30 May 2020
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Farranree and Fairhill local community and voluntary groups are hard at work for their community. Working alongside the Cork City Community Response Forum (CRF), local heroes are continuing to work around the clock to ensure everyone is well looked after. Some recent highlights include:
The Springboard project have delivered over 200 fun boxes containing art materials and activity exercises to children in the areas of Farranree and Fairhill. They have been working with the children, schools and parents encouraging them to engage with online educational services. Children in the area have recently been working hard on the Lord Mayor’s Creative Call initiative.
Health Action Zone’s ‘Singing for the Brain’ singing group have gone from strength to strength so much so that they have now been broken into two groups and have made links with groups in Mallow and other towns in Cork to keep up with demands.
Farranree Community Association Community Warden Majella Gould and other community groups have re-started the Farrnaree Environmental Group and have had several positive meetings online around planning for community clean ups when it is safe to do so.
Farranree Family Resource Centre are making daily phone calls to vulnerable people in the community. These calls are important to socially connect with people and to identify if they would need any assistance (like using the meals on wheels service, food delivery service and, in some instances, medication delivery.)
Young Knocknaheeny continue to work remotely and are directly supporting families in the area, this includes: weekly check-ins (by phone or video call), emotional support, children’s developmental guidance, relationship support, practical support and advocacy. Activity packs were delivered to all families that included books crayons and paper for the children. Food hampers have also been arranged for families in need.
Cork City Partnership liaises closely with Farranree Family Resource Centre to help and support Friendly Call Cork’s clients. The have been helping to deliver resources such as useful phone numbers, coloring sheets, word searches and crosswords to clients
Cork City Council Community Response Forum Lead, Ruth Lynch said: “Although we are coming close to entering Phase 2 of the easing of the government’s restrictions we really need to be mindful that there are still vulnerable people in our community who will still need our help with every day activities. Please remember that Cork City’s Community Response Forum are still here to support anyone who needs our help, whether this is picking up shopping and medicine or the delivery of library books – you can call us on 1800-222-226 or email covidsupport@corkcity.ie”
