Paula O’Connor, coordinator at WCP Mullingar, author Patricia Gibney, Aisling Mortell Beglan, Education and Training coordinator, Fiona Guilfoyle, childcare administrator, Joanne Waters, childcare manager, Mary McKnight, CE supervisor, and Louise Matthews, CE supervisor.

New era for WCP with launch of new logo and website

Olga Aughey

Published: Wed 5 Jul 2023, 12:12 PM

“Having a distinctive logo and an informative website is so important. We’re in the age of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, but I find that posts on social media are fleeting, they’re only available in the here and now, so when you want to find credible information, you have to look to a website.” So says bestselling author Patricia Gibney, who officially launched the Women’s Community Projects new logo and website on Tuesday last week.

“Women’s Community Projects was set up in 1985 by the incredible Sr Finbarr Breslin,” explained Aisling Mortell Beglan, education and training coordinator to a packed audience in the Parish Community Centre, where WCP is based.

“It was a haven for the women of Mullingar and we hope that it continues to be today. The doors are always open, the kettle is always on and we always love to see people come through those doors and joining our community,” she said.

Theresa O’Reilly and Mary Rattigan at the launch of Women’s Community Projects Mullingar new logo and website.

“We hope that we continue Sr Finbarr’s legacy in all that we do, and while we face many of the challenges that Sister would have faced setting up the projects all those years ago, as time changes, so do the challenges. But we’re committed to adapting to meet these needs and new challenges in our community.”

“As an organisation we have designed a new logo to symbolise a bright new future for WCP – green is the theme; it represents freshness and hope, but also honours our past. Green is often used to symbolise rebirth and immortality, and we hope that with our new logo, WCP enters a period of renewal and rebirth, as we activate new modules and welcome new staff.

Pearse Murphy, board of management at WCP Mullingar, and Mary Healy.

“With a new logo and website, which was made possible by the LWETB Reach fund, it’s only fitting that we welcome our new coordinator, Paula O’Connor,” added Aisling, who thanked the team at WCP who “help us to deliver the services the centre has come to be known for”.

Thank you “to our childcare team, who educate and care for the youngest members of our society, to the CE team who empower and support those returning to work, to our counsellors, who support and care for those in need, and to the training and education team, who guide people on their educational journeys and social endeavours.

“We’re supported throughout by our wonderful board of management, who guide and counsel us in all that we do. We’re as successful as we are each one of us works together. To our learners, many of whom are with us today, thank you for trusting us with your educational journey and for your feedback and participation is the beating heart of this organisation,” Aisling concluded.

Laura Milanese, Maureen McLoughlin, and Marie Fagan at the WCP launch on Tuesday last week.

It was then time for Patricia Gibney to press the button and officially launch to new website, which is at womenscommunityprojects.ie

“By launching the new logo and website today, it will bring WCP to an even wider audience,” said Patricia. “Because I’m sure, while lots of people will know of the various types of work that goes on here, when Sr Finbarr launched the projects in 1985, its main aim was to provide a community childcare facility, now one of the biggest in the country. But it has evolved and developed and WCP is so much more than that now. It has so many avenues for training, education, development and counselling services and these are delivered fantastic staff in a friendly and inclusive environment. And I’d like to congratulate everyone involved with the projects.”