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Q2 / 2020
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Child playing in Barnardos Early Years Centre, where children find a warm, welcoming and engaging environment that supports them to learn, develop, and increase their readiness for school.
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Nina Arwitz
CEO, Volunteer Ireland “Volunteering will still be the backbone of our communities”
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Éilis Murray
CEO, Philanthropy Ireland “In such uncertainty, philanthropy can play a real role”
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Ian Talbot
Chief Executive, Chambers Ireland “It is still essential that we continue to plan, communicate, and work together”
Transforming the lives of vulnerable children across Ireland. By working together, we can continue to support the children who are most vulnerable in this time of crisis. Because Childhood lasts a lifetime. Find out more about how you can make a corporate gift to support Barnardos at www.barnardos.ie or call us on 01 453 0355
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Crisis brings out the best in Irish people
IN THIS ISSUE
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COVID-19 has shown us the best of the Irish spirit with an unprecedented number of people offering to volunteer over the last couple of months.
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housands of people have signed up to the national volunteering database, I-VOL, over the last two months. As usual, the people of Ireland have shown their true spirit and willingness to help those less fortunate in their time of need.
Nina Arwitz
CEO, Volunteer Ireland
What you can do to help the vulnerable members of our communities.
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Nina Arwitz CEO, Volunteer Ireland
Deirdre Garvey CEO, The Wheel
“A new spirit of solidarity and collaboration has taken hold.”
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How else can volunteers help? The best thing we can all do right now to help is to stay home and stay safe. But that doesn’t mean you can’t volunteer. You can check out our #volunteerfromhome campaign, highlighting all the ways you can volunteer to help support your world from the comfort of your home. For example, Aware is looking for support line volunteers to help people dealing with depression, in response to an increased need for their service during this period of uncertainty for many people. There are even some roles you can
Tina Roche
Chief Executive, The Community Foundation for Ireland
“The charity sector has been mostly unable to conduct its regular fundraising activities, and this has left them with huge deficits.”
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How have volunteers responded to COVID-19? Volunteers have taken on many roles to support the response to COVID-19. From checking in on those cocooning, to greeting people at HSE test centres, to making face masks for those in need – volunteers have been critical to the country’s quick response. This is alongside our existing frontline volunteers like first responders and blood bikes. Along with volunteer centres, we have also been working closely with local authorities across the country answering the Community Call. Here, volunteers have been helping vulnerable members of our communities by doing their shopping or collecting their prescriptions.
do at home like making masks for vulnerable You can check out our members of our communities. Elsewhere, campaign, highlighting all the there’s microways you can volunteer to help volunteering, support your world from the which takes just a few minutes at comfort of your home. a time and can often be done on your phone. You could count penguins in remote regions across the world or keep track of bees and insects in your garden. You could try virtual volunteering, done from home through technology, and many other organisations are looking for help with their social media or websites.
#volunteerfromhome
How will volunteering look in the future? As restrictions are lifted and we move to the ‘new normal,’ more people will require the services of community and voluntary organisations across the country. More than ever before, these organisations will need the support of volunteers. With so many people offering to help, now is a great time for organisations to get in touch with their local volunteer centre and see how they can connect you. With social distancing, volunteering might look a bit different from before, but it will still be the backbone of our communities and will impact the lives of so many. We’re already putting advice and supports in place to help organisations think about how they can adapt their volunteer programme in the coming months to make sure Ireland’s volunteering spirit remains as strong as ever!
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Support for charities is needed now more than ever The charity sector has been struggling through the COVID-19 crisis. If its vital work is to continue, it urgently needs the support of companies and the general public.
T Mary Gamble Director of Fundraising and Retail, Barnardos Ireland Written by Tony Greenway
Read more at barnardos.ie
he COVID-19 crisis has rocked the charity sector, says Mary Gamble, Director of Fundraising and Retail at children’s charity, Barnardos Ireland. During lockdown, the way that charities deliver their services has had to change radically. “It’s been the biggest shock to the system we’ve ever had,� says Mary. “Our organisation has had to rapidly adapt to an entirely new way of working, in order to keep serving the children and families that rely on us. Not being there for them just isn’t an option.� The problem is that the expert-led work of many charities is done faceto-face. Barnardos is no exception. So how do you help children and families when social distancing rules mean you can’t share the same physical space? Well, instead of providing its normal breakfast clubs service, Barnardos has been dropping food parcels door-to-door. Unprecedented demand for charitable services “We’re feeding whole families now, not just children,� she explains. “It’s also a way for us to get eyes on a child
– and a sense of what’s going on behind closed doors – how we can best support families when staff are making deliveries.� Plus, instead of children eating food in the charity’s centres, cooks have been sending recipe video messages out to their parents and guardians. Meanwhile, emotional support work and counselling is done via video call. Charities are always reliant on the support and goodwill of companies and the general public. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, this help is needed more than ever. “Charities like ours are finding that we can’t carry out our usual fundraising activities,� explains Mary. “In fact, we’re incurring more costs due to COVID-19, such as making the food parcel deliveries. “There’s more financial pressure on us than normal, because high street charity shops have had to close and fundraising events have had to stop.� Unfortunately, this comes at a time where there is an unprecedented surge in demand for charitable services. Helping charities support those in need Thankfully the corporate and
business sector have been responding to the sector’s cries for help. “They’ve been behind us all the way, responding to our emergency appeals and giving us their support with donations of food and nappies,� says Mary. “That’s been so heart-warming. It’s lifted us up, and it’s lifted up the children who rely on us.� If there’s one silver lining to this extremely dark cloud, it’s that there’s now a new awareness of how fundamentally important the charity sector is to vulnerable families in disadvantaged communities across the country. Here is Mary’s message to companies and the general public: keep your support coming. “Financial help will always be gratefully received,� she says. “We can make sure that it goes immediately to the frontline and the people who need it the most. Things are tough for a lot of children and families right now, but we think that this is only the start of the struggle. Here at Barnardos, we need to be in a position to continue supporting those in need in the weeks and months to come.�
Back to normal is a fairytale for some.
And the playgrounds filled with laughter once again...
This article is in association with Barnardos
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Supporting frontline organisations during challenging times Philanthropy is playing its part in supporting communities through COVID-19.
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Tina Roche Chief Executive, The Community Foundation for Ireland
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he very place we have all been sent for safety because of COVID-19 – home – is anything but safe for some people,”said Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, while launching a campaign to inform victims of domestic abuse of supports available to them. While the recent awareness campaign launched by the government has been welcomed, charities in the sector remain worryingly underfunded. The Community Foundation for Ireland started its COVID-19 Response Fund in early March to direct philanthropic support towards community and voluntary sector organisations in Ireland, such as those helping victims of domestic abuse. The funds are also supporting a breadth of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, homeless and those with respiratory issues, in the escalating COVID-19 situation. Although the fund was commenced with some of our own grant monies, many individuals and families, corporates and other trusts and foundations have pledged their support. The total raised already exceeds €1.5 million.
COVID-19 will redefine the purpose of corporate social responsibility The Government’s national plan on corporate social responsibility (CSR), Towards Responsible Business 2017-2020, sets out a vision that Ireland will be recognised as ‘a centre of excellence for responsible and sustainable business practice’.
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Funding for vital charities Safe Ireland say that €1.6 million is needed in emergency funding to ‘help ensure that services can respond adequately to the needs of women and children at this unique time.’ In our effort to support those most affected, Safe Ireland, Women’s Aid and Men’s Aid have all received funding from our COVID-19 Response Fund. The COVID-19 Response Fund is also supporting frontline organisations, including Aware NI, who are running a series of online mindfulness sessions; A Lust For Life, the Irish wellbeing movement, who said: “The funding will really help us roll out our primary school’s, project to help strengthen the wellness of young people.” Smashing Times Theatre Company received the same amount to “continue to provide services using creative processes to promote positive mental health in particular to support individuals and communities who are experiencing disadvantage.” €32,500 was awarded to Foróige to create tailored care packages for children to improve their online platform and provide additional support. €100,000 was awarded to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, this funding went towards social and distress grants, counselling services; and advice, information and support services for all their members.
Deirdre Garvey CEO, The Wheel
Huge deficits to the charity sector due to COVID-19 Due to the restrictions put in place, the charity sector has been mostly unable to conduct its regular fundraising activities, and this has left them with huge deficits. We hope that philanthropy can play a role in ensuring that community groups can continue supporting all of us as we face an uncertain future. Many people are in a position to help and we would encourage everyone to look at what they can do to support these essential services.
t is fair to say that the plan, which is now in its third and final year, has succeeded in raising the profile of CSR in Ireland. It would also be reasonable to posit that, by the time the plan concludes, the nature of CSR in Ireland may be forever changed, but perhaps not for the reasons anyone had anticipated. The COVID-19 pandemic has cut a swathe of destruction through every sector of Irish society. The economic cost will be immense, but the human cost is incalculable. Amid all the suffering and anxiety, business, the public sector and civil society have rallied, and a new spirit of solidarity and collaboration has taken hold. Charities are working in partnership with Government and local authorities on initiatives like COVID-19 Community Outreach, a community support programme coordinated by The Wheel and Irish Rural Link with funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development. Meanwhile, corporate sector, SMEs and financial service sectors are rowing in to support government and civil society initiatives designed to lessen the social impact of the crisis.
credit schemes have become staples. Corporate blogs are littered with pictures of employees planting community gardens and painting murals, which has its place, but it should not be the sum of CSR. Cross-sectorial partnership is essential Meaningful CSR is not based on patronage or mentorship, it is based on partnership. Partnership with communities, and partnership with the organisations that support and represent them and, fortunately, we are seeing more and more of these partnerships. Ireland’s community, voluntary and charity sector is a wellspring of knowledge and expertise. Around 184,000 people are employed in the sector and it generates a combined annual turnover of €14.5bn. These organisations are embedded in communities, and they have decades of experience in addressing some of the most complex issues we face as a society. To maximise their positive impact on society, companies must develop partnerships with community and voluntary organisations focused on sustained impact over time. These holistic strategies should be informed, not only by a company’s values, but also the evolving needs of communities. Many local and international companies have stepped up as good corporate citizens by working closely with civil society organisations to ensure that their contributions have a positive impact where it is most needed. In the long-term, these strategies will create shared value for both companies and society, but in the current circumstances, social need must be prioritised, and companies should be content to give more than they get. In future, these impact-focused CSR programmes will stand in stark contrast to those that are focused solely on creating value for brands and their shareholders.
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The public sector and civil society have rallied, and a new spirit of solidarity and collaboration has taken hold.
The role of CSR going forward As the grip of the lockdown eases and a sense of normality returns to our lives, the full social and economic cost of the global crisis is becoming apparent. It is now abundantly clear that there will be no ‘businesses as usual’ for the foreseeable future. Tectonic shifts are taking place, which will force us to rethink many aspects of our economy, not least the relationship between businesses and the communities on which they depend. Suddenly, all this talk about CSR is coming into clear focus. Employee engagement has become the mantra of CSR in recent years, and initiatives like staff volunteering days, skills-based volunteering and volunteering