PICTURE: Community Services Centre opens entire building for first open day

On Wednesday the 26th of April the Tipperary Community Services Centre opened the entire building for its first ever open day, writes Martin Quinn.

The day was all about showcasing the facilities available at the centre, particularly as many of the areas have now been upgraded, and also to showcase the fantastic services available in the centre.

It was also an opportunity to launch the new branding and logo, all designed and created by the team at Fitzpatrick’s Print and Design.

The main services operated by the centre were on show for the day and included the Meals on Wheels service which delivers 120 home cooked meals per day to Tipperary Town and a wide catchment. Anybody can avail of this service, and it offers soup, main course and dessert delivered for just €5 per day.

On view also was the Mustard Seed restaurant, a community restaurant that serves fresh scones, buns, tea, coffee, and homemade dinners five days per week from 9:00am to 1:30pm.

All of the food is served at a reduced price as the restaurant's purpose is community.

It is a place for people to come for a chat and to meet others.

I met a lot of the patrons and some older single people who find the restaurant a wonderful place to come for their daily food and chat.

Most of the people are looking for the latest news and a chat about local events and the sharing of their wisdom with others.

Everyone is welcome at the Mustard Seed for a chat and to enjoy the lovely food.

The Centre Manager, Brian English, told me that the Senior Alert Scheme is administered from the centre.

“The scheme provides panic alarms for people who are over sixty-five.

“The equipment and the installation are free but there are some charges thereafter for the monitoring service which varies depending on the telephone provider. The Centre also provides very reasonably priced community meeting rooms, training rooms, event rooms and indeed rooms for private functions. People are welcome to call in anytime to view our facilities,” said Brian.

The main tenets of the Centre are; Tipperary Town Further Education and Training Centre which has over forty students and 4 full time tutors within the building during the school calendar.

The courses now enrolling for September 2023 are Special Needs Assistant, Healthcare Support, Business Studies, Sports Recreation & Exercise and Applied Social Studies.

Call 085-8789945 to discuss your options with the Tipperary Town ETB Administrator Sinead Brennan.

Citizens Information Service is a long time tenant and they provide information, advocacy and advice on rights and entitlements.

The service is free, confidential, and independent and is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.

Another long time tenant is Tipperary Mid-West Community Radio, a community radio station serving Tipperary town, Cashel, and south County Tipperary on 104.8fm, 106.7fm and online.

On the morning of the open day the entire morning show and one hour of the lunchtime show was kindly dedicated to Tipperary Community Services Centre, its tenants and many customers and community groups.

Some of those represented on the day included TARA (Tipperary Active Retirement) and Teresa Normile from Knockanrawley who has forged strong links with the centre in the development and growing of the Foodcloud and FEAD programme.

Some of the many other groups using the centre are St Vincent de Paul, AA, NA, WIST card group, Tipperary Vintage Rally, Yoga classes with Yogi, Pranic Healing Ireland meditation group, The Christian Fellowship, Local Residential groups, and Political parties. In conclusion Brian English said that the Centre has become a focal point for information.

“This is something we would like to expand on and to offer more services to the community. If you would like to enquire about any of the services available here or indeed have an idea for the centre, or if you would just like to have a cuppa and a chat, please do pop in as there is always a warm welcome for you here,” said Brian.

The contact number for the Centre is 062-51622. Congratulations to Tipperary Community Services Centre on their Open Day and continued success to the centre going forward.