OFFALY LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY SHOWCASE
Offaly Local Development Company held their Company Showcase and programme Launch in St Joseph's Community Centre, Kilcormac, on Wednesday May 29th, 2024. The purpose behind this event was to give agencies, communities, enterprises and individuals a chance to meet the board & staff of Offaly Local Development Company and hear about the supports, both existing and new, that offer for the people of County Offaly.
Showcasing their work under four key pillars - Employment & Enterprise, Rurual Development, Social Inclusion & Sustainable Communities - staff of Offaly Local Development Company presented their programmes and initiatives, to all in attendance, as the wrap - around service known to communities across Offaly. These key pillars showed how interwoven all programmes within Offaly Local Development Comapny really are. Initiatives aim to address the needs identified, and as new CEO, Roisin Lennon, pointed out during her closing remarks 'OLDC works individuals and communities to build Offaly into the place they want it to be and the only way that is achieved is through partnership.' Offaly Local Development Company prides itself on working with Agencies, Voluntary Community Groups, Social Enterprises, Businesses and individuals to bring to life the vision of the communities in which they work.
During the launch of their Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP), LEADER Rural Development Programme and New Workability Programme, PLACE, Padraig Boland, a member of Offaly Local Development Company's Board of Directors said 'OLDC is an enabler of empowerment - we don't exist solely as a service provider but our primary function is to enable people and communities to identify their own needs and strengths and develop their own pathway to sustainability.'
Those around the county will already be quite familiar with both LEADER & SICAP as a result of the work of both of these in Offaly over the past number of years and therefore welcomed the launch of new programmes that began in 2024. PLACE, a new Pobal funded programme, was also launched at this event. This supports the progression of those with disabilities as they move into employment, through personal development, confidence building and skill progression and also supports for the employers through increased awareness of funding, raining and how to make the workplace inclusive of all. The 5 year programme is a welcome addition to Offaly Local Development Company.
For more information on the work of Offaly Local Development Company, visit https://www.offalyldc.ie/
