All About Cork: CUH Charity thanks all who made Christmas donations

Cork University Hospital (CUH) Charity has thanked the Kinsale Lions Clubs, Stryker, OHC Facilities Limited, Trellix, PJ Hegarty and Sons, Coláiste Colm in Ballincollig, West Cork Motorcycle Club, Bluepoint Labs and Meitheal Youth Leadership Programme and the Defence Forces, gardaí, and the Coast Guard for their support and donations over the Christmas period.

Kinsale Lions Club supported CUH Charity with their toy drop and the Defence Forces, gardaí and the Coast Guard facilitated a special visit from Santa Claus.

After landing from the North Pole on a special Coast Guard flight, Santa made his way around the hospital accompanied by his chief elf, Cork GAA and camogie stars, members of the Kinsale Lions Club, and hospital staff, visiting all the boys and girls in the children’s wards.

Each child that Santa spoke with received a special gift, while having the opportunity to tell him their biggest wish for this Christmas.

The CUH Charity team also thanked the entire staff at Stryker and OCH Facilitates Limited for donating so many Christmas decorations for the children’s wards in CUH this year.

“Not long after they had been delivered, our elves were busy at work,” a spokesperson for CUH Charity said.

“They spent the afternoon hanging these fantastic decorations up in the children’s wards, which really made the day for both patients and staff.”

“By adding the extra bit of festive light and spirit to the wards, Stryker has brightened this Christmas for all those who had to stay in CUH this year.

“Thank you.”

Also recognised by CUH Charity were the staff at Trellix, PJ Hegarty and Sons, the teachers and students at Coláiste Colm in Ballincollig, the West Cork Motorcycle Club, the team at Bluepoint Labs, and those involved in the Meitheal Youth Leadership Programme for the huge amount of toys dropped in for the children in paediatric departments at CUH over the Christmas period.

The spokesperson for the hospital charity said that all of the toy donations went a very long way to putting a big smile on every child’s face on Christmas morning.

Join ‘Step’ challenge

Bishopstown GAA Club has encouraged people to get involved in the Irish Life GAA ‘Every Step Counts’ challenge.

The challenge aims to reconnect people with their club and community and feel the benefits of physical exercise by tracking their step count for five weeks.

The challenge kicked off on Wednesday, January 8 and will run until Wednesday, February 12 and the target is a combined 4,000km per club.

Any club that hits the 4,000km distance over the five-week period will be entered in to the draw to win a share, with three donations of €2,500 towards club funding per province up for grabs.

To take part with Bishopstown GAA Club, download the My Life App, register, select challenges, then select Munster GAA and select Bishopstown.

Hurler Shane Kingston makes a toy drop for kids in hospital

Schools urged to ‘get walking’

Schools in the locality are being encouraged to take part in the Cork Sports Partnership and Get Ireland Walking ‘Step into Spring’ walking challenge.

The challenge — for primary schools, secondary schools and youth groups — will begin on February 3 and run until March 14.

Distances for four- to 12-year-olds include the gold 25km, silver 20km, and bronze 15km.

Distances for 13- to 17-year-olds include the gold 50km, silver 40km, and bronze 30km. Once a school or youth group is registered by their teacher or leader, they will be sent a challenge poster to track their distance.

Once they have completed the challenge, they will receive a certificate of completion.

Classes will begin accumulating their target distance between February 3 and March 14.

The deadline for registration is Friday, January 24. Visit https://tinyurl.com/25a942j5 for more information.

Podiatrist gives talk

Podiatrist and owner of the Bishopstown Podiatry Clinic, Orla Frawley, delivered a ‘pitch-in-person’ talk at a recent Network Ireland Cork branch meeting.

The ‘Building Authentic Connections for Wellbeing and Growth’ meeting took place at the Clayton Hotel. Ms Frawley graduated from NUI Galway with a BSc in podiatric medicine and is CORU-registered, HSE-approved, and a member of Podiatry Ireland.

She gained her experience in Ireland and abroad. She is the second generation of her family in the profession. Her mother, Nora, had a practice in Ballinlough for more than 30 years.

In 2020, during the pandemic, Ms Frawley opened Bishopstown Podiatry Clinic and has since helped hundreds of people move without pain.

Artist Emma McNally Jacobs delivered the event’s second ‘pitch-in-person’ talk. Wellbeing speaker and expert in stress resilience Leanna Spencer delivered a keynote address on the power of storytelling to improve trust, belonging and connection and on her BOND (boundaries, optimum health, network, and downtime) approach. BOND is a framework to help people enhance their wellbeing through social connection.

BOND empowers people to create fulfilling, balanced lives by fostering genuine relationships and prioritising self-care. Ms Spencer guided attendees through the importance of setting boundaries to maintain healthy relationships, emphasising how personal wellbeing can thrive when people are clear about their limits. She explored how maintaining optimum health, both physical and mental, is a cornerstone for vibrant social interactions, allowing people to show up as their best selves.

Power-grid conference

Munster Technological University (MTU) is hosting its inaugural PowerGRID2025 conference this week. The conference and workshops promote power systems’ grid-resilient infrastructure through digitalisation.

The two-day event kicked off at the MTU Bishopstown campus on Thursday and will continue today. It brings together key players in the energy and technology sectors to explore the challenges and opportunities of an evolving power grid.

The power grid is undergoing a monumental transformation to meet growing electricity demand, while supporting ambitious climate-action goals and the integration of renewable energy, alongside the adoption of advanced digital technologies.

By 2030, total electricity demand is projected to rise from 33 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2022 to 56TWh, and further to 80TWh by 2050.

MTU has said that events such as PowerGRID2025 play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges and ensuring a resilient and sustainable energy future through keynote addresses by industry leaders, lab demonstrations showcasing innovative solutions, panel discussions delving in to topics such as renewable-energy integration and cybersecurity, and networking opportunities with professionals from across the energy and technology spectrum.

Have Bishopstown news to share? Contact breda.graham@theexaminer.ie