September TORC News Bulletin 🍂

September News Bulletin

Welcome to the September edition of the TORC News bulletin. We are back with some updates and initiatives after an August summer break from the News Bulletin.

Competition updates: in July we ran a social media giveaway for some €50 Smyths Toy Store gift cards. The six lucky winners were: Anto O’B, Eleanor B, Reuben R, Zydrune P, Sinead G and Nicola M.

There were also six winners of the €50 One4All gift cards for participants of the Cork Community Benefit Survey which has now ended. The randomly selected residents were: Jacky & David (Skibbereen), Kenneth & Emily (Clonakilty) and Raymond & Helena (Macroom).

Finally, we had a great response to the TORC Foundation Education & Training Fund with a total of 23 applications – an increase from last year. The applications are currently being assessed by the 5- persona Judging Panel. The funding awardees will be announced very shortly.

Bethany – Tenant Engagement Officer

Latest News

Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey – Finishing Next Week

Its your last chance to take part in Resident Satisfaction Survey! TORC undertake this survey once a year to understand what residents are feeling about the service that we provide. From customer service and repairs to the quality of your home and your neighbourhood – we want to know how satisfied you are and what we can do to improve. Residents who partake in the survey will be entered into a draw to win a prize. We have five ‘One4All’ gift cards to be won – two cards worth €100 and three cards worth €50.

By now all residents should have received an email from ‘Acuity’ with a link to the survey. If you haven’t already, you can go back and complete it. Acuity will also be conducting some phone interviews. They will be calling from a UK based number, for more information, check out the TORC website here.

Back to School with the TORC Foundation

The Back-to-School initiative for TORC residents returned for another year! Last week we sent out a Dunnes Stores gift card to the value of €15 to each of the 618 young TORC residents aged 4-18. It is hoped that this will help 326 households with academic costs such as stationery, backpacks, uniform, sportswear, shoes, coats etc.

The gift cards were activated on Friday 8th September. You can use this gift card at your local Dunnes Store or online. They have some great value school basics. If you have any questions about this initiative or feedback, you can email getinvolved@torcsustainablehousing.ie or call the TORC helpdesk.

Successful Community Events in Shannon and Clane

Over the summer, TORC and the residents of Cluain Ailbhe in Kildare and Drom Cuilinn in Clare hosted a fun summer event in their schemes. Drom Cuilinn residents did a community BBQ ‘Street Feast’ event with children’s entertainment and sports games. While residents in Cluain Ailbhe had ‘Playball Kildare’ to come and run loads of fun activities for the children with refreshments and the Ice cream van provided by TORC.

A heartfelt thank you to all the residents of these schemes who joined in and helped with the organisation and clean up of these events. Events like these remind us of the incredible communities that TORC get to work with.

Presentation Garden’s Community Mural Painting

The painting of the Presentation Garden’s community mural is now scheduled to place on Monday the 25th of September, weather permitting. The final design for the mural is currently in the process of being approved.

The final design used the theme concept of ‘enchanted garden’ and ‘woodland forest’ put forward by residents. The design also incorporated elements from some of the participants of the children’s art workshop that took place on August 25th on site with artist Magda (photos above).

Thank you to all Presentation Garden residents who submitted their ideas, images and drawings, the final design would not have been possible without you! TORC hopes to have a launch event to celebrate this collaborative community artwork – more details to come.

Upcoming Events

1/ ‘Stand Out From The Crowd’ – rescheduled to January (but you can still register!)

The ‘Stand Out From the Crowd’ webinar series has be RESECHEDULED to January 2024. You can still register your interest now though and we will be in contact with you once the new webinar dates are confirmed. New year, new career!

This new employment and training programme is a series of webinars to help residents build confidence and find supports in a competitive jobs market. With the support of expert speakers we have created a series of free webinars that will now run throughout the month of January. This three-week programme will help break down barriers into employment and help attendees with their job applications, C.V preparation, mock ZOOM interviews, learning how to dress the part for interview, childcare options and much more.

2/ National Walking Day Initiative

Ireland’s 3rd annual National Walking Day is on Sunday the 24th of September (its also National Heart Health Day on September 29th) and to mark the day, TORC is encouraging all residents to get out there and walk, hike, run, push or roll as part of our walking day initiative.

To participate, simply record your walk and submit your steps, routes, photos or experiences to TORC after National Walking Day (deadline to submit will be the 29th September). Prizes will be awarded to residents in the following categories:

Longest walk
Most scenic/ beautiful walk
Most interesting place to walk
Best group walk with neighbours

We have some fantastic prizes to give to winning participants, including some Fitbit watches and gift cards. More information on this initiative will be sent out to all residents next week but why not start planning your National Walking Day walk now!

3/ Halloween Bingo – Register Now

Bingo is back!

The Halloween edition of online Bingo scheduled for Friday 27th October. All residents are welcome. In addition to the normal prizes for winning lines of bingo, there will be some bonus raffle prizes for participants.

To register and receive your bingo tickets in the post, click the registration link below. The Deadline to register for bingo tickets is 13th October.

4/ Mid-Term Cinema Trip for Galway and Macroom Residents

TORC is arranging tickets to a screening of a family friendly movie for residents living in Macroom and Galway for the mid-term holiday in October/November. The full details of the film are still to be confirmed but the dates are:

Clairin– Salthill Omniplex Cinema– Tuesday 31st October (approx. 2pm)

Pairc Ui Mhuirithe – Ballincollig Reel Picture Cinema – Wednesday 1st November (approx. 2pm)

Children will need to be accompanied by a parent and you must be able to make your own way to and from the cinema. To register, complete the form below. Please only register if you are going to be available on the relevant screening date listed above. Deadline to register is 16th October.

TORC Top Tip for Tenants

At some of the recent annual house inspections, the TORC FM team discovered that a large number of households had removed the ‘Door Closers’ from the internal doors – this is extremely dangerous and puts residents at risk of death from fire.

Residents may feel like ‘Door Closers’ are inconvenient or too heavy to open. However, they are an essential safety measure to protect against fires spreading in apartment buildings or3-story and they MUST NOT be removed, disabled or wedged open.

Door Closers can be adjusted to make them easier to manage but the minimum swing they can have is a 10 second close. Contact the repairs team if you would like to request that your door closer is adjusted.