Local groups on funding shortlist

A NUMBER of
Northside organisations are in with a chance of a cash windfall after being
nominated for the

‘Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund’.

Ballymun based
Global Action Plan and St Michael’s House are just two of the local groups who
are now on the shortlist to secure funding from the

?¬125,000 the soft drinks
giant has put up for grabs.

The cash is
being offered as support to non-profit community and development groups as part
of Coca-Cola’s 125th birthday celebrations in Ireland.

The Northside
contenders for the fund were chosen for a shortlist of 45 organisations
selected from hundreds of applications from all over Ireland.

Aedamar Howlett
of Coca-Cola Ireland said that creating the shortlist was difficult because of
the quality of the entries.

“We are
delighted with the response,

? she added.

“We received over 600 applications
from all over the island of Ireland. The applicants proposed some very
innovative projects and schemes which could have a really positive impact on
their communities.

“We would like
to thank everyone for taking the time to enter and for showing us what great
work is happening in communities every day.

?

“We understand
that many non-profit and community groups are under financial pressure and this
made the short listing process even more challenging but we are confident that
we have chosen deserving projects that are really going to make a big
difference to communities nationwide.

?

In their application
for funding Global Action Plan said they’d use the cash to deliver a series of
workshops throughout the country with the GAP Energy Bike & Carbon Gym.

During the
workshops, the public would be given the opportunity to use each piece of
equipment while facilitators deliver key messages of energy use and CO2
emissions in a practical way.

St Michael’s
House in Ballymun said they’d use their funding to build a wheelchair
accessible sports pitch that would also include a running and walking track as
well as a spectator area.

Other Northside
based groups on the shortlist include Canteen Ireland on North Brunswick Street
who would use funding for a mentoring programme aimed at helping adolescents
diagnosed with cancer.

Northsiders can
vote for the projects they feel are most deserving for funding on the Coca Cola
website at coca-cola.ie which has complete details of the shortlist. Voting
closes on September 30.

The public vote
will account for half of the total vote with a judging panel made up of
community leaders awarding the remainder. Fifteen winners of the grants will be
announced during October with the top ten getting individual grants of

?¬10,000
and five runners up receiving

?¬5,000 each.