The item about men's sheds starts at 25 minutes into the podcast .

Athy Community Men's Shed were delighted to be involved with Athy Lions Club for todays cycle rally

We provided marshal's , two  bike mechanic's and a support car to pick up any bikes that might not of made the whole journey - gladly we are able to say that every bike crossed the finish line .

If you bike needs a tune up - drop into us for a service , we are open 6 days a week in the Enterprise Center on the Kilkenny Road

Click on any image for a larger view

We are thinking of hiring a bus to get to the men's sheds festival in Dublin on the 4th of October .

If there was enough interest we are thinking of hiring a bus and picking up lads on the the way from Athy to Dublin .


If your men's shed lads are going and would like to join us on the bus , please let us know and contact us by the end of September .

Based in ATHYCourse Code LM43X
Course DescriptionFull Time Day Course
This unique Training programme will provide Learners with both the skills and supports for progression to employment through career guidance, personal development, motivation and training. After completion of FETAC modules in Customer Service, Personal Effectiveness in the Workplace, Business Computing and Work Experience, along with Certification in Forklift Driving, Manual Handling and Safe Pass; each learner will be equipped with the skills and experience required for a range of employment opportunities in the Warehousing and Logistics Sector. The course runs for 23 Weeks (30 hrs per week) with an additional 4 weeks for under 25s participants. As part of the programme learners will access a full time Work placement. Each Learner will have one on one mentoring to support them during the course and after the course to support them into employment. Applicants for this Momentum Programme must be unemployed for 12 months or longer and be in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance/Benefit or on the Live Register for 12 months or longer. Eligibility must be confirmed by Department of Social Protection Employment Services.

Course CertificationForkfift Driving Certification, Level 5 Module Certification

Modules:

• Business Computing
• Customer Service 43X
• Forklift Driving 43X
• Manual Handling 43X
• Personal Effectiveness in the Workplace
• Safe Pass 43X
• Work Experience Momentum 43X

Requirements

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
• Level 4 Certificate, Leaving Certificate or equivalent qualifications and/or relevant life and work experiences.
• Have standard literacy and numerical aptitude. Ability to work as part of a team, good verbal communication skills and ability to take direction. High level of physical fitness, capability to work at heights.
• No previous experience necessary for entry to programme.

Selection Criteria   Details  Min Standard Required Start Date: 06/10/2014

End Date: 24/04/2015

Duration: 25 weeks

Location: This course will run in Athy. For further information please contact Joanne Brown at 01 8897704 or email Joanne.brown@ictu.ie Website www.ictu.ie

Enterprising
Communities
You may have heard of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise, but what do these terms mean and how
could they be applied to address change in your community? Enterprising Communities is an exciting new
course that will provide participants with an understanding of the concepts behind Social Enterprise and
showcase examples of how communities are putting these ideas into practice. The course will also encourage
participants to develop their own ideas for community based initiatives and actively support putting them into
practice. Guest speakers and a study visit will also form part of the course.
Enterprising Communities will be of interest to community groups, individuals and anyone who
wishes to encourage positive change in their community.
Day Mondays
Time 10.00pm - 4.30pm
Venue Blessington Community Education Centre, Blessington, Co Wicklow
Fee €80.00 / €30.00 – For those who are active in a community group / in receipt of a social welfare
payment / are more than 20km from the venue
Dates 9 classes on Monday Sept 29, Oct 13, Nov 3, 24, Dec 15, Jan 12, Feb 2, Mar 2 and Mar 23
Facilitator Conor O'Leary is a Tutor with the Community Education Service of KWETB and also works as a
Development Officer with Muintir na Tire in the Eastern Region. He has previously received a
Level 2 award with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland for his work in empowering and supporting local
communities to develop over 500 arts and cultural events. Most recently he has worked with local
communities to develop local festivals, men's sheds and a community shop and cafe.
For more information and an application form contact:
Susan 045 988024
Brenda 087 641 0866
Or download the application form from www.kwetb.ie
Deadline for receipt of applications is September 19th 2014

Time to dust off that bike and join us for a fundraising event on the 28th September as we cycle around town and out to Levitstown and Kilkea fundraising for local schools .

Sponsor cards available in the Lions club book shop on Duke St

Restored to her former glory

We are kinda proud with the restoration we've done on this old butchers bike

Great night of fun was had by all - trying our hands out at the art of Road Bowling


Kudos to Pierce for winning this evening - a great nights sport - and the weather was with us .

no doubt we will be doing this again some night soon - If you would like to try your hand - drop into the shed for more details . We are open 6 days a week - and some evenings - or email us here

Big thanks must go to Mick Osbourne for providing the bowls

Over 100 new homes in Athy... Bird Boxes

Birds in Athy are now happily nesting in over 100 new homes in South Kildare thanks to the interest of local volunteer groups, who took inspiration from the National Tidy Town's 'Notice Nature' theme.

The Athy Men's Shed project, in conjunction with Athy Tidy Towns, has installed over 100 bird nest boxes at a number of locations in the town over recent weeks. The hardworking team at local Men's Shed, which is based at the Community Enterprise Centre, spent countless hours perfecting the suitable homes that were installed on the many trees and known nesting areas. The project was sponsored by Athy Town Council and Kildare Leader Partnership, with guidance from Bird Watch Ireland.

To ensure that the new residents are happy with the wider environment, the Tidy Towns Group has recommenced weekly litter patrols and additional volunteers are always particularly welcome (Telephone/ text: 086 8470232 or Email: athyshines@gmail.com)

Also see attached - photo

PHOTO:

Athy Bird Box Project- Pictured at the installation of one of the new bird boxes in Emily Square are: Martha Pender, Athy Town Council; Eddie Kilpatrick, Athy Men's Shed; and Patricia Berry, Athy Tidy Towns (Photo: Tony Keane)

We have just had a request in from a young man with special needs to see if we can get a trike for himself.
We don't have one in stock , so if you have one or know of someone who has one that is no longer needed , please get in touch so we can provide one for him.
It would have to suit a young boy aged 8-12 years old , with a height of a little under 4 feet .
This little lad is unbelievable he does not let anything stop him taking part in everything. He has a balance issue and would like to cycle with his family. Stabilizers are unsafe for him, we would appreciate any help with this to achieve his goal

Please share and ask around - if the bike is sourced locally we can call and collect it - no matter what state of repair its in - we'll fix it up and get it road worthy again .

Just in from www.menssheds.ie

"Hello All

The Irish Men's Shed Association have been given a very generous offer from a company who are willing to cover the costs for a Shedder to be a part of the Niall Mellon Township Trust which this year is to be a Mandela Tribute School Building Blitz in Eastern Cape, South Africa, during November 2014.

Participating in this exciting initiative would usually entail a lot of fundraising and a contribution to building materials, so to have been given this opportunity is very exciting and we are delighted to be able to offer it out to our members.

We are therefore planning on running a competition to see who will be that lucky person.

This is open to all Shedders, being skillful is not a necessary criteria as labourers are just as valuable as skilled workmen.  The only two requirements are that the participant has a valid passport which must be valid 6 months from the departure date from South Africa and that they have no issue being Garda Vetted with a view to receiving full Garda clearance prior to departure.

As part of our competition, we are looking for our Shedders to make a pitch as to why you deserve this opportunity.  These can be written essay style (2 full pages please) or as a voice or video recording lasting no longer than 3 minutes (on your phone is fine, keep it simple!).

These pitches should be returned to us by 5pm on Friday 13 June 2013 at the very latest.  They will then be judged and the successful person will be notified as soon as possible thereafter and their details published on our website.

Best of luck to you all!"

Thank you for your support on Thursday and Friday during our first annual flag day collection .

The amount of good will and messages of support we all heard on the main street was fantastic.

We were bowled over with the positive response's we all received


We successfully raised over €1,300 euro 

We were delighted to get enough wood from the local town council and would like to say thank you to Athy Town Council for providing enough wood for over 100 nesting box's which went up around the town's park's and green area's recently.

As a bit of interest , we'll run a competition with a small prize.
To win , all you have to do is get a photograph of a bird using one of the nesting box's and post it to our facebook page. First person to get a photo of a bird nesting in one of the nest box's and post it to our wall will win a small prize from us. ( Hint it could be a bird box )

It's that time of year again and our insurance premium is due to be paid once more.

So to help take the sting out of the payment we are thinking of idea's that we could use

Would you buy a Tee Shirt like in the photo's below and help us raise the money to pay our premium.

The Tee Shirts are navy blue in color , can be shipped anywhere in the world