ISSUE 3 - DECEMBER 2021
COMMUNITY FUND:
FINGAL CHAMBER COMMUNITY FUND
This year Fingal Chamber awarded over €15,000 to community-led projects and activities under the new Fingal Chamber Community Fund, with the announcement made at a special online event with Minister Joe O’Brien.
Financed by supporters and contributions from the Chamber itself, the fund is set up to award small grants of between €1,000 and €5,000 yearly. Despite being in its first year, the Fingal Chamber Community Fund was heavily oversubscribed, receiving over 120 submissions collectively requesting more than €365,000. The Chamber received applications from voluntary community groups, established clubs, local charities, and residents’ associations from local communities, amongst other organisations. A total of 11 grants were awarded to groups and the funded activities included a coaching cultural awareness project, a girls’ football academy, a gender diversity programme for local radio, ambulance equipment, and a youth employability programme. Below you can read about outcomes of some of the projects that were funded in 2021.
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
If your business would like to get involved in supporting this work please contact us to see how we can make an even greater impact together. For more information, please email David Branagan, Communications and Engagement, by email david@fingalchamber.ie or visit www.fingalchamber.ie/community
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REPORTS FROM THREE OF THE 2021 GRANT RECIPIENTS Coaching Cultural Awareness (Blakestown Mountview Youth Initiative) BMYI is a referral based service dedicated to meeting the needs of young people and their families living in the Dublin 15 area. They wanted to train young people in coaching skills so that they can listen to and guide their peers if they experience issues relating to racism, social exclusion and isolation. In parallel they wanted to run an intercultural awareness programme so that young people from different cultures can better
understand each other and thereby remove barriers to relationship building. Grant: €2,500 What difference has this project made to the people that were involved in it? There was a huge boost in confidence and the ability to be able to coach people. In addition, there was a great sense of connection at the groups. The sense of learning that was achieved in the room that was significant - there were people from different walks of life, different age groups and different cultures. The learning from the content was great but the learning from the people was even better. Tell us about the wider benefits that the project has brought to your community? We had targeted different age groups so that we could reach parents and young people. As a result we’ve set in motion a strategy to reach a greater range of people and also bring attention to the community originating solutions. There is also a lot of interest in the programmes going forward. Did you meet the goals that you set out? Yes, we have developed the coaching programme and all the contents. We have also developed the cultural awareness programme and all the contents. Both of these programmes are now permanent fixtures in our offering. We now have everything in place to hit our targets and go beyond that as we can run it as a fixture now. Furthermore, there is lots of interest from local schools, one of which is part of the yellow flag programme. Also, with the lifting of restrictions we can cater for larger group sizes which is needed for coaching practice sessions.
Greenhouse at Turvey Allotments (Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed) Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed is affiliated to the Irish Men’s Shed Association, and is open to membership to men of any age in the Donabate Portrane area; although the majority of their members are over 60 years of age. Having demonstrated their active and productive use of their plot at Turvey Allotments, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed hoped to acquire a second plot. They needed a greenhouse on this to cater for propagation of plants for later planting out, for plants which require warmer conditions and for winter growing. Grant: €1,000 What difference has this project made to the people that were involved in it? The greenhouse has allowed us to expand our use of the allotments. It has facilitate propagating plants for later planting out and growing plants which require warmer conditions. It will also cater for winter growing. Approximately half of our members actively engage in work at our allotment. It has provided a safe and productive activity, even under Covid-19 restrictions. Tell us about the wider benefits that the project has brought to your community? Donabate Men’s Shed has liaised with Donabate Tidy Towns about propagating plants at our allotment for their use in the Donabate area in Spring and Summer 2022. Friends and family of members have enjoyed the produce (mainly vegetables) from our allotments. Did you meet the goals that you set out? Due to Trojan work of members, we managed to exceed our expectations. On Monday 29th March 2021, Fingal County Council confirmed the letting of a second plot to Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed. By the following Friday, the ground was cleared and the greenhouse was in place. Since then, raised beds have been set up inside and outside the greenhouse and potatoes, cabbage, peas, broad beans, scallions, onions, strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries, beetroot, lettuce (propagated in the greenhouse),
