Ray D’Arcy launches Family Day, 15 May

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One Family & EBS Building Society announce details of Free Family Day Picnic to be hosted in Iveagh Gardens on 15 May. Ray D’Arcy calls on people to celebrate families on 15 May to mark International Day of the Family.

Ray D’Arcy at Launch of Family Day 2011
Ray D’Arcy at launch of Family Day 2011 with EBS Head of Marketing, Aidan Power and One Family Director, Karen Kiernan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Day of the Family, on 15 May 2011, is an annual celebration of the diversity of families and family life across the world. Speaking today broadcaster Ray D’Arcy explained, “Mothers’ Day is for mums and Fathers’ Day is for dads but Family Day is for everyone to celebrate all types of families.” He added: “Everyone is so busy these days that family members don’t spend as much time together as they once did. Family Day aims to rectify this by simply encouraging families to have fun and spend more time together.” Ray D’Arcy was speaking at today’s  announcement that this year to mark International Day of Family – One Family and EBS Building Society will be hosting a Family Day Picnic in The Iveagh Gardens, Dublin 2. Read more

‘New Futures’ for lone parents launched in Galway today

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An intensive career and personal development initiative for lone parents is being launched in Galway today, to prevent those most in need from falling into long-term unemployment. ‘New Futures’ is a unique programme developed by One Family, funded through FAS and delivered in partnership with the Galway City Partnership. It is targeted at lone parents to allow them to receive the special tailored support that they need.

‘The underlying thinking behind ‘New Futures’ is the linking of all relevant services to help lone parents get back into the workforce,’ explains Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family, Ireland’s leading support organisation for people parenting alone. ‘Although there have been improvements in services offered through FAS and the Local Employment service, much more has to be done.’
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Children in One-parent Families the Real Victims of Budget

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One Family, the leading provider of specialised support services for one-parent families in Ireland today, 7th December 2010, gives its response to Budget 2011. At a time when cutbacks were inevitable One Family had called on the Government to protect those already experiencing high levels of poverty and social exclusion from any more cuts.

‘But today’s many cuts – coupled with increases in taxes to be paid by those on low incomes – will have a devastating effect on one-parent families, many of whom are already living in poverty and struggling to combine work and caring responsibilities. In the absence of any clear jobs strategy the government has clearly not met its commitment to protect the most vulnerable from the effects of the crisis,’ says Candy Murphy, Policy Manager, One Family. Read more

One-parent families to suffer under planned cuts

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One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, warns that any of the planned cuts in social welfare payments or in the minimum wage announced in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 will directly increase the thousands of one-parent families already living in poverty. Read more

Messiah Performance in aid of One Family

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Wednesday 1 & Thursday 2 December @ 8pm, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin 8. Tickets Euro 30.

One Family, the support organisation for one-parent families, is delighted to announce that it has been chosen as the benefiting charity for this year’s performances of Handel’s Messiah by the Culwick Choral Society. With performances on 1 and 2 December at St Patrick’s Cathedral, all proceeds will go towards the *askonefamily helpline for one-parent families.

Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family says, ‘Parenting is tough work, I know. But doing it all alone can be even harder. That’s where our *askonefamily helpline comes in. We offer support to all members of one-parent families in need of help, advice, information – or simply a listening ear. We have had a 20% increase in calls since the recession and are very thankful to Culwick for giving us this opportunity to raise funds for the helpline.’

Culwick Choral Society is a huge Dublin Choir that has been giving charity performances of Messiah in the atmospheric surroundings of St Patrick’s since 1992. For many people this annual event marks the beginning of the festive season. Handel’s Messiah is Church music, written for and first performed in a Church. So, this event takes Messiah back to its roots. Other venues may be plusher and have fancy bars, but – for most Messiah supporters – these things are not necessary. What is, is atmosphere, great singing, the spiritual element of choral music in a cathedral – and the chance to support a great charity.

Culwick choir’s Messiah promises just that: it’s an evening of glorious uplifting music, away from the stresses of daily life, all in aid of One Family, a great charity for one-parent families.

Of course, Messiah and St Patrick’s Cathedral are synonymous. Handel rehearsed it and practised on the organ in St Patrick’s Cathedral, and used the choirs of St Patrick’s and Christchurch Cathedrals in the first performance in nearby Fishamble Street.

Tickets for this festive concert make great gifts and are also a good opportunity for a staff Christmas outing, so book online now at www.onefamily.ie or call Adrian on 01-6629212 or email aokeeffe@onefamily.ie Tickets are Euro 30, or Euro 50 with a pre-concert food and wine event in the nearby Bad Art Gallery.

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For further information please contact Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family on 01 6629212 or 087 2359515.

One Family and EBS call on you to host a Big Night In, 15 May

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Money raised from Big Night In will go towards the running of the askonefamily helpline

To mark UN International Day of the Family on 15 May 2010, One Family and EBS Building Society are inviting everyone in the country to celebrate families by hosting a Big Night In. Big Night In is a new fundraising event in aid of the askonefamily national helpline, which supports people who are parenting alone or sharing parenting.

Speaking about Big Night In, Aidan Power, Head of Marketing at EBS Building Society, said: “This year, EBS is celebrating 75 years serving Irish people and their families. Family is and has always been at the heart of EBS throughout those years. In recognition of the ‘EBS family’ which now has over 450,000 members, we decided to partner with One Family to celebrate International Day of the Family on 15 May. We are calling on you to spend some fun quality time with your family whilst at the same time raising money for the askonefamily helpline which supports people who are parenting alone or sharing parenting.” Power continues, ”EBS offices all over the country are promoting Big Night In and asking people to register on www.bignightin.ie. People are holding all types of events – from games nights to karaoke nights to storytelling evenings – the list is endless. I hope families across Ireland will take part in this great excuse to have fun at home on 15 May.” Read more

Reforms for Lone Parents – less or even more poverty for one-parent families?

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One Family welcomes the new Minister for Social Protection Minister Éamon Ó Cuív T.D’s efforts to improve the economic situation and social wellbeing of people in one-parent families. However they remain gravely concerned as to the whether the reforms of the One-Parent Family Payment as recently announced will result in improved outcomes for lone parents and their children.

Candy Murphy, One Family Policy & Research Manager said “Given current and projected very high levels of unemployment which are putting extreme pressure on our education and training systems coupled with the serious inadequacies in our childcare system, especially after-school care, we believe that the proposed changes will mostly result in the movement of lone parents from one welfare support to another.”

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One Family seminal research highlights need for Child Contact Centres in Ireland

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Ground breaking research by One Family, the leading service provider for people parenting alone and sharing parenting, launched 12 April 2010 at Dublin Castle by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews, TD, has called for a network of child contact centres throughout Ireland. The research entitled Supporting Child Contact: the Need for Child Contact Centres in Ireland was researched and written by Candy Murphy, Policy & Research Manager with One Family.

Candy Murphy explained, ‘Child contact centres provide a safe, neutral and welcoming environment where regular contact between parents and children that do not live together can be supported and developed in a range of situations.’  Read more

One-Parent Family Payment Reforms

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Minister Hanafin’s kite-flying on lone parents must be grounded

One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation providing specialist support services for people parenting alone and sharing parenting has hit back at proposals by Minister Hanafin to impose more social welfare cuts on lone parents.
Candy Murphy, Policy & Research Manager of One Family said: ‘while we continue to welcome the development  of effective supports for lone parents aimed at reducing the unacceptably high rates of poverty and social exclusion in one-parent families, we would like reforms to be grounded in good policy and evidence. We remain very  concerned at any proposal to introduce mandatory work requirements for lone parents particularly in the current economic climate and in the continuing absence of adequate child care and other supports. Read more

One-parent families faced with poverty

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One Family , the leading provider of specialist support services for one-parent families in Ireland today expresses its concern that lone parents on welfare will face further cuts in their income as a result of Budget 2010. One-parent families are already experiencing four times the level of poverty found in the general population and the measures introduced today along with those introduced in the last two budgets will , in One Family’s view , increase this inequality. Read more