Newsletter 22nd June 2011

Welcome to this weeks Newsletter. LINC has been buzzing with people dropping in and having their packed lunch in LINC. So if you fancy having a recession busting lunch in LINC with some company feel free to pop in and avail of our sunny backyard space.

Volunteer Appreciation BBQ Well another lovely evening in LINC was had last Thursday to celebrate all the work that our community members have been involved in during the year. We had a great turn out and Helen Slattery gave thanks on LINCs behalf to all who had given their time in whatever way to make LINC a community centre we can be very proud of. Thanks to Emma for doing the cooking and feeding us all so well! We were delighted to see the Phoenix Youth members here which shows the interest from the younger members of our community and we were also very happy to see new people coming in to LINC who were made so welcome by the more regular LINC members. So Thank-You all once again and heres to many more get togethers.
New Community Support Worker

Hi all. My name is Emma Hurley and I am the new community support worker with LINC. I will be working in tandem with Tina whom many of you will already know. My job is to provide all LBT women with a quality community service. Services include organising the varied range of groups which operate out of , or in conjunction with, LINC; one to one coming out support, referral services and the development of courses and groups which address the needs (and wants!) of the community. Feedback and requests are most welcome.

Feel free to contact me at emma@linc.ie.

Book Club The book club began last week, the following are details of the book being reviewed. This is an informal get together so just come along next time and join the group. Next meeting will be on Tuesday 5th of July at 7pm. The book we will be reviewing is: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. The Uncommon Reader is none other than HM the Queen who drifts accidentally into reading when her corgis stray into a mobile library parked at Buckingham Palace. She reads widely ( JR Ackerley, Jean Genet, Ivy Compton Burnett and the classics) and intelligently. Her reading naturally changes her world view and her relationship with people like the oleaginous prime minister and his repellent advisers. She comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with much that she has to do. In short, her reading is subversive. The consequence is, of course, surprising, mildly shocking and very funny

This is happening next Tuesday at 7pm. This fun workshop is for EVERYONE. Its not only for people who are unfamiliar with the World Wide Web Facebook twitter phenomena its a sharing of experiences and resources. We would be delighted to have as many women of every genre here to have a bit of a laugh with Emer our social networker volunteer who is giving up her time for us free of charge. So if you have a tip to share a website thats been helpful to you then come along. Nice way to meet LINC members.

Social Networking Evening FACEBOOK /TWITTER /GOOGLE/DATING SITES!

Womens Camp 2011 Hi everyone, Not long now until camp. Yay! On Saturday 2nd July, weather permitting, we will be on the field in Macroom to start sorting everything out ready for the start of camp on the 6th. If anyone would like to come along to help we will be: putting up the kitchen tent and maybe the marquee sorting out the equipment and washing up all kitchen crockery and cutlery etc. which will be delivered that afternoon
Come to Camp! This year it's in Macroom. 6th to 27th July 2011 For more information, please email womenscamp2011@gmail.com

 sorting out the wood bagging straw bales maybe And anything else that seems appropriate on the day The more the merrier. We will be on site from about 2pm. See you on the field. The Cork Camp Crew

Drawing Workshop If you would like to take part in a Drawing Group in LINC. Please email tina@linc.ie

Volunteering With the summer on its way some groups are taking a break. There is space for the summer to get a group of your own together on a voluntary basis. Perhaps you have an idea that you would like to share, perhaps you have some information which you think would be good to share. Just contact the office and discuss your ideas with Tina and we can hopefully keep up the momentum in LINC for the Summer Creative Writing There has been an evaluation of the creative writing course. The feedback from participants was excellent and everyone has really gained from the experience. The six week workshops are now complete and there will be a break for the summer. If we are in a position to run this course again we would like to hear from people who perhaps didnt get the opportunity to attend this time around but would be interested in signing up for the Autumn programme. Auricular Acupuncture The first session took place Tuesday over in The Other Place. The feedback has been positive and from those I havent heard from they are probably chilled out asleep as we speak! This is a weekly spot and if you want to attend give Tina or Emma a call in LINC to make sure there is a space. 10 euro per session which is normally 50 euro. For more information give Tina or Emma a call in LINC. GCN We have the latest GCN in stock. Come in to LINC to collect your copy and take a good look at page 18 to see our Phoenix Youth and youth leader all painted up at Pride. Take another look at page 48 for another interesting interview with Dr Katherine Zappone the first out lesbian and person in a same sex marriage to the Seanad. We also have back copies available of GCNs if you need to catch up with stuff.

Women In Recovery
Every Friday 6-8pm in LINC

Badminton Every Tuesday in Carrigtwohill from 8 until 10. For more details on Badminton please give Nicky a call on 086 8479051

Tennis (Venue to be confirmed) For more details on Tennis please ring Sheila on 087 6129040

Football every Monday in Garryduff contact LINC or Helen on 087 9861037 for directions.

Irelands first course for Primary Teachers on Homophobic Bullying in Primary Schools
Educate Together and BeLonG To Youth Services announced the first ever inservice course for Primary Teachers on addressing homophobic bullying in primary schools. The course is approved by the Department of Education and Skills, as one of their Teacher Education Summer courses. The course is supported by the INTO and will take place in the INTO Learning Centre, 38 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, from Monday 4th to Friday 8th July. Paul Rowe, CEO of Educate Together said, "Educate Together is delighted to be offering a course challenging homophobia, which can manifest itself in primary schools and have long-term repercussions for children and families alike. The course is open to all primary teachers and principals. It will give them the knowledge and capacity to address homophobia, for example by: * Developing whole school approaches; * Enhancing pastoral care of all pupils who experience homophobic bullying; * Curricular support for teachers; * Inclusion of pupils who may identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT); * Inclusion of pupils who have LGBT parents or family members; and * Enhancing understanding of relevant equality legislation. Registration for the course is currently open to all primary teachers across Ireland at www.educatetogether.ie or by phoning 01 4292500

The LGBT Parenthood Survey is seeking to identify the experiences and needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) parents and those planning to be parents in Ireland. This is the first time that a study of this

nature has been carried out in Ireland and our aim is to build up a picture of these experiences so that we can inform service provision and policy changes for LGBT parents and those planning to be parents. The findings from the survey will be published and widely disseminated to Government and relevant State bodies, NGOs and advocacy groups, both mainstream and LGBT, to assist them in effecting positive change for LGBT parents and those planning parenthood. The study findings will be shared with all LGBT organisations in Ireland and in particular support groups and organisations to assist them in meeting the needs of the community We are currently looking for participants to complete an anonymous survey. You are invited to participate if you: Identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person. Are a parent or you are planning to be a parent. (The term parent includes biological and non-biological parents, guardians, adoptive parents and foster parents, living with or separately from our child/children of all ages) Aged 18 years and over Living in the Republic of Ireland You cannot be identified by this survey and all of the information you give us will be anonymous and confidential. How can I participate? If you are interested in participating, there are two ways that you can complete the survey. You can click on the link HERE to fill in the survey online. If you wish to receive the survey by post see www.lgbtdiversity.com for more details If you would like to contact us about the survey please email us on email address or you can telephone us on 086 347 8037.

Dublin Pride 2011

This year's Dublin Pride Parade is THIS SATURDAY, June 25. We want to celebrate all the success of the past 12 months: 73% support for marriage equality in the most recent polls, a commitment in the Programme for Government to look at 'the provision of same sex marriage' and the launch of a ground-breaking report on children in Ireland with lesbian and gay parents. Now that Civil Partnership is in the bag, it's time to gear ourselves up for all the work we have to do to make marriage equality a reality finally in Ireland. Our theme this year is "Marriage Is..." We'll have t-shirts and posters (featuring these super-cute images!) with a blank space at the bottom that you can fill in with your message of what marriage means to you. Maybe it's about love, or family, or basic human rights, or equality. Whatever marriage means to you, we want to make sure that our message is heard loud and clear. We want everyone to understand that marriage matters to same sex couples for the same reasons it matters to everyone else. Of course it's important to celebrate important milestones like Civil Partnership that was achieved in the past year, but this year's Pride is our chance to highlight that we're not there yet. We need to keep pushing for equality for same sex couples, for our families and for our children. We need to send a message to anyone watching or listening that equality is something worth fighting for. So come and make your voice heard at Dublin Pride. We'll be meeting at the Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Street at 1.30pm, and the parade kicks off at 2pm. Please RSVP to Dawn and let us know if you'll be marching with us. Email: info@marriagequality.ie Telephone: 01 873 4183