The long years of The Troubles may be over, and the peace process may have culminated in a new era of political cooperation between the Unionists and Republicans, but the strife has left a deep impression on the Irish psyche both north and south of the border. Families and local communities are still dealing with the legacy of many years of violence, sectarianism and mistrust, and there is still much healing to be done. There is no stronger evidence of the need for understanding and reconciliation than the clashes that took place recently in Belfast.

 

Fortunately, there is an organization that is committed to building a more tolerant society in Ireland and to providing a safe and nurturing environment for parents, children and local communities. Co-operation Ireland is the leading peace-building charity on the island, with presence both north and south of the border. The charity was established in 1979, and is focused on creating opportunities for both religious communities to meet and work together, so that they can learn about each other’s cultural backgrounds and traditions. The goal is to build a society where cultural and religious differences are accepted, and where tolerance is the norm, not the exception.

 

In the field of education, Co-operation Ireland is committed to giving young people the opportunity to learn about the culture and traditions of other children living in different parts of Ireland. It believes that understanding children from other religious and cultural backgrounds helps to create a society where respect leads to peace and stability. It runs a number of projects for schoolchildren that are designed to promote understanding and tolerance. For example, it has recently launched a Schools Connecting Cultures project with five primary schools in County Louth and one in Northern Ireland. This offers a program of workshops and activities that allow children to explore their sectarian and racist prejudices, and to build strategies to overcome them.

 

Co-operation Ireland also runs a Youth Leadership Program, which targets young people who have the potential to become community leaders, but who are at high risk of involvement in criminal activities and other dangerous acts. The program provides participants with a support structure that helps them address the challenges in their lives, with the goal of diverting them from anti-social and criminal behavior.

 

If you think that building understanding and tolerance among families and communities is the most effective way of ensuring a peaceful future for Ireland, click here to donate to Co-operation Ireland. You’ll be joining individuals and companies like George Kelly and MediaWhiz in supporting an Ireland where mistrust and fear are a thing of the past.

 

At the local government level, Co-operation Ireland is involved in the Local Authority Programme, sponsoring conferences in conjunction with local and national governments in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This program brings together chief executives and county managers from both sides of the border, and is designed to promote meaningful and sustainable cooperation at the local level. The goal is to create integrated approaches to issues that affect all of Ireland, such as planning, social inclusion, community development and waste management. The forum develops proposals to address problems in each of these areas, which are then taken back to local authorities for consideration, approval and implementation.

 

Co-operation Ireland also runs an active Media Program, which is designed to encourage media organizations and journalists to think about how they can foster a greater understanding of traditions and culture within Ireland, and to promote communication of this both at the international and national level. The cornerstone of this program is an annual conference for senior journalism students that takes place either in Belfast or Dublin. This conference enjoys significant support, including sponsorship by the Irish News and the Irish Times.

 

Another activity that Co-operation Ireland runs is Pride of Place, a competition across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that is designed to create civic pride in local communities by recognizing significant improvements that they have made. The competition, which has upwards of 90 entrants every year, encourages people to share what makes their communities special, and to exchange ideas on further areas in which progress can be made.

 

One of the legacies of the troubles in Ireland is strained relations between families of British Services personnel and the local communities in which they live. Co-operation Ireland runs its Family And Community Engagement project (FACE) to strengthen positive relationships between British Services families and their neighbors. The aim of FACE is to address the marginalization of British Services families that arise out of lack of contact with their neighbors, sectarian mistrust and fear for personal safety. This program has received considerable support, including from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Republic Wireless for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

What does a mother to do? The more money you try to save and it seems like something else comes up. This time it’s my kids are growing up and when that happens they have to have everything that all the other kids have. Yes, that’s the dilemma when you have not 1 but 2 teenagers in the house. They need the latest clothes, newest games and of course, they need a cell phone so they can talk, text and stay online all the time. Let’s face it, clothes aren’t getting any cheaper and with a new gaming system coming out and the games being really high, they’re not getting any cheaper. I could easily say, forget they don’t need cell phone but they’re getting older, go visit family and go to their friends’ house so I really need to be in contact with them all the time, I mean what mother doesn’t. While looking for the cheapest service I came across Republic Wireless and couldn’t believe my eyes. They offer service for $19/month………hold on, this can’t be wrong and I’m thinking, what’s the catch? I’m thinking you probably have to get a phone that has no features the kids like but I was wrong. First off, the plans come with unlimited talk, text and web which is something that I love because I don’t have to monitor how many minutes they use, how much data they have left or how close are they to going over the limit for texting. The phone they’ll get is the Motorola DEFY™ XT Smartphone and here are some of the features:

Front-facing VGA Webcam

Rear-facing camera with auto focus/LED Flash, 4x digital zoom

Android operating system with wi-fi and Sprint® 3G Coverage with dual-band reception

Over 450,000 Apps through Google Play™

3.7 inch Corning® Gorilla® glass display

Dustproof, water and scratch resistant

 

 

As you see not only you’ll get great service but with discounted prices and you’ll receive a great smartphone so they can get some cool apps, play online and text friends without any overage charges. Seeing I’m a mommy that loves to coupon shop I can use the extra money being saved on cell phone service and apply it to my couponing.

 

You’ve spent months looking for that perfect place, and you’ve finally found it. All the paperwork is signed, and you even have a copy of the key. You’re probably pretty excited, and looking forward to getting into your new home, but then it hits you. You have got an enormous amount of work ahead of you before you get there. Suddenly, you don’t feel quite so hopeful about things.

 

Sure, it’s true that if you don’t organize it properly, moving house can make you tear your hair out. However, if you approach it methodically, it’s surprising how well your move can go. As long as you come up with a plan that includes all of the things that you need to get done, and then tick them off one by one as you do them, there is hope for you yet.

 

The first obvious thing is packing. If you’re going to do this yourself, go around your home and make an estimate of how many boxes you will need, including things like wardrobe boxes and book boxes. Then, take this estimate, add 20% and go out and buy all of your boxes in one shot, along with all the tape, labels and so on that you will need. Not only will this save you money, it will save you aggravation as well. There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of packing with a couple of days to go, and then finding out that you have run out of packing materials.

 

Next, make sure you hire a reputable mover. Either ask your friends or work colleagues for recommendations, or look online on a good review site such as Angie’s List. Hiring a bad mover because they are cheap just isn’t worth it – your stuff will just end up getting damaged and your blood pressure will go through the roof.

When you are packing, make sure you put a label on everything that says where they should go. Otherwise, you’ll end up having to move things around as you unpack them, and will spend weeks opening up boxes trying to find things. Also, if you have things that you want to keep but don’t use very often, you may want to consider putting these in storage. Take a look at what storage units San Diego, Houston or Boston, or wherever you live – you’ll be surprised how economical it can be.

 Finally, remember that moving is not just about packing. For example, you will want to let the utility companies know where you are moving to and when. Similarly, you may not want to take all of that food with you, so start running down your supplies well in advance. Make sure you put a change of address in at the post office, and remember to change your address on other things like your driving license. Finally, if you have young children or animals, you may want to make arrangements to leave them with friends or family for the day.