elder Abuse”, the launch was held in Droichead Art Centre and was attended by leaders of community organisations.

There was a HSE representative there to introduce the DVD and answer questions, the local radio station LMFM also were present to promote the awareness of elder abuse.

There were copies of the DVD available to the attendees for their organisations.

DCF is delighted to be involved in raising awareness of this issue and with the success of the Launch.

Funding Info.

Funding info for you, if you have a project planned there might be a small fund available to you, please take a look at details below. The Ireland Funds
The Ireland Funds have reopened for a small grants programme. The objective of the grant round is to enable as many organisations as possible to fund new and innovative responses to social need.

The maximum award available is €25,000. The average award is €7,000. There is no minimum award.
The Ireland Funds support projects in the following four areas:
Peace and reconciliation
Arts and Culture
Community Development
Education

Each category is accorded with the same importance. To see if your project is eligible for an Ireland Fund’s award please see: www.irlfunds.org/grants

How to apply:
All Grant round applications must be submitted online at www.irlfunds.org/grants. Only groups, not-for-profit and charitable organisations can apply for funding. Grants will not be made to individuals. Organisations may submit only one application. Only organisations within Ireland, North and South, are eligible to apply.

The deadline for applications is 31 March 2011

Grant Scheme

Grassroots Grant Scheme and LGBT Communities Fund – Community Foundation for Ireland

The Community Foundation for Ireland’s Grassroots Grants Scheme and the LGBT Communities Fund are currently open for applications. Grants of up to €5,000 are available to community based groups for small, once-off projects. Grassroots Grants target projects working with Carers (for the provision of emergency respite for family carers), Older people (especially innovative ways to reach out to isolated older adults), Families at Risk (especially vulnerable children and parents), Ethnic Minorities (for measures promoting increased integration) and Mental Health and Integration.

The LGBT Communities Fund seeks to support groups working with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Grants will support small scale projects for which funding is not easily available from other sources. Detailed criteria is available at www.communityfoundation.ie
To apply for either scheme, consult the website www.communityfoundation.ie
Email info@foundation.ie

As part of the Drogheda Community Forum cross border project a small group were invited to Redrock Co Armagh to celebrate Robbie Burns night. The group were all representatives of community/ voluntary organisations in Drogheda and took a day trip to co Armagh where they learned a little of Ulster –scot tradition and about the establishment of the Orange Order. They were then guests of the Redrock Development Group at the local Orange Hall not far from Markethill Co Armagh, where a warm welcome preceded some dancing and the arrival of the honoured Haggis. In the tradition of Burns night the haggis was piped into the room (bagpipes) then “the immortal Memory” a short speech telling of the poet’s life, followed by recital of Burns poem dedicated to the Haggis. All the ceremony over there was a wonderful supper including, of course that famed Haggis. The night was a fantastic mixture of fun music and dancing and an insight to part of the Ulster-scot tradition for the guests from Drogheda who had never attended a Burns night before. This event was organised by Drogheda Community Forum as part of a cultural exchange which is integral to their cross-border community development project funded by International Fund for Ireland. Representatives of the Redrock Development Group will come to visit Drogheda in the future where they will experience something of the culture Drogheda has to offer, we can only aim to deliver the warmth of welcome that we received there.

New programme of Cross Border events for 2011 and 2012

Drogheda Community Forum has successfully secured funding for a new schedule of events and workshops over the next 2 years.

This funding is from
International Fund for Ireland - Building Foundations – community based economic regeneration programme, with areas of activity that are suited to enhance relationships across borders and communities including Samba drumming, History project, Cultural exchange.

The Forum is delighted to again offer the people of the area the opportunity to play a part in cross border relations and we anticipate the project will be welcomed by community organisations in Louth.

Fund raising co-operation

At the recent seminar on co-operation around flag days, street collections and church gate collections among local community groups keen interest was shown in the idea of co-operation among groups. Drogheda Community Forum will take this further by ongoing promotion of the idea on this web site.

We would welcome the thoughts, comments and suggestions of all organisations in the town – and above all offers of co-operation. We will be publishing a list of the best spots in town available for collections and if we miss any out any let us know. Any other tips would also be welcome.

There are a number of ways co-operation can be achieved:

Two or more organisations can get together, pool the manpower available to them so they can cover all the best spots in town.
Organisations can loan some of their members to help with the collection of one particular group. The favour is then returned when the organisation which loaned the members has its flag day.
A group of organisations can get together to organise a special collection day with a lot of hype – say a samba band, balloons, people in costume, etc.

The Forum is also looking at the suggestion of creating a common logo to identify collections as ‘local’ as opposed to those which are organised by national organisations which collect regularly in town. Collections organised by local branches of national organisations will be counted as ‘local’.

Any ideas for a logo? Any volunteers to design a one free of charge.?

Another service we hope to offer is to post a list of collections coming up (probably on an annual basis) so you can plan yours to fit in and also to pick a partner or partners for a shared collection. The Community section of the Garda are looking into the possibility of providing us with a list.

We will also be publishing a legal guide to street collections – again with the assistance of Community Gardai.

For instance did you know that a flag day is when you sell or offer something in return for a contribution such as a daffodil or a badge. You DO NOT need a permit for this. A street collection is when you just shake a box and give a stickers to contributors and for this you need local Garda permission. The collections for national organisations usually operate under permits obtained from the courts and they can operate anywhere and on any day in most cases.

We will keep you up to date and we also hope to use the local media in this campaign.

Community Networking Event

Drogheda Community Forum supported by Louth Leader Partnership, are bringing a unique networking event to the local community and voluntary sector.on September 16th 2010 at The d Hotel, Drogheda, 7.30 pm.

DCF will host a community networking event for all community organisations and groups in the area, your members are invited to attend this event and participate in discussions on fundraising cooperation, volunteers and some of the challanges faced by the community sector in these financilly difficult times.

If you have any ideas to contribute please let me know, further information will follow closer to the event.

Drogheda Community Forum Press release

Local community groups have been urged to keep going even, if they lose funding due to Government cutbacks – if only to make their voices heard.

The call came at a Drogheda Community Forum open day from Louth Leader Partnership Community Development Officer Bernie McCann, who stressed the importance of the community sector’s voice.

The open day for local community groups attracted representatives of around 15 organisations to The d Hotel with many of them displaying the work they do through leaflets and brochures at the gathering, which was designed as a networking event.

A facilitated session drew out the needs and aspirations of the organisations involved and a report is to be compiled so the Forum can organise a programme of training, workshops and actions to help address these needs.

Two of the main issues that emerged were the opportunity of far more volunteers being available because of the increase in unemployment and the reduction in state funding. The problem of people being prevented from doing voluntary work when they are signing on was raised and the Forum is to talk to the Social Welfare Department authorities about this.

The day ended with a debate on some of the issues that emerged and it was agreed to look into the feasibility of staging a large-scale Community Fair in the summer to help organisations raise funds.

The Forum’s new website was also launched on the day and any community organisations who would like establish a link can contact the Forum. All the details are available on the website at www.droghedacommunityforum.net.

The open day was the climax of a series of Forum training workshops and consultation sessions funded by the Louth Leader Partnership. “But for the support of the Partnership, and in particular Bernie McCann, none of this would have been possible,” said Forum chairperson Tony Mullins.

He urged all community groups in the town to attend the Forum agm in The d Hotel on December 10^th at 8pm. “We need to establish a strong united front to face all the challenges ahead together,” he added.

Invitation to Membership to Drogheda Community Forum

Drogheda Community Forum invite your group to be a member of this network, that supports the activities of groups in the community and voluntary sector locally.

Membership of Drogheda Community Forum will offer your organisation and its’ members a variety of supports and facilities throughout the year which includes:

An opportunity for information exchange and networking with other community/voluntary groups in Drogheda.
Representation on local Partnership Board, AONTAS, European Anti Poverty Network, CWC and other local and national organisations.
Annual training sessions geared to the needs of your group.
Administration Services. We have a variety of equipment that you can avail of including projector, laminator, comb binding machine, overhead projector and we can assist with photocopying duties.
Support and assistance in making funding applications.
Up to date information on events of interest to community and voluntary groups. Regular info by email.

For more information on any of these services please contact Committee member or Paulette in the Forum office: 041 9843708 or info@droghedacommunityforum.net

Membership is open to all Community and Voluntary group in the Drogheda area.

Please fill in attached membership form and return it to us for December 10^th 2009.

We are interested in being of service and look forward to hearing from you soon and to meeting you at our AGM on Thursday, December 10th 2009, in the dHotel at 7.30 pm, all are welcome and refreshments will be served.