Ballincollig Tidy Towns has donated to Together-Razem to purchase medical supplies for the Ukrainian people.
Together-Razem is a charity registered in Ireland No 20075125 & CHY Revenue 19216.
Since 2006 they have been providing various support services to the Polish and Eastern European migrant communities in Ireland. Together-Razem has many links with government and non-government organizations in Poland and offers its support to the Ukrainian community in Ireland.
In such disturbing times, after consulting with the representatives of the Ukrainian Community in Ireland, they are urgently raising funds for a very particular purpose – for the purchase of medical supplies, such as basic first aid kits, dressings, bandages, tourniquets, blood stoppers, and painkillers.
They have raised €8442 so far for the purchase of medical supplies and their representative is flying to Poland on the 17th March to finalize the purchase process with Polish authorities and to deliver items to the Ukraine.
Together-Razem decided to finish this fundraiser on the 12th March as they will switch their focus on women and children who will arrive in Ireland. There may be a minimum of 80,000 refugees and there will be an URGENT need to help them here in Ireland. Furthermore, after 12th March Together-Razem will not be funded by the government and will be relying only on their reserves. So they will start raising funds to support Ukrainian families here in Ireland and deliver essential services as needed
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the provision of counselling in Ukrainian/Russian language to those suffering from stress of war trauma.
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funds for emergency purposes for those families ( basic need items when they arrive)
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cover the costs of our volunteers ( travel expenses, phone calls, stationery)
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expanding their capacity and services
The current offer aimed at Ukrainians is covered by the financial reserves of Together-Razem:
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Providing reliable, up-to-date information on the regulations for refugees after crossing the border – it is important for those Ukrainian families living in Ireland who can pass this information on to their relatives fleeing Ukraine.
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Connecting refugees with the non-governmental organizations in Poland that offer shelter and immediate help – many people who cross the Polish border don’t speak Polish or English and are confused, they can help them contact their loved ones who live here in Ireland.
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Enabling the Ukrainian community in Cork to have a safe gathering spot at the Together-Razem headquarters – tea, conversation, information in a safe space together with a Ukrainian-speaking volunteer.
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Basic translation services – the Ukrainian speaking volunteer is available to assist with documentation.
BIRD AND BAT BOXES
Saturday morning a group of Ballincollig Tidy Towns Volunteers began the latest project – putting up both Bird and Bat Boxes.
There was plenty of activity from the feathered community as they seemed to watch the activity from their perches waiting to investigate these new homes.
It was a case of first come first served.
THOSE TO BE PROUD OF…
On Saturday morning the Under 13’s LGFA Ballincollig Team carried out a litter pick in and around the GAA Club. These youngsters worked hard and did an amazing job. When all their litter was put together it filled one large bag to the brim. What a fantastic result and a great show of Community Spirit, Ballincollig Tidy Towns is truly grateful. Thank you all.
THOSE TO BE ASHAMED OF…
Another seat in the Regional Park Ballincollig was set alight!
Can anyone tell what the point is in the mindless destruction of community property. Why do some people think its ok to spoil things for everyone else? We all live in the one community and if we haven’t learnt anything from all the loss and suffering of the past two years then we never will.
So many community members give freely of their time each week so that not only we but the next generations can enjoy this wonderful park. Cork City Council have invested so much money to provide seating throughout for us all. Their staff work tirelessly every day to make sure the Regional Park Ballincollig looks its best, a place we are all so proud of.
Despite all this effort, there continues to be an element who think nothing of actually making it their mission to cause damage and thus spoiling it for everyone else. The effort it takes, could they not put that energy into something more useful?
It’s actually sad to think that these are community members, who in another few years will more than likely be pushing their own kids through the Regional Park and making use of all it has to offer. They will have grown up and ‘copped on’ and will probably be tut tutting at other youngsters causing mayhem.
Please, just stop and think for a minute. You are not only letting yourselves down but also your families and your community. You are known you know. People nowadays are fully aware of who is at fault. Imagine how you will feel in time to come when you’re looking for work or a chance to prove yourself and you’re expecting people to overlook the destruction you caused. Put your efforts into something else, something that will have meaning and benefit those you live among.
You are lucky. You live a life of freedom in a beautiful community. Think of those whose homes are being bombed, who’s freedom is taken, those torn from loved ones and the life they have known and left with nothing but fear. Do something positive instead.
PICKING LITTER
Last Sunday the beautiful spring morning brought a large number out to partake in the weekly litter pick in Ballincollig. There were 30 in total, 23 Volunteers and 7 Transition Year students. We welcomed Aisha from Ballincollig Community School to the Transition Year team. Because of this large turnout we were in a position to cover an extra-wide area including sections of the Regional Park. It was lovely to see so many people litter picking, enjoying the sunshine and meeting up with each other.
As is the norm, several of our Volunteers carried out litter picks during the week.
Sunday’s litter collection was added to the large bag of litter collected by the Under 13 girls LGFA on Saturday and put with what was collected during the week. When segregated we had one large bag of plastic for recycling.
“ORCHARDS IN THE COMMUNITY”
Ballincollig Tidy Towns joins “Orchards in the Community” to plant 1000 orchards across Ireland
Ballincollig Tidy Towns is pleased to announce its participation in Host in Ireland’s “Orchards in the Community” initiative. Orchards play a key role in providing an early food source for struggling bees. To help protect the bees and increase pollination, Is part of 52 pledgers and over 90 schools and community groups planting in excess of 1,000 mixed fruit orchards all over Ireland.
Orchards provide vital green spaces in our cities and towns, where people are encouraged to interact with nature either through becoming custodians of the trees or by simply being around them and enjoying their shade, beauty and fruit. They are also important habitats as the natural life cycle of fruit trees provides food sources for pollinators and other species throughout the year. With “Orchards in the Community”, orchards are being planted in every single county on the island of Ireland – both in the Republic and Northern Ireland – making this an all Ireland effort.
” ‘Orchards in the Community’ is helping to create ‘pollinator pit stops’ across the island. One third of our 99 wild bee species are at risk of extinction. Each year as they flower, these orchards will provide them with vital food. In return, by pollinating the flowers, the bees will ensure we have lots of fruits to enjoy in the autumn,” said Dr Úna FitzPatrick co-founder and project manager of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. “This scale of this initiative provides us with a unique opportunity to track change. By planting uniform orchards in multiple locations within the one growing season, we can assess which insects visit in different regions, and better understand which areas have the greatest abundance and diversity of pollinators remaining.”
“Orchards have played an important role in communities for many centuries, providing a focal point, a gathering space, and a place where people and nature successfully work together to create abundant harvests,” said Garry Connolly, founder, Host in Ireland. “That spirit of community is alive and well with ‘Orchards in the Community’ as organisations like Ballincollig Tidy Towns come together with biodiversity groups, schools, colleges, Tidy Towns and others across Ireland to tackle challenges like biodiversity loss to save Ireland’s pollinators.”
About Host in Ireland
Host in Ireland is an award-winning strategic global initiative created to increase awareness of the benefits of hosting digital assets in Ireland as well as Irish companies that are designing, building, and operating data centres globally.
For more information about Host in Ireland, visit www.hostinireland.com.
RECYCLING
Ballincollig Tidy Towns continues its recycling drive for the Ballincollig community and this week 38 bags of plastic and 1 large bin of cans were collected by Green Dragon and taken to the recycling plant.
IMPORTANT GRANT SCHEME INFORMATION
Cork City Council are inviting applications for the Community Area Maintenance Grant Scheme 2022, for projects with a Litter Prevention or Litter Reduction Focus.
To complete an application form and view the terms and conditions please go to – https://submit.link/Jv.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday, March 16th 2022 at 5pm.