Community Calls For Volunteers

Community Focus

The Public Participation Network has almost 600 community groups

affiliated with us. They all look for new volunteers but why should
you volunteer? Here are just 6 of many reasons to do it.

Your Community Voice

Your Community News

2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

PPN Workshops
Men Shed Open Day
Cavan Womens
Network Event
Cavan Traveller
Pride Event

Mental health volunteering is great for your mental health and has been
shown to help with depression. Taking time out from your own stresses and
problems to help others can really lift your mood.
Work experience nowadays having relevant work experience on your CV is
becoming more and more important for getting a job. Volunteering is great work
experience. Most employers count volunteering as practical work experience.
New skills volunteering enables you to learn new skills, put those you have
already learnt into practice and get great references too. You also get the added
bonus of having heaps of demonstrated experience to talk about when you
finally do get that interview.
Meet new people one of the best ways to make new friends and future
contacts for work is volunteering. Through volunteering you get to meet and
participate in fun activities with like-minded people.
Positive change volunteering allows you to help make change in something
you are passionate about while connecting with your community and making it a
better place. That sense of satisfaction you get when you know you are part of
something thats making a difference is priceless.
It makes you happy helping others makes you happier. True story. In a poll
by the National Volunteering Network, 98% of respondents said volunteering
has made them happier people.

COME ON & CONTACT US!

LETS GET OUT THERE AND HELP OURSELVES & OTHERS!
Public Participation Officer Daniel Downey at cavanppn@gmail.com
086 351 2308 or call to our offices in Cana House in Cavan Town

SUMMER

PPN Funding
Discussion
Cathaoirleach 2015
Community Awards
WWI Trench Visit

Mens Sheds Open

Their Doors (pg. 3)

Cavan Women
Empowered To
Create Change (pg. 4)

Public Participation For You

The Cavan Public Participation Network
(CPPN) is now well into its first year and
2
though challenging it is going extremely well.
3
36 representatives of the community in Cavan
4
continue to raise their voices on behalf of you
all, those who live within the communities of
5
our county.
6 In Community Focus we try to give you a taste
of what the CPPN and its partners are doing to
7
benefit community in County Cavan. In this
7 edition we talk about Traveller Pride,
Womens Empowerment, Mens Sheds,
community funding and more.
If you have any community news to share or want
to receive our notices then please contact us,
were here for you:
www.cavancommunity.ie
cavanppn@gmail.com
0863512308

The Cavan Public Participation Representatives

Meet To Discuss Issues To Action and Work On In
The Coming Year of 2015-16.

Countywide Linkage Workshop 2015

The 2015 Cathaoirleach Community Awards

Above: County
Council Organisers
of the Annual
Awards Event.

Cavans Public Participation Network held its

annual Countywide Summer Linkage Workshop in
June this year with a great turnout, brilliant
feedback and in depth discussions and networking
for all. Here are some of the issues and solutions
brought to the facilitations on the night:

Greater signage for tourism in the local area is

needed, community groups could work on
this.
Potential for having a Positive Mental Health
Month each year with talks and events.
Providing a Funding Info Pack with hints and tips about funding
as well as info on funders, what they want and when theyre open.
Changing Garda vetting from a placement based system to a person
based system to cut down on duplication and waiting times.
Working with youth to encourage them to get involved in
volunteering in our local communities.

These are only 5 of the 18 action points the facilitations provided

on the night from the 3 sectors and 3 areas of the county. For a full
copy of our report which includes information on
who each of the CPPN representatives are, the
landscape of community geography in County Cavan
and plenty of photos from our events then get in
touch with us:
Public Participation Officer Daniel Downey at cavanppn@gmail.com
086 351 2308 or call to our offices in Cana House in Cavan Town

Above: Some of the Public Participation recipients of this years Cathaoirleach Awards.
From Left: Daniel Downey (PPN Worker), Patricia OReilly, Marisa Goldstone,
Kathleen Duffy, Noleen Smith Brady, Brian McDermott, Tess Brady and Bob Gilbert (PPN
Chairperson).

The annual Cathaoirleach (Chairpersons) Community Award ceremony

again went well this year with some excellent community activists
representing their hard work and giving nature to the local community.
The Public Participation representatives were particularly recognized for
their fantastic local efforts, being granted 11 of the 21 awards dispensed
on the night. The Cathaoirleach Awards are a vital way to recognize the
selfless and community contributing work of the volunteers of County
Cavan and the CPPN will continue to support it every year.
A Visit To The Trenches For CPPN Members

Being part of the Public Participation

Network we try to upskill and share what we
can to boost our community volunteers. This
also means boosting morale with days out.
This summer members of the PPN with
friends and family attended a wonderful tour
of the Cavan County Museum World War I
Trench Tour. The sombre, meaningful tone of
the tour was conducted in respect with a light hearted
but deep feeling guide who genuinely cared about
remembering this time none should ever forget. The
tour itself is a must see for all residing in or visiting the
county and the community representatives felt that this
is most definitely one gem of our county well worth our support.

Public Participation Funding Workshop

This summer the Cavan Public Participation
Network held a funding facilitation workshop to
gather community and voluntary groups together
to get their impressions of funding models and
what they would like to see funded in County
Cavan. Some great ideas and discussions were
had from the representatives of over sixty
groups.

It is vital to support the centenary of 1916

by tailoring our community applications to
celebrate this momentous event in our
history.
There is far too much red tape with funders acting at times more as
gate keepers than support workers, scaring off new groups with
hyper complex language and over-burdensome bureaucracy.
Restore community say on community grants next year.
Youth engagement & encouragement projects should be animated
by funders, encouraging them to get involved in volunteering.
Funders advertisements, windows of application and deadlines are
entirely incompatible with their target demographics. Those who
give a weeks notice for a 2 week window have to understand most
community groups meet on a monthly basis.
Animation (brainstorming, facilitating, educating & enthusing)
workshops as rolled out by Daniel Downey, the CPPN Coordinator
have been invaluable, especially to newer groups. More of this
would be good with a funding seminar where groups and funders
can meet to have discussions face to face. Could the CPPN deliver?
Promoting local tourism attractions through applying for things like
signage and accessories for attractive locations will improve our
county.

These are just a few of the dozens of suggestions which came from the
facilitation workshop. If you wish to receive a full copy of the report then
please dont hesitate to contact us and we will get it to you.
Public Participation Officer Daniel Downey at cavanppn@gmail.com
086 351 2308 or call to our offices in Cana House in Cavan Town

Mens Shed Open Day

Tar Isteach Cavan Town Mens Shed

Tar Isteach
opened its doors
in July to the
members of the
public curious
about the goings on in the sheds. They
were welcomed with positive, constructive fun and activity. From woodwork to
painting, darts to tiny house building
theres something for everyone in the
shed and the sound of laughter is a
constant in Tar Isteach, a place to leave
your troubles behind and come to just be
together and relax in a secure and happy
environment. With over 2
years opened now Tar
Isteach goes from strength
to strength.

Other Sheds In Cavan

There are many other Mens
Sheds in County Cavan. Here are
only some.
See more at www.menssheds.ie
Virginia Mens Shed Virginia
Show Grounds, Co. Cavan Dan
Courtney 049 854 7214 or 086
1099 939 viginia@menssheds.ie
Killeshandra Mens Shed
Focus FRC, Portaliffe Centre,
Main Street, Killeshandra, Co.
Cavan - Mick O Connor 087 278
1938 killeshandra@menssheds.ie
Cavan Traveller Mens Shed Bridge Street Community Centre,
Cavan Town, Co. Cavan - Terry
Maughan 085 272 5915 cavantraveller@menssheds.ie

The Cavan Public Participation Network AGM

The CPPN Annual General
Meeting saw a change of 3
community elected individuals in
2 Municipal Districts and 1
Sector. We would like to extend
our sincerest thanks to Finian
McNamara, Ann Marie Johnston
and Kate Ennals for their
invaluable contributions in
providing a community voice for
the county. We now welcome
Heather Bothwell, Emmett Smith
and Marion Lyon to add their
skills, strengths and experience to
the Public Participation process.

Cavan Womens Network Summer School

Cavan Womens Network in collaboration with

The Cavan Public Participation Network and The
European Union Office in Dublin hosted a
magnificent 2 day conference of brilliant
inspiration and thought provoking discussion this
July.
The annual summer school was this year injected
with a jam-packed schedule of inspiring speakers,
dance workshops, facilitated feedbacks from the
public and even a laughter workshop to liven
things up. Guest speakers included MEPs Marion
Harkin and Mairead McGuinness who spoke
inspirational words to encourage women to
recognize the power within themselves to lead in
our society. Other speakers included Claire
McGing and Sheila Reilly of The Longford
Leader who spoke about the vital role women
have to play in reforming and improving the Irish
culture.
We had ups and we had downs, it was
challenging to organise but in the end it seems to
have been a resounding success said Cavan
Womens Network Chairperson Martina Keogan.
And a resounding success it was for all who
attended. Make sure to catch the Cavan Womens
Network events in future, they are empowering.

Cavan Traveller Pride Event

June saw a community often isolated and feeling

alone rise up with pride in The Cavan Traveller
Pride Event. This workshop, supported by Cavan
County Council and other partners was a deep
discussion-based event where Settled persons
and Travellers, educators and teachers all came
together to discuss the critical issue of Traveller
youth in mainstream education and what we can
do to help them through a world caf process
with facilitator, Daniel Downey.
The event drew a wide variety of community
representatives and key actors in the local
education system in Cavan alongside Traveller
leaders and youth. Bringing them together was
well worth the experience and the feedback and
ideas that were generated were both insightful
and achievable in their scope.
For a copy of the report contact us on
cavanppn@gmail.com

Cavan Community Forum: Contact Daniel Downey at cavanppn@gmail.com