Community Services Programme employees get their kit off

Staff at the West Clare Family Resource Centre in Toler Street, Kilrush have reacted to government cutbacks by drastically reducing the amount of clothes that they wear. 
Last year’s budget cut the finances of family resource centres nationwide and the Kilrush centres funding fell by €16,000. This money was used to pay for insurance, rent, lighting and IT costs.
In an effort to make up the financial shortfall, which is needed to run the centre, employees posed for a 2011 calendar, minus most of their clothes.
They are hoping that money raised from the sale of the calendars, along with additional fundraising ventures, will help to make up the deficit.
“That €16,000 runs the whole programme for the year. When you compare that to what some of the politicians’ salaries are and the pension packages that they’ve got, it’s not an awful lot of money. But we have to find it,” Debbie Hunter, manager of the Community Services Programme (CSP) commented.   
“Last year we worked with at least 1,000 individuals throughout West Clare. More than 4,500 people attended the functions that we held over the last 12 months. In order to survive, we have to find this €16,000. We work with older people so there’s not the opportunity for earning money when you work with them because they don’t have it either,” the CSP manager added.
As part of their fundraising efforts CSP employees and volunteer helpers took off most of their clothes to pose for their revenue raising 2011 calendar.
“It took a few weeks of ‘will we, won’t we? What will people say?’ But we all recognised it as a great idea and it was brilliant fun doing it. I’m Miss February and Miss May Flowers,” Debbie revealed.
The calendar will be launched on Friday night week (November 19) in The Quilty Tavern. 
“Hopefully, people will like the calendar and buy it and it will help to pay our insurance bill. Everybody that we’ve spoken to about it has been very positive,” Debbie said.