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Release News - 2007



2007 Irish Entrepreneur Yearbook - Tara Cunningham features on these prestigious lists.


13 December 2007 - Release Newsletter Volume 3 Issue 1
Click here to read our latest stories!

22 November 2007 - Irish Independent "Apprentice Star "Ruth" lends her support to budding entrepreneurs
Tara Cunningham, Managing Director of Release was a panel speaker at the first inaugural National Women's Enterprise Day, attended by over 400 women from all 26 counties. Click here to read the full article.

13 November 2007 - Irish Times Health Supplement "Two health related companies nominated for entrepreneur award"
"A Waterford-based Irish pharmaceutical company and a husband and wife team who are pioneering an innovative speech and language therapy program have been nominated for a prestigious entrepreneur award." Click here to read the full article.

7 November 2007 - Offaly Express "Tullamore woman launches free service for parents of children with disabilities"
www.release.ie/blog is a free service which has been established by Release Communication Intervention with www.irishdeafkids.ie to provide an online platform for caregivers of children with speech, hearing and learning difficulties. Please click here to read the full story.


6 November 2007 - Irish Independent Mothers & Babies Supplement
"A life less ordinary"
Release parents Nick and Sue O'Brien tell their brave story of having Ciara, a beautiful little girl with Down syndrome who underwent heart surgery at only eight weeks of age. Ciara was enrolled in Release from a very early age and they say the program gave considerable help to their whole family. Please click here to read the full story.


6 November 2007 - Corporate Social Responsibility
Tara Cunningham speaks on Corporate Social Responsibility and awards the CSR National Enterprise Award to Mella Byrne and Pamela Walsh of Starting Small and Standing Tall, Limerick. Pictured in the photo is Eamon Ryan, CEO, Limerick City, Tara Cunningham, Michael Ahern, T.D. Minister for Innovation, Mella Bryne, Pamela Walsh and Michael Kelly, Chairman of the National Enterprise Awards.

1 November 2007 - Irish Independent "The voice of reason"
Feeling the work you do doesn't matter in the greater scheme of things is common among today's workforce. Barbara Harding speaks to one entrepreneur (Tara Cunningham) who is making a huge difference in the provision of speech and language therapy.
Click here for the full article.

23 October 2007 - Tara Cunningham wins David Manley Emerging Social Entrepreneur Award 2007
Tara Cunningham, MD of Release, has won the David Manley Emerging Social Entrepreneur Award 2007. She will be interviewed by the David Manley Panel as one of four final contestants to receive the overall David Manley Award. The overall award will be presented on 14 November. Watch this space!

15 October 2007 - National Womens Enterprise Day Launched
A new event, aimed at encouraging and providing support to Ireland's up-and-coming women entrepreneurs was launched today by Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Micheál Martin. The first National Women's Enterprise Day, to be held on Wednesday 21st November 2007, will bring together aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs to discuss and address the challenges faced when starting a business. Tara Cunningham, MD Release Communication Intervention will be speaking at the event. Click here for the full article, or visit www.dceb.ie for more information.


8 October 2007 - www.release.ie/blog is live
Release is proud to announce the arrival of the Release Blog. This blog has been developed to aid caregivers of children with all communication difficulties, including deafness, with their day-to-day problems or questions.

The contributors cover a wide range of knowledge: Hammie, is a mother of two children with Autism who gives practical tips to working with children on the spectrum; Caroline Carswell, a woman who was born profoundly deaf gives advice and inspiration to caregivers of deaf children; Tara Cunningham, who will point you in the right direction for services; and finally Jennifer Wetter and Debbie Brassell who will give speech and language therapy tips. Visit www.release.ie/blog for more information.

5 October 2007 - Social Entrepreneur Award
Tara Cunningham won the WMB Social Entrepreneur Award at the Women Mean Business Conference in the Shelbourne Hotel on 1 October. Tara is CEO of Release Speech Therapy, which provides speech and language therapy to parents of children with learning and speech disabilities through group therapy at a relatively low cost by primarily focusing on teaching parents the skills they need to work with their children on a day-to-day basis.
Click here for more from Dublin City Enterprise Board website

4 October 2007 - Release named to David Manley Award Shortlist
Release has been nominated by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland as one of three programs for the David Manley Awards Shortlist. The program will now go to the David Manley Committee for the final choice. This award will give €10K to the Release program and over €70K in free consultancy. Fingers crossed!


1 October 2007 - Tara Cunningham named Irish Life WMB Social Entrepreneur of the Year
At the inaugural O2 WMB Conference held in the Shelbourne Hotel, Tara was named the Irish Life WMB Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Visit www.womenmeanbusiness.com for more information.

14 September 2007 - Debbie Brassell, PhD, JD, EJD, MS, CCC-SLP joins Release as Director of Research
We are beyond delighted to welcome Debbie to the Release team! Debbie will be working at Solas while she develops research to analyse the Release methodology. We hope to be able to use her research to prove the power caregivers have to help their children learn to better communicate!

13 September 2007 - Tara Cunningham voted on to Social Entrepreneurs Ireland's Board of Directors
Tara is exceptionally honoured to be asked to this prestigious Board of Directors. SEI believed in Tara and Release before any other organisation would. The SEI program helped not only monetarily, but more importantly with their mentorship. Tara's role on the Board will be to bring an Awardees perspective with regards to support necessary into the developing strategy of the organisation. For more information on Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, please visit www.socialentrepreneurs.ie

4 September 2007 - Tara Cunningham named Ashoka Fellow
Over six months Tara and Release were scrutinised by Ashoka, the global association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs. Officially announced in September, Tara became one of 1800 fellows elected since 1981 and only the second in Ireland. The Ashoka Fellowship allows the Release program worldwide support in establishing the program as international best practice. For more information on Ashoka Ireland visit www.ashoka.org.

16 August 2007 - Jennifer Wetter is engaged!
No more worries about her leaving us Moms, Jen has found herself a good Northern Irish man, Robert Brown! The date has been set at 16 August 2008. We wish Jen and Rob every success!

31 May 2007 - Jennifer Wetter is RTE's expert on their new series "Baby on Board"
Jennifer's expertise was required for a family of three, where the eldest son developed a stammer. Visit the RTE website for more information.


26 April 2007 - Solas Centre is Launched by Keith Duffy
Release is very proud to be associated with Irish Autism Action during their launch of the Solas Centre. For more information about Release's work with the IAA, click here.

12 April 2007 - End of Session Analysis Completed for January - March
Yet another successful session of Release in both private and school settings, bringing our total of students helped to 320. Click here to read the full analysis.


10 April 2007 - Release Moves to Solas Centre
320 children over 3600 hours of speech and language therapy later, Release has moved from St Mary's Secondary School, to the IAA's diagnostic centre, Solas. Our new address is Release, Solas Centre, St Gabriel's Rd, Dollymount, Dublin 3. Our number has changed to 01.853.1578.

30 March 2007 - Ashoka Ireland is Launched.
Social Entrepreneur Ireland Award Winner 2005, Tara Cunningham, is delighted to welcome Ashoka to Ireland. Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world's citizens to think and act as changemakers. For more information on Ashoka, and how you can help, please visit www.ashoka.org/ireland.

1 March 2007 - Release to work with IAA's diagnostic centre, Solas.
Release will begin assessing up to 800 children over the next five years at the Irish Autism Action's diagnostic centre Solas. To find out more about our work with Solas click here.


19-23 February 2007 - Release Free Theatre Workshop is Huge Success
Jennifer Wetter, MS, CCC-SLP, Director of Speech and Language Therapy ran a free full week theatre programme for 26 Release students and their siblings. The workshop aimed to increase confidence in Release students, and enable siblings of children with disabilities learn how to work with their brother or sister. Parents, grandparents and friends all enjoyed the end of week performances. Keep wathcing release.ie/events for the next theatre workshop!!!


8 January 2007 - Charlie Cunningham is here!!!
Tara Cunningham's 2nd son was born today weighing in at 8 lbs 7 ozs.
Both mom and baby are doing great.