€125,000 in grants for vulnerable children in Dublin awarded by The Ireland Funds

The Ireland Funds has announced grants totalling €125,000 which will be distributed between five organisations in Dublin that provide essential services to children experiencing poverty, marginalisation, and difficult circumstances.

Part of its Heart of the Community Fund, the grants highlight the desire of The Ireland Funds to address urgent needs in the community.

The grants are strategically allocated as a quick response at a time of year when the challenges faced by those experiencing hardship are amplified. 

The funded organisations include:

• Belvedere Youth Club
• Citywise Education
• Early Learning Initiative
• Focus Ireland – Aylward Green
• FoodCloud

Each organisation will receive €25,000 to support their work.

Caitriona Fottrell, President & CEO of The Ireland Funds said: “This grant round reflects The Ireland Funds’ commitment to helping those facing extraordinary challenges.

“Through philanthropy, we bridge resource gaps, partnering with exceptional organisations to address critical needs of people living in difficult situations.

“We are deeply appreciative of our donors whose generosity makes this response possible.”

Belvedere Youth Club offers a range of programmes and services to young people aged 7-24 years in Dublin’s North East Inner City (NEIC).

€25,000 will support the integration of children, young people, and families from direct provision into the NEIC community and enable BYC to deliver programmes at Gateway direct provision centre.

Citywise Education tackles educational inequality by supporting young people from underserved communities in progressing from primary to third-level education.

Its Fast Track Academy (FTA) helps 90% of participants advance to higher education. €25,000 will help Citywise Education expand from Tallaght into Crumlin.

The Early Learning Initiative is an intervention service for children aged 4-7 in Inner City Dublin, aimed at enhancing parental confidence and competence in supporting their child’s development.

€25,000 will fund Family Support Home Visitors to provide weekly or bi-weekly visits to 30 families with a range of complex needs.

Focus Ireland is dedicated to addressing homelessness and preventing it from occurring.

€25,000 will support their work at Aylward Green in Finglas by providing essential services to reduce the trauma of homelessness and support children in reaching their developmental milestones.

FoodCloud is a Dublin-based non-profit social enterprise tackling food waste and food poverty by connecting businesses with surplus food to charities in need.

€25,000 would directly allow FoodCloud to redistribute 24 tonnes of food, equivalent to over 56,000 meals, and help expand its network of charity partners, including those focused on vulnerable children, families, and communities facing homelessness or poverty.

Daire Hennessy, CEO of Citywise Education, said: “Citywise Education is deeply grateful to The Ireland Funds for its support.

“This grant will enable us to help more young people from underserved communities reach their potential through academic classes and mentorship from local role models.

“Many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds need extra guidance to progress to third level education, and this grant will allow us to expand our proven model, which saw 95% of participants advance to further education last year.”

The Ireland Funds Heart of the Community Fund highlights the power of strategic philanthropy in addressing urgent issues.

By investing in these services, The Ireland Funds aims to nurture communities where every child has the opportunity to thrive.