Tesco Ireland has announced that four local good causes have been awarded €25,000 worth of funding from its once-off 25 Years Community Fund.
Local groups and charitable organisations from all over Ireland were invited to apply for a chance of winning the one-off funding to go towards realising a special project from start to finish, that they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.
Over 650 local causes from all over Ireland applied to ‘The 25 Years Community Fund’.
The retailer noted that, initially, €100,000 was available to four causes across Dublin, Leinster, Munster and Connacht and Ulster.
However, as there was an overwhelming number of applications in each area, Tesco highlighted that it decided to award two further causes from each area additional funding to help support their next projects.
In total, Tesco has donated €130,000 to groups across Ireland as part of this initiative, in addition to the ongoing support it provides to local good causes every 12 weeks.
Judging Panel
Tesco assembled a judging panel comprising broadcaster and presenter, Blathnaid Treacy; Tesco Ireland Communications Director, Rosemary Garth; Business in The Community, CEO, Tomás Sercovich; Grants and Donor Services Executive at The Community Foundation for Ireland, Shreya Chaturvedi; and Assistant Principal at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deborah Dignam.
Speaking at the winners’ announcement Rosemary Garth, communications director, Tesco Ireland, said, “To celebrate 25 years of Tesco Ireland, we wanted to do something really special to celebrate the various community groups and causes who give so much of their time and efforts to supporting our local communities.
"What an exciting process this has been; having so many fantastic entries meant that making a decision was incredibly tough, and that’s why we decided to announce runner-up funding for each area.
"We believe we have chosen truly deserving winners and we can’t wait to see their plans come to fruition over the next few months.”
Munster
In Munster, Waterford Food Bank will receive €25,000 to purchase and install a walk-in freezer, which will maximise its food storage and, subsequently, food availability for those in need in Waterford.
Two runners-up in Munster, Diarmuid O Cathain Cultural Centre will receive €5,000 funding for the development of a therapeutic room for dementia patients and Ballyhass National School in Cork will receive €2,500 to support the development of an inclusive garden & biodiversity space.
Leinster
In Leinster, Autism Support Louth & Meath at Drogheda ABACAS Special School will receive €25,000 which will support with purchasing and installing specialised outdoor sensory musical instruments in its newly developed sensory garden for use by the children attending Drogheda ABACAS Special School, youth club participants and families attending meet-ups.
Two runners-up selected in Leinster, Wicklow Rovers AFC will receive €5,000 to support funding an inclusive sensory garden; and Tullow Tidy Towns and Climate Action Committee will receive €2,500 to support the development of pollinator friendly spaces.
Ulster And Connacht
In Ulster and Connacht, Bailieborough Cancer Comfort Ltd in Cavan will receive €25,000 to fund a new car to bring cancer patients to and from their treatments. Two runners-up selected in Connacht & Ulster, St Faithleach’s GAA club in Roscommon will receive €5,000 to support the build of an outdoor gym; and Radharc na Mara Primary School in Galway will receive €2,500 to support the school with the creation of a new library.
In Dublin, Ballymun Regional Youth Resource will receive €25,000 to fund an upgrade of its youth café. Two runners-up selected in Dublin, Space to Grow (Connecting Cabra) will receive €5,000 to support community shared spaces and garden; and Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People will receive €2,500 to support with the purchase of a back-up generator to keep their services going if there was a power outage.
Read More: Tesco Ireland Launches ‘The 25 Years Community Fund’
© 2023 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
