June News Bulletin

Latest News

TORC Foundation Education Bursary Launch

TORC is delighted to announce the launch of the TORC Foundation Education and Training Fund for 2023.Grants provided through the Education & Training fund can help residents to take part in short or long-term courses, accredited or non-accredited. Funding provided can vary from €200 to €1000. Applicants must be over 18.

Receiving support from the TORC Foundation Education & Training Fund can have a range of benefits, including boosting your confidence and social skills, meeting new people, and improving your employability skills. Last year, the Education & Training Fund Panel awarded a total of €7,090 in educational grants to 10 residents for the 2022-2023 academic year. The funding was provided to support the residents in their further education journey by covering a full or partial amount of their course fees. You can find more information about their courses here.

Marun’s experience:

“Receiving this funding is a great support to me as this is the final stage of my path to obtain a license which will help me to start my own business. I am happy to find such great support from TORC.” -Marun, Waterford

For more information on the TORC Foundation Education & Training Fund, visit the TORC website using the button below. You will find the full Terms and Conditions and information on how to apply.

Successful plant giveaway and Sunflower planting Events in Skibbereen and Waterford

We’re thrilled to share some wonderful moments from our recent community events in Pairc Goodman and Presentation Gardens! In Skibbereen, residents were invited to take a TORC canvas bag and select any one of the outdoor perennial plants to plant in their garden at home. In Waterford, residents had a large selection of summer bulbs to choose from. At both events, our young residents received a ‘Sunflower Growing Kit’ from the fantastic folks at LittlePlants.ie, which we planted together. In all, we handed out 50 Sunflower kits, 40 outdoor perennial plants and 120 Summer bulbs!

Thank you to all the residents who came out and made these events a success. There were lots of neighbours out  chatting and kids playing with each other that brought a lovely sense of togetherness. Let’s continue cultivating greener, closer-knit communities for years to come!

Funding Available for Residents for Community Events or Initiatives

Do you have an interest or hobby that you would like to share with your neighbours? Would you like to do some training or a workshop with a group of your neighbours?

Organising community events or initiatives promotes community spirit, builds relationships with your neighbours and helps to make an area safe and desirable to live in. We want to support residents’ involvement in improving and developing their local neighbourhood by proving funding. Your Tenant Engagement Officer Bethany can provide funding up to €500 for activities organised by residents. This funding can be increased for larger-scale events.  Here is a small selection of ideas::

Walking/knitting/book club

Painting/ fitness/ dance class

Herb workshop/ terrarium making workshop

Trip to bowling/ cinema/ adventure centre

Dog training event

Community picnic/BBQ

Heath/wellness event

Quiz night/ Tie-dye party/ Scavenger hunt

A competition

Second hand clothes swap shop event

All you need to do, is get a group of residents together (3-5 people is a great start), make basic plan of what you want to do and estimate the cost. It’s a good idea to use the resident WhatsApp group to get more interest in/coordinate your idea. After that, share your plan with Bethany who will provide funding and support your activity plan. You can contact Bethany by phone/email – 087 627 5605 / getinvolved@torcsustainablehousing.ie .

Notice: External Window Cleaning

Residents are responsible for the cleaning of all external windows. The Tenant handbook states that: “Repairs and Maintenance It is your responsibility during your tenancy to keep the home, in a clean, proper, and sanitary state.”

The TORC Facilities Management team are only contractually obligated to clean the windows of duplex apartments and 1st and 2nd floor apartment windows (external side only). This is due to specialist equipment needed to wash windows at these heights. If you reside in a unit that qualifies for cleaning by TORC, the FM team will notify you of access for window cleaning purposes, 2 weeks prior to the date agreed with the contractor. There will be no call back/return visits for window cleaning, it’s an annual service that requires nothing but external access.

FM are responsible for the window cleaning of the following households:

Galway – 21 x Duplex apartments

Clane – 4 x Apartment Blocks, 1st and 2nd Floors

Waterford – 4 x Apartment Blocks, 1st and 2nd Floors

Macroom  – No.26 to No.50, 1st and 2nd Floor

Clonakilty – No.42 to No.49, 1st and 2nd Floor

Shannon – None

Skibbereen – None

Roscommon – None

This work will be mostly subcontracted in conjunction with a specialized cleaning program of hard surfaces for all TORC schemes which will take place throughout the summer months.

Upcoming Events

1/ ‘Street Feast’ – Shannon – Rescheduled to July 21st

The Street Feast summer event for Drom Cuilinn residents has been rescheduled to:

Friday July 21st

2 – 4pm

The BBQ, children’s entertainment and Ice Cream has been booked! TEO Bethany will be in contact with the resident group to distribute the other tasks & activities that need to be organised, such as: games, sports, decorations, equipment, music etc. All residents will be invited to bring chairs, picnic rugs, snacks/drinks or anything else they thing would make the event great!

We are always looking for more help, so if you would like to get involved, contact Bethany on 087 627 5605 (phone or WhatsApp).

2/ Community Meetings: Clonakilty & Skibbereen

There are community meetings happening in Clonakilty and Skibbereen in the next few weeks. These meetings are primarily to discuss and plan events and initiatives for residents. In particular, residents are encouraged to plan a summer community event for their scheme.

Pairc Thiar, Clonakilty:

(today) Wednesday 21st June, 5.30pm

Communal area on site

Pairc Goodman, Skibbereen:

Thursday 6th July, 10.30am

Coffee morning (bring a mug of tea/coffee, Bethany will bring the pastries!)

Communal area on site

*A Resident meeting for Waterford residents will be organised for the first or second week of July

TORC Top Tip for Tenants

We are covering this topic as some residents have ended up in rent arrears as a result of the recent annual rent review process. Although your new rent came into effect on April 3rd 2023, your Standing Order should have been changed on March 30th or 31st 2023 in order to cover the new rent on Monday April 3rd 2023. If this was not done on time, some residents may have incurred rent arrears because of this.

The most important thing to remember is to engage with the TORC Rent Coordinator Catherine as soon as you are notified of an arrear. Catherine will work with you to help you pay off the arrear – a payment plan can be arranged.  Catherine can be contacted through the TORC Helpline by selecting option 3.