Cope names Donna as new chair and calls for more to join board

BANDON native Donna Roche has been elected chairperson of Cope Foundation’s board of directors at the charity’s recent 65th agm.
Ms Roche has been a member of the board for six years.

She has extensive experience, with over 40 years in the acute hospital sector in Ireland, the UK and the USA. In her previous two roles, she managed two separate private hospitals in Ireland, one being the Mater Private Cork. Ms Roche is a graduate of UCC and UCD, she has a BSC in nursing, an MA in healthcare administration and an MBA.

Speaking about her new appointment, Ms Roche said she was delighted to be elected chairperson of Cope Foundation’s board of directors. ‘It is a position I take with great pride and Cope Foundation is an organisation that means a lot to me. My mission as chairperson is to highlight the great work achieved in all 70 plus locations across Cork city and county. In the last year, one of my overarching goals was to visit every single location. I aim to continue this as I have seen incredible kindness and generosity. The staff and people we support are fantastic and they deserve this recognition.

‘Our work is guided by legislation and human rights-based principles such as the Freda principles, which include Fairness, Respect, Equality, Dignity and Autonomy. There is a real sense of change across Cope Foundation, the ship is turning and I am excited for the task and challenge ahead.’

The organisation is keen to recruit new members to the board of directors. They are particularly looking for people who are connected to Cope Foundation and possibly have experienced the charity through a relative.

They are also looking for people with extensive marketing and public relations experience. Cope Foundation supports over 2,800 children and adults with an intellectual disability and /or autism in over 70 locations throughout Cork, and now operates 13 community hubs in the city and county.

Board of director skills and expertise are invaluable to supporting Cope Foundation.

The goal of the not-for-profit voluntary organisation, is to work with people to empower them to live lives of their choosing in their chosen community.