FOR voluntary and community groups all over the Greater Dublin Area the wait finally ended earlier this month when 85 winners of this year’s Dublin Bus Community Spirit Awards were revealed.
Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service Ltd was one of the Northside winners, claiming a top award of €5,000.
Any voluntary and community group in the Greater Dublin Area was eligible to apply for a Community Spirit Award which provides funding for groups to develop new projects, improve their locality and help raise community spirit.
Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service Ltd offers families and children who are experiencing homelessness or are being housed in local hotels or B&Bs a space where they can play.
The Community Spirit Award will allow them to develop an outdoor garden space for babies and ‘wobbler’ children with a musical wall, sand pit and climbing frame.
Niall Quinn, Patron of the Community Spirit Awards, said: “The real heroes of Dublin are local voluntary and community groups and the people working with them who strive to make their communities the
best they can be and improve the lives of those living there.
“Whether it’s sporting clubs, homework clubs, or groups working with older people, these are the ones who need to be recognised and supported and Dublin Bus is delighted to do this through the Community Spirit Awards.”
Since the first awards in 2004, over 1,800 voluntary and community groups, from family resource centres to scout groups, have benefited from the Dublin Bus Community Spirit Awards.
Under the terms of the programme entrants submit a proposal with details of their organisation and the project which they wish to have funded. Each application is then judged independently.