What We Do

While working in your community your Community Coordinators operate under the following aims:

 

Projects

The Community Coordinators achieve their aims through a variety of projects, a number of these projects are outlined below

Eyes Open

This is a six week Community Safety programme devised by the Community Coordinators for the primary school age group. The Coordinators worked in partnership with the Fire Service & An Garda Síochana to deliver Community Safety messages to children. The course programme looks at the following topics

The Southside Community Coordinators delivered the programme to 4th class students at Galvone National School. Twenty four children participated and were awarded certificates in December.

The Northside Community Coordinators also delivered the programme to a youth club in St. Munchin’s Community Centre. Twenty five children aged between 6 and 12 years, completed the programme. Certificates of Completion were presented to the children by his Worship Mayor Kevin Kiely in the Council Chambers on the 15th December 2009.

Well done to all who completed this important safety course!

JUMP!

JUMP! Is a one hour activity programme straight after school and involves fair play activities for both girls and boys. It aims to increase physical activity and provides “something to do” on those long afternoons after school. It focuses on the social and enjoyable aspects of sports as opposed to the competitive aspects. There is a strong emphasis on rules and boundaries and all activities are inclusive, safe and enjoyable for all

This programme is run by the Community Coordinators in schools across the city. Recently, St. Munchin’s Boys School and St. Mary’s Boys School have taken part in the programme, attendance was excellent and fun was had by all. .JUMP! Will be run in St. Mary’s Girls School and at St. Munchin’s Family Resource Centre in January.

Copping On!

The Community Coordinators recently delivered a four week programme entitled ‘Copping On!’ to members of St. Mary’s Park Youth Club.

‘Copping On!’ is a national crime awareness initiative aimed at teenagers from 12-18 years. Please see www.coppingon.ie

The programme focused on the following topics;

• Right and Wrong  

 Introduced the concept of right and wrong Allowed the group to discuss their own values and where those values come fromOffered a broader overview of what’s right and wrong, than those provided by the legal definitions

• Victims 

Encouraged the young people to think through the consequences of their actions for others as well as themselves. Promoted understanding and empathy for those who are victims of crime. Discussed how people become victimised and how this affects their lives.

• Rules and Boundaries

Allowed the group to discuss their personal values  Offered a broader view of right and wrong to the group

• Consequences

Encouraged the group to think through decisions in order to control the outcome of a situation

Twelve participants were presented with certificates on completion of the course. The coordinators were impressed by the level of commitment shown by the group and wish to commend them for their hard work during the four week programme.

The Community Coordinator team plan to roll out the Copping On! Programme in other areas of the city in 2010.

Positive Ageing Week

During Positive Ageing week in September, the Northside Community Coordinators with the assistance of local children from the ‘Through the Years’ project visited older people on our home visit list, and planted daffodils in their gardens. This was a very simple but rewarding project, with both younger and older people greatly enjoying getting to meet and talk to each other. This type of interaction helps to reduce the fear experienced within the community and build relationships between different age groups. Due to the success of this project we hope to continue with something similar in the Spring.

On the Southside of the city the Community Coordinators celebrated Positive Ageing Week by hosting ‘A Trip down Memory Lane’. Members of the Queen of Peace Senior Citiznes group were invited to bring photographs or items that reminded them of times past, they were then asked to share their memories with the group. A volunteer from the Hunt Museum entertained the group with stories of Limerick’s past.

Safety at Home Scheme

November was designated ‘Community Safety Month’ by the Coordinator team when over  130 residents across the city had smoke alarms and safety chains fitted inside their homes. The Community Coordinators worked in partnership with Limerick City Council to provide these essential safety items.

Feedback has confirmed that as a result, residents feel safer and more secure in their homes.

Also as part of Community Safety month the Community Coordinators developed ‘Safety Packs’ which provided valuable information on fire safety, road/pedestrian safety, information from the Public Health Nurse and much literature on personal safety.

In total, there were close to 300 safety packs distributed to elderly residents in Limerick City during November.

Operation Green

In July this year the Community Coordinators launched Operation Green for its second year. A waste awareness scheme centred on the importance of recycling, this scheme was a huge success last year when it ran in Kennedy Park as a pilot. Due to its success the scheme was expanded this year into Glasgow park, Janesboro and Rathbane.

Nineteen residents signed up to take part and over a four week period were required to fill bags with recyclable items found littered around the neighbourhood and return their bag to the Coordinators at a designated collection point on a weekly basis. The bags were checked on collection as no household waste could be accepted! Each bag distributed had the name and address of the participant printed on it in order to ensure any bags discarded could be traced back to its owner. Each bag collected earned a stamp and the more stamps the participant received the bigger the prize at the end of the project.

The Community Coordinators were delighted with the participation and enthusiasm from residents and at the end of the four weeks 30kg of recyclable litter had been collected and taken away for recycling. The Coordinators would like to thank everybody who took part and hopes they and the rest of the community can see the benefits of their hard work; a visibly cleaner and safer environment.

The prize was a trip to Stonehall Visitor Farm, where participants enjoyed a picnic lunch, tour of the farm and a nature walk. This trip gave residents from the different areas an opportunity to meet and get to know one another, whilst enjoying a fun and interesting day out.

Operation Green was funded under Local Agenda 21 and strives to increase awareness about the importance of recycling and the benefits of a greener environment. This is a key aim in the role of the Coordinators, to improve the local environment and to raise awareness of environmental issues amongst our future generations.

Community Gardens

An important part of the role of the Community Coordinator team is to assist residents to improve their local environment and to promote community spirit within communities. To help achieve this we facilitated the planting of two  community gardens this year. 

In Sarsfield Park last October, the Community Coordinators residents and the children from Club Spark worked together to plant flower beds within their estate.

And in Janesboro, the Coordinators, children & parents from Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School and local residents planted a ‘Community Garden’ on the green space in front the school.    It was an excellent opportunity for residents to join together in positive community action to improve the appearance of their neighbourhood

Litter pick CompetitionThe Community Coordinators run a series of litter picks throughout the city every summer. The aim of the project is to get residents involved in maintaining the area in which they live and to develop a sense of pride for that area. These are always well attended by adults and children, eager to help make their estates cleaner and safer places to live.

This year, we ran a competition between estates, awarding points for attendance, enthusiasm and appearance. There are also points given for maintenance of the area following the clean up.

Park View, Hassett’s Cross was the winning estate, residents here showed outstanding enthusiasm and all age groups were involved in the clean up.

Christmas Card Project

In the lead up to Christmas the Community Coordinators completed their 2009 Christmas Card Project with 200 Christmas cards handmade by local children and posted to senior citizens across the city.

The Community Coordinators worked with Community Gardaí in delivering a special Christmas message to children in eight schools across the city. As the children made their cards, Community Gardaí chatted to the class about antisocial behaviour (ASB) and the effect it can have on older people in their community. The children were asked to consider how their own grandparents would feel if they were suffering from ASB.

This project aims to create a better understanding among the primary school age group of the impact of ASB, with the emphasis for this project being on ‘looking out’ for older people at this time of year.

As well as working with local schools we also worked with a youth group from St. Munchin’s Community Centre on this project.  On Tuesday 15th December 2009 the group came to a special presentation at City Hall to hand deliver their cards to elderly members of the community. The groups sang carols for the Mayor and local Councillors and were taken on an exclusive tour of Council Chambers and the Mayors Office. 

Club Spark

This after school club was set-up following requests from parents living in the area who wanted a safe environment for their children to socialize and interact with other children from the area. Club SPARK! was set up in March 2009 to meet this need and to deliver community safety messages to the participants. The Community Gardaí assist with projects now and then and the children get to have fun and socialise with their neighbours. 

Projects have included painting a community mural for the community facility, producing and distributing information leaflets for Sarsfield Park residents on ‘Safety at Home’, ‘Keeping the Estate Clean’; ‘Scoop the Poop’ etc. The children also play games, watch movies, do arts and crafts and generally have lots of fun!

Attendance is excellent with children aged 6-11 years participating in the club every week. The club takes place from 4.00-5.15pm every Thursday and currently there are nine members of the club.

The Coordinators are working towards allowing parents to take over the running of the club this year to ensure the club is sustainable.