This article is from page 66 of the 2006-10-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 66 JPG
A CLARE woman has been recognised at the annual Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards 2006. Madeleine McAleer who’s project, Clare Community News, is a webbased information service for the community and voluntary sector, which aims to improve networking and the sharing of a wide range of information locally.
The Clare Community News website, which is currently being developed, will allow this sector to make more effective use of the advances in information technology.
Previously, Madeline has been involved in the setting up of Care Haven Services, a community based organisation which now provides a range of services for women who experience domestic abuse and was cofounder of Clare Family Resource Centre, the first community based childcare initiative in Clare.
This year is the second year of the awards which are led by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) and aim to encourage and support the development of social entrepreneurship in Ireland.
SEI offers a range of supports to leading social entrepreneurs including financial assistance, technical assistance, access to a network of fellow social entrepreneurs to share best practices and a connection to other innovators in the business, public and community sectors.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Managing Director of SEI, Sean Coughlan said that social entrepreneurs “deserve public recognition, acknowledgement and support, not just at award ceremonies such as this but also at local and national level throughout the year. “It is now time for all of us in Ireland to step up to the mark and provide the encouragement and practical support that social entrepreneurs need in order to grow and thrive,” he concluded.