Latest partners 10/11

Barretstown’s mission is to rebuild the lives of children affected by serious illness, and their families, in a safe, fun and supportive environment.

Vodafone’s donation will contribute to the Family Bereavement Re-union Programme, the goal of which is to provide a long term point of support for the families who have previously attended a bereavement camp at Barretstown. This will support 100 immediate family members on their life long journey of trying to rebuild their lives after the loss of their child, and will indirectly benefit each extended family.

SOS endeavours to challenge the stigma attached to mental illness and provide a range of educational and therapeutic programmes which will increase understanding of suicide and play an active role in its prevention in Ireland.

The funding from Vodafone will enable SOS to roll out the Eden therapeutic programme, which addresses the subject of developing healthy minds and de-stigmatises the subject of suicide. The programme will allow SOS to dispense knowledge and information and to place a mental wellness toolbox into the hands of those who need it most. Vodafone’s contribution to the wellness programme will directly or indirectly benefit almost 40,000 people.

The Wheel is Ireland’s leading support and representative body for community, voluntary and charitable organisations. The organisation believes that one very important way in which charities can successfully ‘do more with less’, given today’s economic environment, is by collaborating with similar organisations to continue to deliver their joint missions successfully.

They can achieve this by pooling their resources, in a working partnership, to achieve economies and deliver efficiencies. Vodafone’s contribution will go towards ‘Together We’re Better’ – a high-impact project designed to facilitate collaborative working in the community and voluntary sector, to capture best practice in this key area and disseminate it widely. As a result 180 organisations nationwide will be able to participate in seminars, 20 will be supported in depth, and an online suite of tools, templates and a best-practice guide will be actively promoted to 8,000 organisations.

Barnardos’ mission is to challenge and support families, communities, society and government in order to make Ireland the best place in the world to be a child, focusing specifically on children and young people whose well-being is under threat.

Vodafone’s contribution will be funding Barnardos’ Tús Maith project - an early year’s care and education programme for children aged 3-5 years, with an overall outcome of ensuring that children are ready for school. This programme develops the specific cognitive skills necessary for this transition – specifically the children’s emotional, social and physical skills, as well as their language, literacy and communication skills. The Tús Maith Programme will be extended to communities in Loughlinstown, Finglas and Tallaght in the Dublin area, as well as in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The programme will be delivered to a total of 207 children in 2010/2011 – of which, 90 children will be availing of the opportunity for the first time in the 4 new centres.