Save a Life

27th March - 3rd April 2010
Organ Donor Awareness Week which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association and supported by the Irish Donor Network will take place from 27th March until 3rd April 2010. The annual life saving awareness campaign aims to highlight to the general public the plight of people with organ failure and the ongoing need for organ donation for transplantation encouraging more people to make an informed decision to carry an organ donor card and to donate their organs in the event of their untimely death.

Throughout the Week, Irish Kidney Association volunteers will be out on the streets and in shopping centres around Athy selling 'forget me not flower' emblems (the symbol of transplantation), brooches, magnetic car ribbons and organ donor keyrings. Proceeds will go to the Irish Kidney Association’s support programme for patients on dialysis and those patients fortunate enough to have a kidney transplant. The support programme includes the running of a renal support centre in Beaumont Hospital and holiday centres in Kerry and Tramore, as well as patient aid and counselling services, patient training and rehabilitative work placement, health promotion and the provision of kidney patient information and education.

There have been more than 3 Kidney transplants in the Athy area.

Please support generously

SHINE

Shine Athy invites you to a Failte Ireland Customer Service workshop.

The workshop is for owner/managers and frontline staff of all businesses in Athy. All participants will receive a Failte Ireland Customer Service Certificate of participation.

The same workshop will be repeated twice, so choose the time that best suits you. The details are as follows:

6.30pm – 9.30pm, Thursday 15^th April, Clanard Court Hotel, Athy

Or

9.30am – 12.30pm, Friday 16^th April, Clanard Court Hotel, Athy

The Shine town initiative aims to reinvigorate the traditional Irish welcome offered to all visitors. The overall objective of the SHINE TOWN programme is to ensure that tourists visiting Athy, experience the best possible service wherever they go in the town, leading to increased repeat visits, positive word of mouth and recommendations.

The workshop will be great fun and very practical. It will give you useful tools to deliver the best possible customer experience with wonderful, friendly service, displaying the four key behaviours of the SHINE programme: S-omeone who is H-appy, I-nterested, N-atural and E-xpert.

Key topics include:

• The SHINE Service Promise – your commitment to SHINE and Athy
• The customer service journey, identifying the key moments of truth for customers on their service journey
• Recognising opportunities to go beyond good service for your customers – i.e. meeting expectations but also exceeding expectations
• Communicating with customers - methods to effectively manage the different range of customer interactions.
  
  Places are limited so please e-mail confirmation of your attendance (and any additional members of staff from your business) to fiona@firstwestern.ie before Friday 9^th April or call Fiona on 086 382 5854.

Business Matters

Kildare County Enterprise Board, in association with the Athy Investment Development & Employment Forum (AIDEF), are organising a 2 local enterprise training courses over the coming weeks. For further information on the courses, please call (045) 861707 or visit www.kildareceb.ie

An Introduction to Web Marketing

Learn how to market your business using SEO, Google, Adwords, E-mail marketing and Social Media Marketing.

Dates: 2 Monday evenings – 19th & 26th April 2010

Time: 7:00p.m. to 9:30p.m.

Venue: Carlton Abbey Hotel, Athy

Cost: €30

Start Your Own Business Course

This course will cover all aspects of starting a business. It will incorporate personal development skills, assessing your suitability as an entrepreneur and general business topics such as business planning, sources of funding, legal issues, marketing and financial management.

Dates: 4 Thursdays – 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th May 2010

Time: 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.

Venue: Carlton Abbey Hotel, Athy

Cost: €60

Reduced fee €30 for those in receipt of a Social Welfare payment.

Evidence of payment must be produced.

Watch the Lights

Work is about to begin on the traffic lights and area around them at Emily Square Athy. This work is being completed to make the junction safer particularly for pedestrians. There will be some inconvenience but it should lead to an improvement in safety.

Grow It Yourself

Grow It Yourself Ireland (GIY) recently established a Kildare group in Athy and they will hold next third meeting on Thursday 25th March at 7.00pm above the HealthyLiving Centre, 54 Leinster Street in Athy, through the green door and up the stairs.

GIY meetings aim to take the ''self'' out of ''self-sufficiency'' by getting back-garden growers together on a monthly basis to talk, learn from each other, exchange tips, knowledge and skills. The meetings are free and open to people interested in food growing at all levels, i.e. from growing a few herbs on the balcony to complete self-sufficiency, from beginners to old hands.

Enquiries to Mary Ledwidge, 087 2372664, thewoodenhouse@live.ie, webpage: www.giyireland.com

Fashion Show

Athy Lions Club

presents

Fashion Show

The Clanard Court Hotel, Athy

Thurs. 15th April at 7.30pm

Tickets €15

Prize for Best Dressed Lady • Door Prize • Mega Raffle

Compère on the Night: Mary AshmoreM E G A

LOCAL SHOPS GUEST MODEL

Charmaine Kenny

GOODIE BAG

FOR EVERYONE!

Including Vouchers worth €15 from

• Hair Affaire

• Marian’s Salon de Beauté

• Eimear’s Beauty in Comfort

LOCAL MODELS

LOCAL ARTISTS

Abbeywear Ltd • Baronessa • Cosmo Brides • Essence Boutique • Eurotrendz • Jewelz • Kala Boutique • Manley’s • Mizelle • Motif • Shaws

Hair Styles by Hair Affaire • Make-Up by Eimear’s Beauty in Comfort & Marian’s Salon de Beauté

Tickets available in participating boutiques, Hair Affaire, Marian’s Salon de Beauté & Eimear’s Beauty in Comfort