Easter fun in Dalton Park
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Rio Kavanagh with his Easter egg.Image 2 of 9
Lacey and Roy Keatley at Thursday’s egg hunt.Image 3 of 9
JJ Meares on Thursday afternoon.Image 4 of 9
Molly Maloney Gahan and Amelia Lily McGregor.Image 5 of 9
Martin Nevin and Doll Ward at Dalton Park.Image 6 of 9
Mark and Leo Moran after the hunt.Image 7 of 9
Colette Healy, Aoife McGregor and Annie May McGregor on Thursday afternoon.Image 8 of 9
Catherine McEntee (Mullingar Youth Project), Rosie McCormack (Westmeath Community Development), Sophie Flanagan (family support worker) and Sheryl Keenan (community engagement coordinator).Image 9 of 9
Noel and Sarah Lehane from G Bean Coffee in Mullingar supplied the refreshments.A coffee afternoon and Easter Egg Hunt took place in Dalton Park on Thursday last as part of the Empowering Communities Programme.
The programme, also known as ‘Dalton Park STEPS’, began at the end of January 2023 and is run by WCD with the support of the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development. It is a community led programme that supports local residents to decide what is best for them and their community and overcome any challenges, issues or barriers they may be facing by providing individual and family support.
There are currently two full time staff working on the programme, Sheryl Keenan and Sophie Flanagan, and they host drop in services in Dalton Park each week where people can call in, have a chat, and discuss issues and concerns they have.
"Today was a chance for us to get together, build relationships, get to know people. We're trying empower the community and learn from them what they need here," Sheryl Keenan told the Westmeath Examiner.
"It came up that there were more activities needed for the kids in the area, so we decided to work with Cathy McEntee in Youthwork Ireland to organise an Easter Hunt for the kids and a coffee afternoon for the adults.
"This is our first event and we couldn't have asked for a better day - the sun is shining, there's plenty of people here and everyone's in good form. It's a community fun day and the excitement is next level. There were kids waiting for an hour beforehand!" she explains.
"This is a new programme and we're working with Westmeath Community Development. And while we're doing individual family supports, we wanted to do something for the community so that people get to know us, build trust, and hopefully build a good relationship between us and the residents."