ActionAid Ireland

End Poverty. Together.

ActionAid Ireland is a member of ActionAid International, one of the world’s most respected development organisations working with over 20 million people in more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Since ActionAid Ireland was founded in 1983, we have taken sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice working mainly with communities in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Cambodia, Nepal and Vietnam.

Through our Child Sponsorship programmes and our strong Irish supporter base, we are improving the lives of thousands of children and communities by helping them to secure their basic rights to food, water, shelter, medical attention and education. We believe that poor and marginalised people should shape and take responsibility for their own development by identifying and claiming their rights. We stand alongside them every step of the way by championing their rights through international campaigns on food rights, women's rights, HIV & AIDS and education.

The emphasis of all our work is on sustainable long term development and creating change that lasts. We work with over 2,000 international partners and with existing community organisations who know the people and the issues.  ActionAid also works in emergency situations providing immediate relief and setting up long-term projects that help communities rebuild their lives and reduce their vulnerability to future disasters and conflicts. We focus on the root causes of poverty and not just the results.

Age Action

Age Action Ireland is the national network on ageing and older people. Age Action promotes better policies and services for all older people and an ageing society. Its main aim is to improve the quality of life of all older people, especially those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable, by enabling them to live full, independent and satisfying lives for as long as they wish in their own homes, or in other appropriate accommodation.

Alan Kerins Projects

Seven out of 11 million Zambians survive on 74 cents a day. The official figure for Aids sufferers in Zambia puts the national percentage at 16% with nearly 100,000 people dying of Aids annually. The Alan Kerins Projects provide water, food, education, housing and medical care to those worst affected in Western Zambia.

In  2010 our projects include the building of 5 schoolrooms and toilet facilities in the Kaoma Community School and a water/sanitation project for the Kaoma Orphanage. Over 800 orphans and vulnerable children will benefit from these initiatives. We are also setting up a block-making enterprise that will generate employment and provide income for the running of the Kaoma orphanage.

In our other location in Mongu, we are building an education centre and  number of income-generating guesthouses to help fund the Cheshire Home for the physically disabled – the only facility of its type in an area 4 times the size of Ireland.

“A friend is someone who walks in when the whole world has walked out”

ALONE

ALONE was initiated by Willie Bermingham, the well-known Dublin fireman to support older people in our community. The primary aim of ALONE is to combat isolation and loneliness among older persons, and to encourage the community at large to take responsibility for this action. ALONE also provides housing for older persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

ALONE has a team of over 85 dedicated volunteers who visit older persons frequently in order to provide some companionship and contact for those in isolation. ALONE Volunteers with the support of our small staff team also advise and advocate for older people on their entitlements and provide practical assistance , particularly during winter months but also all year round. ALONE also hopes to achieve a society where older people are respected and treated with dignity, and to ensure that no older person in need of assistance or support goes unnoticed.

While we have received state funding for buildings we value our independence our day to day activities is funded by donations from members of the public who share our vision.

Belvedere College SJ

Belvedere College is a Catholic School under the trusteeship of the Jesuit Order. Belvederes unique character of developing 'Men for Others' continues a tradition of over 160 years in the Jesuit approach to education.

When the Jesuits opened St Francis Xavier's College in 1832, there were just nine students' names in the roll-book. The classrooms were in a disused convent in Hardwicke Street. Nine yeras later the school moved to Belvedere House and adopted the name 'Belvedere College'.

Two centuries later, Belvedere remaines by conscious choice in the heart of Dublin within the Jesuit-run parish of Gardiner Street. Students from all over the city and beyond come together here to form lasting friendships.  

Along with Gonzaga, Clongowes, The Crescent and Coláiste Iognáid, Belvedere is part of a worldwide Jesuit system of schools which share a common vision and common goals.

Belvedere is a school with a long tradition of academic success. Latin and Greek are still taught here. The new Science & Technology Block is a testament to the fact that academic success is still the cornerstone of what we do. 

Burren Chernobyl Project

The Burren Chernobyl Project (BCP) was established in 1993 to help with the child victims of the fallout from the Chernobyl reactor explosion. Many projects have been carried out to assist the children and their families who are enduring the effects of exposure to radiation and the other social and economic problems facing them in Belarus.

Calcutta Run

The Calcutta Run is a fun 10km run/walk that is organised each year by the legal profession in aid of GOAL’s programme for street children in Calcutta and the Peter McVerry Trust which provides shelter for homeless children on the streets of Dublin.

Never before have these charities, who have specific programmes dependant on contributions from the Calcutta Run, needed your help so much. In times of recession charities' income falls by 25% and the demand for their services raises by 25% - a 50% wedge! 

Please visit our website to learn more: www.calcuttarun.com

Camphill Communities of Ireland

Camphill Communities of Ireland is part of an international movement that has been providing living and working opportunities for people with special needs for almost 70 years. From small beginnings by a group of war refugees in the north of Scotland, Camphill has now grown into an international organisation with more than 100 communities in over twenty countries.

In Ireland there are four large communities in the North and seventeen communities in the South. All ages and abilities are catered for by providing a nurturing home environment and stimulating work and social activities. This is achieved in a shared living setting, with largely voluntary workers and their families living together with people with special needs. The focus is on the development of the individual through realising their abilities and helping to manage the challenge of their disabilities.

Chernobyl Children’s Trust

Chernobyl Children's Trust brings Children from Belarus to Ireland for recouperation holidays and operates a number of programmes in Belarus helping Children, their families and their communities. Chernobyl Children's Trust is an Irish humanitarian organization, set up and run by volunteers dedicated to helping Children and families most affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. We are committed to bringing trust, dignity and joy both to those we seek to help and to our volunteers and supporters.  As an organization of volunteers, we can give maximum donor value to all funds donated!

Children First

Children First works with disadvantaged families in an effort to break the cycle of deprivation by providing financial and professional assistance for the benefit of children. We provide an intervention service of support, an emergency response support service and we operate a Graduate Programme designed to link those who have good fortune to those of misfortune with a view to ensuring the child has an equal chance to a secure future through education and social activities.

Comber - For a Future without Orphanages

Comber has worked since 1992 to improve the lives of Romania’s most vulnerable citizens-young people with disabilities living in its notorious institutions.   It is now almost 20 years since the fall of Ceausescu and the images that flooded our TV screens of hundreds of thousands of abandoned children.  

Over the last 20 years, childcare services in Romania have improved.  However, the children of the 90s are now young adults and they continue to live in appalling conditions in institutions across rural Romania and other countries in the region. These most vulnerable young people are now the primary focus of Comber’s work

Coolmine Therapeutic Community

Coolmine Therapeutic Community (Coolmine) is a unique organisation in Ireland that works to support men and women become free of their addiction to drugs and alcohol. Since 1973, the organisation has supported clients and their families by offering a range of programmes comprising residential and day programmes, outreach services (prisons / communities), aftercare, education and employment initiatives. Each programme of care is tailored to the needs of the individuals, their families and their friends. Although our facilities are located in the greater Dublin area, we offer our services nationwide and work with approximately 270 clients per year, their friends and families.

COPE Galway

COPE Galway is a Galway based charity working in Galway to fight isolation. COPE Galway provides a range of support and services to people -

We provide a refuge and outreach support to women and children suffering from domestic violence, accommodation and move on support for men and women experiencing homelessness and sustenance and social supports for older people who wish to live in their own homes. 

The range of the work we do is vast - however all of our work is with people in Galway city and county who are experiencing some level of isolation. We are dependant more and more on the voluntary support we receive from individuals fundraising on our behalf.

-LETS HELP TOGETHER-

Cork Simon Community

Cork Simon Community works in solidarity with men and women who are homeless in Cork, offering housing and support in their journey back to independent or supported living. Every night Cork Simon provides accommodation for over 100 people who are homeless.

Cross Cause

Crosscause is an Irish registered charity, founded in 2003 by dedicated volunteers working with special needs orphans in Romania. By starting a home base support group, their work could expand, to bring hope and care to many more needy souls. Two ideals were at the core of the initial ethos. Firstly, that Crosscause would have a unique record of delivering 100% of funds donated, directly to the underprivileged. To achieve this, Crosscause is staffed by self funding volunteers. Secondly, methods of informing donors of where their funds were spent are in place, giving all our supporters, precise, transparent information on what their efforts have achieved. Thanks to these core values, Crosscause has enjoyed great support, allowing it's work to expand further into Eastern Europe and West Africa.

Cuan Mhuire

Cuan Mhuire offers a comprehensive, structured, abstinence based, residential programme to persons suffering from alcohol, other chemical dependencies and gambling.

Cuan Mhuire was founded by Sr. Consilio in 1966. It is a registered charity which is the main provider of treatment for alcohol and drug addiction for the entire island of Ireland. Approximately 2,500 people are treated for addiction in our centers in Ireland every year.

The 40th anniversary of the founding of Cuan Mhuire was celebrated over the first weekend of September 2006. The President Prof Mary Mac Aleese opened a major new facility in St. Josephs House to help victims of addiction. The President gave an inspirational address, highlighting amongst other things the importance of changing our attitudes to what is becoming a culture of excessive consumption of alcohol.

Cuan Mhuire is inspired by the belief that each person is of eternal value and that there is no such thing as a 'hopeless case'. Its treatment is not only geared towards the individual's addiction, but also towards the recovery of the whole person and the restoration of his/her dignity, self-respect and sense of responsibility. Cuan Mhuire has its own unique programme, developed and perfected by Sr. Consilio and her staff over the last forty years.

Depaul Ireland

What our residents have to say

“Having someone believe in me has stopped me thinking I can’t do things and started believing and seeing that I can” – Mary 21, Drive Ahead participant”

"If I left prison, and didn’t have Tus Nua to come to, I would be dead or in the gutter now” – Angela 68, Tus Nua Resident

"Depaul Trust don’t judge me by the mistakes I have made, but by the person I am becoming” – Harry 61, Bluebell resident

What others say about us
"Aungier Street targets a group that is not well catered for by other services. It is very low threshold which means that people who have been barred from other services are able to stay there." – External Evaluator Jan ‘08

What we do
Depaul Ireland works in Dublin and Belfast to provide accommodation, outreach and training services to homeless and disadvantaged people. We now have 8 such services in Dublin, 4 in Belfast and a new service in Dungannon and work with over 1100 people a year. Depaul Ireland is about accepting the most marginalised people in Ireland into their services and working with them to create hope, opportunity and a more positive future. Sometimes this helps people turn their lives totally around, for others it is about being treated as human beings and being accepted for the small steps they make towards change.

Drogheda Homeless Aid

Dublin Simon Community

For more than 35 years Dublin Simon has been providing real solutions to homelessness in the Greater Dublin area. While we are justly famous for our volunteer nightly soup run, we provide much more than an emergency response to homelessness. With 13 projects across the city and over 300 staff and volunteers our aim is to permanently move people back into a home of their own.

Dundalk Simon Community

Dundalk Simon Community provides services for people who are experiencing Homelessness, or who are at risk of becoming homeless in the counties of Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan.

Focus Ireland

Founded in 1985, Focus Ireland works to provide housing and homeless services to young people, adults, children and families who are homeless or are vulnerable to homelessness. The organisation works to make its vision – ‘Everyone has a right to a place they can call home’ – a reality for thousands of people every year.

GOAL

About GOAL

GOAL is an international humanitarian agency dedicated to the alleviation of the suffering of the poorest of the poor. GOAL is non-denominational, non-governmental and non-political. Since being established in 1977, GOAL has proudly kept our administrative costs exceptionally low.

What GOAL Does

GOAL works towards ensuring that the most vulnerable in our world and those affected by humanitarian crises have access to the fundamental needs and rights of life, i.e. food, water, shelter, medical attention and education.

GOAL has responded to nearly every major natural and manmade disaster for over three decades and is currently operational in 11 countries across the developing world. As well as responding to emergencies, GOAL implements rehabilitation and long-term development programmes and works with local partner organizations that have the same objectives as GOAL. While GOAL’s priority is to bring life-saving assistance to people affected by humanitarian crises, through the provision of food, healthcare and other basic services, it also prioritises programmes which care for street children and people affected by HIV/AIDS.

Once emergency situations have been resolved, GOAL implements a wide range of rehabilitation and development programmes including primary healthcare, the rehabilitation of homes, clinics and schools, water and sanitation provision and capacity building with local partner organizations.

Fundraising for GOAL

While GOAL welcomes all fundraising proposals, please note that we do not support events involving extreme sports such as parachute jumps. Neither do we support events which incur costs to be paid for from donations or funds raised by the event. If you have any queries please contact GOAL’s Fundraising Department on +353 (0) 1 2809779.

Good Shepherd Services Ltd

Good Shepherd Services Ltd is a Voluntary Agency providing support and accommodation to homeless girls, women and children.

Edel House: The Emergency accommodation Unit was opened in 1972 in the Mardyke in Cork City and moved to its current location in Grattan Street in 1992/3. Edel House provides accommodation for 24 single women and 9 families who are homeless. The women can stay in this emergency accommodation while seeking their new home. The staff team work with each woman to identify her needs and support her in moving on into her own home.

The Aftercare /Family Support Team meet every service user and work with the woman and her key worker in supporting the woman /family move on from emergency accommodation providing ongoing support as long as needed by the woman /family.

Riverview provide accommodation for teenage girls 15-18 years who are out of home, this can be short term emergency accommodation or medium term placements of 3-6 months duration during which the girls learn life skills to support them in independent living.

Bruac Community Training Center in association with FAS and supported by the VEC provides training and education for girls between the ages of 15-19 years (occasionally up to 21 years)who are early school leavers. The programme is of two years duration and provides certification at FETAC Level 3 and 4 and helps the girls move on to further education or employment.

Habitat for Humanity Ireland

Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide non-profit housing organisation that works in partnership with people in need of decent housing to build and renovate simple, affordable homes. Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to achieving the vision of a world without poverty housing and homelessness, and to make decent housing a matter of conscience and action. Habitat for Humanity is building houses in Ireland and nearly 100 other countries around the world. Since 1976 over 200,000 homes have been built, sheltering more then one million people.

Haven

Homeless Child

Homeless Child believes that no child should live in poverty. In Rio de Janeiro, more than 7 million children are living on the street, faced with extreme violence, sexual exploitation, dire poverty and an ever increasing crack epidemic that kills every addicted child within 6-8 months.

Our projects give these children a chance for a home, an education, love and a future.

By building social networks which provide care, support and access to education, we work to strengthen the capacity of local communities and families through a network of locally based partnerships, and provide shelter and a family environment to those children who have no place to go.

By getting involved with Homeless Child you can help make a difference to the lives of Rio de Janeiro’s most vulnerable children.

Hope Foundation

The HOPE Foundation was set up in 1999 and works primarily with the street children of Calcutta and the subsequent difficulties that these children encounter. The estimated population of street children in Calcutta is 200,000. HOPE provides formal and non-formal education, a nutrition programme and health care for the children. HOPE and its Indian NGO partners' main objective is to continue to remove thousands of children off the streets and improve their quality of life.

Niall Mellon Township Trust

The Niall Mellon Township Trust was started by Niall Mellon in 2002. The aim of the charity is to build quality social housing for impoverished families living in shacks in the townships of South Africa.

• The charity operates a year round house building programme.
• We are now the largest charity provider of quality social housing in South Africa.
• Since the charity first started it has built 13,500 homes and that figure continues to grow.

North West Simon Community

One Family

One Family works with some of the most marginalised families in Ireland,  providing a broad range of professional services in the areas of counselling, family well-being and parent mentoring as well as progression to training, education and employment. One Family supports people as they parent through times of family, work and life change, and those experiencing a crisis pregnancy. We know that every family is unique, and so we work in a family-centred way to bring about better lives for parents and their children. Our goal is to help people to gain the necessary skills to improve their lives for themselves and their children.

OPEN

Do you believe that children in one-parent families in Ireland should suffer disproportionately high levels of poverty? No? At OPEN, we don’t either. But one- parent families are four and half times more likely than anyone else to live in poverty. This means that families don’t have enough money to make ends meet. So almost one in five live in debt just to pay the bills and the same number go without basics like new clothes and proper heating. OPEN works to provide much-needed social and educational supports for one-parent families in their own communities. Through our network of local groups, more than 10,000 families are supported each year.

Peter McVerry Trust

Peter McVerry Trust is committed to reducing homelessness, drug misuse and social disadvantage through its provision of housing and support services. Services include: open access centre, streets to home support, emergency accommodation, transitional accommodation, stabilisation service, residential drug detox, residential aftercare and housing with support, as well as two under 18s residential services. This support helps individuals to move out of homelessness and towards independent living and integration into the community.

Ruhama

Established in 1989, Ruhama is a Dublin-based NGO which works on a national level with women affected by prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual.

Ruhama (Hebrew for renewed life) regards prostitution as violence against women and violations of women's human rights. 'Prostitution and the accompanying evil of trafficking for prostitution, is incompatible with the dignity and worth of every human being' - UN Convention 1949.

We see prostitution and the social and cultural attitudes which sustain it as being deeply rooted in gender inequality and social marginalisation.

SERVE

SERVE is a development and volunteering organisation committed to tackling poverty in the developing world. We strive to do this by working in solidarity, service and partnership with marginalised and oppressed communities, empowering them to tackle the root causes of poverty and injustice. SERVE focuses specifically on programmes and projects that help communities enhance the lives of children and young people and recognises that gender equality is pivotal to achieving justice, equality and sustainable development.

The first volunteer group went to the Philippines after 6 months of ideating and planning in 2003. This 12 member group were placed with the local partners for 6 weeks and were involved with building projects and other community work. Today, we have established local partners in Brazil, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, India, Thailand and the Philippines. SERVE is now not only involved with volunteering programmes but also designs and delivers development education workshops for schools, youth groups and different community groups. SERVE mainly works for enhancing the lives of youth and women and for positive outcomes for gender. We support the Millennium Development Goals and constantly innovate ways to raise funds for our partners in the developing world.

www.serve.ie

Shane Kinsella Foundation

Simon Communities of Ireland

Simon has a vision of society where no one is homeless. All people who are homeless, or at risk of facing homelessness, are given every opportunity to realise their potential to live fulfilled lives in appropriate homes of their own. Simon is recognised for providing innovative solutions to ending homelessness and for influencing government policy and public opinion.

Society of St Vincent De Paul - Dublin Region

Welcome to the Saint Vincent de Paul - Dublin Region

The SVP is Ireland's largest volunteer organisation, with a proud tradition of supporting and championing the rights of the poorest members of our society. We are motivated in what we do by our belief that we can make a difference to the lives of thousands of people in Ireland who are prevented from participating fully in the economic and social life of their own community.

Sophia Housing Association Ltd

South East Simon Community

Since 2004 South East Simon Community has been providing services to people experiencing homelessness and at risk of homelessness throughout Waterford, South Tipperary, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford.

The Community Foundation for Ireland

Women's Fund For Ireland 

The Community Foundation for Ireland has recently launched Ireland's first ever Women’s Fund. The fund established by women for women will be the first of its kind in Ireland and will be solely dedicated to supporting women’s causes and charitable initiatives across the country.

The Fund will tackle the problems facing women and girls in Ireland today by raising funds, promoting women’s organisations and raising awareness of the challenges facing women. The fund will be dedicated to supporting a number of varying women’s issues by giving small grants to enable positive change at the grassroots and strategic level and tackle women’s inequality at its source.

For further information please go to www.communityfoundation.ie

The Sick Poor Society Cork

This society is probably the oldest charitable society in Cork city. It was founded in 1853 and has it's roots in the terrible squalor of recurring epidemic diseases, severe food shortages and widespread misery and deprivation that were rampant during the famine years of late 1840s and early 1850s.

Since then, of course, social conditions have improved to the extent that the founding members of the society could scarcely have envisaged.  Although the growth of the welfare state has brought about great improvements in modern conditions, people in our community can very often become marginalized due to unexpected circumstances.  Families often find themselves under severe financial pressure due to unemployment, illness, bereavement, harmful addiction, separation, unequal access to opportunities and other forms of discrimination. 

The task of The Sick Poor Society is to reach out to families who are in these difficult circumstances and to provide them with material and other assistance. This work is undertaken on a voluntary basis and consequently, all monies are used solely for the benefit of needy families.  Administration charges of the society are less than 1% per annum.

The Umbrella Foundation

The Umbrella Foundation seeks to relieve the impact of poverty and war on the children of Nepal through projects which promote education, vocational training, and community enrichment, so that they may grow up to become responsible, contributing citizens of Nepal.

Threshold

Threshold is the national housing charity that works to solve peoples’ housing problems and campaigns for a better housing system. We believe that everyone has the right to secure, suitable and affordable housing.

UCD Volunteers Overseas

UCD Volunteers Overseas is a charitable organisation which offers students, staff and alumni of University College Dublin the opportunity to engage in voluntary work in developing countries. We currently have projects in India, Haiti, Nicaragua and Tanzania, and work alongside local communities in carrying out small-scale development projects which respond to local needs.

UCDVO works on projects in the areas of education, environment, healthcare, construction and information technology. By channelling the skills, energy and enthusiasm of university students into such activities, communities can access a source of support to improve the quality of life in their area. UCDVO not only provides opportunities for volunteers and host communities to share and develop skills, it also generates greater understanding and respect for differing cultures and life experiences.

Waterford Lions Club

Welcome to the Waterford Lions Club My Chraity.ie donation page.

Waterford Lions Club is an active community based group who support and arrange a wide variety of annual events as well as one off donations to worthy causes. Most people are aware of the Hamper Appeal- our annual Christmas Appeal that requires €100k to be raised annually, this appeal is done in conjunction with WLR FM.

There are many other events we fund during the year & 2010 will see the club fund a wide range of outings that include:

The Youth Ambassador Program- an International competition to find young people who contribute to their communities. The Waterford heats lead to district, national and international heats and in 2007 the Waterford entrant won the final- a great achievement for him.

Trabolgan Holiday- 20 well deserving guests are sent to Trabolgan for a weeks holiday during the summer. All costs are covered for them and in most cases this is the only holiday/break they will have

Old Folks Summer Outing – a group of 140 old folks have a day out in Dunmore East followed by Dinner and dancing in Faithlegg House Hotel.

Children’s Outing to Tramore- 4 schools for children with a learning disability are treated to a day at Tramore Amusements followed by lunch and entertainment

Old Folks Christmas Party- in December 350 guests are treated dinner and entertainment, all costs are covered including transport.

Christmas Visit to WRH – Santa visits the children’s ward of WRH with gifts for all.

Donations to Third World Charities- the club donated a percentage of its annual fundraising to Third World Charities, for example Houses for Boacoa.

 Birthday visits- club members make birthday visits to elderly members of the community. They bring a card & a small gift and most importantly spend time with them.

Welcome Home

Welcome Home raises money to support Fr. Peter McVerry in his work with young homeless people in Dublin. Money is generated through a number of organised events, the Wexford Cycle in September, Golf Classic in May, Christmas Appeal in December and donations all year round. Welcome Home has been supporting Peter McVerry since 1990.