Our Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on Thursday 20th May 2021 in Heatherlee Dining Room. 

In accordance with public health guidelines, the event was a hybrid one. This means a that a small number of people attended in person and others attended online via MS Teams. 

John Punch’s two year term as Chairperson of the Board of Directors came to an end at the AGM. Gearóid Gilley has now taken over the role of Chairperson and Donna Roche was elected Vice Chair.  

We would like to thank John Punch for his time and expertise over the past two years. 

AT the meeting, outgoing Chairman John Punch noted: “I wish to sincerely thank the staff of Cope Foundation, many of whom have been directly exposed to the pandemic, for the way in which they have selflessly risen to the challenge of this crisis. Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of de-congregated settings and the requirement for better housing and supports. Our home means so much to us as individuals. The people we support must have choice and control around their home. Cope Foundation is excited and proud to be supporting people on their journey to creating their own home in a community of their choosing.” 

At the AGM, former Board Members and Chairpersons Frank O’Flynn and Catherine Field were made Honorary Life Members of the Foundation in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the work and development of the Foundation over the past 40 years.

At the meeting, members were told about the organisation’s priority to evolve our service to smaller, more locally based homes, hubs and day centres, in line with international best practice. 

As an organisation, we are committed to further developing a rights-based approach to delivering services and supporting people to live a life of their choosing, connected and participating in their community.  

It was acknowledged at the AGM that this approach is the only way forward if we are to genuinely support and empower people to live ‘your life, your way’. 

There is no doubt that 2021 will continue to challenge us all on many fronts but we will work tirelessly to meet that challenge head on. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) guides us as we evolve our services and supports over the coming months and years. 

This human rights treaty is in place to protect and reaffirm the human rights of people with disabilities. 

The right to an ordinary life, participating as equal citizens in our community will be our sole focus together at Cope Foundation and this was very apparent at our AGM and in our 2020 Annual Report.