Four Irish charities feeling 'grand' after scooping festive funding

For the fifth consecutive year, Ecclesiastical Insurance and the Benefact Group have committed to giving away over €1 million to charitable causes through the Movement for Good Awards. This initiative invited members of the public to nominate the causes closest to their hearts, culminating with the winners of the annual 12 Days of Giving Christmas campaign.

The Irish Girl Guides, an all-female organisation based in Dublin that provides a varied and exciting programme for girls and young women aged 5-30, and opportunities for Leaders of all ages has been announced as one of the winners of this fund; another winner was Tralee Meals on Wheels, an organisation in Kerry which was established to provide a two course meal, freshly cooked and delivered to those in need, 52 weeks of the year.

Amongst the winners were some previous recipients of the prize: Meath-based Last Hope Animal Charity, the voluntary foster rescue centre dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of domestic animals. And, The Lighthouse (Kilkenny Christian Centre), a charity which offers a youth drop-in centre and provides a creative hub for young and old from different Christian denominations to meet and pray.

Commenting on the recent 12 Days of Giving win, Irish Girl Guides Chief Executive Officer, Lorraine Mackey McHugh said: “On behalf of Irish Girl Guides, we are very grateful to receive this donation, especially during this festive time of giving. We hope to use this gift to thank our hardworking and tireless volunteers who help fulfil our mission to enable girls and young women to become responsible global citizens.”

Paddy Kevane of Tralee Meals on Wheels said: “We used the €1,000 towards the food cost of our free Christmas Day dinners. We made over 600 of them; 300 were delivered as meals on wheels, and the remaining distributed at the Centre.” 

The 12 Days of Christmas is a part of Benefact Group and Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland’s Movement for Good campaign which has contributed to various charity sectors with special draws including animal, education, youth charities and many more.

Commenting on the announcement, David Lane, Managing Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland, proudly part of the Benefact Group says: “We are thrilled to be giving a financial boost at the end of the year to charitable causes across Ireland and the UK and I’d like to thank everyone who participated and took the time to nominate a charity close to their hearts. We know that €1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this fund will change lives for the better.
Special congratulations to the four Irish winners from our Christmas campaign and we wish you all happy holidays and a happy New Year!”

Ecclesiastical Insurance is not like any other insurer as they give all available profits to support good causes and have proudly contributed towards over €9 million that has been given to churches, charities, and good causes across the island of Ireland since 2019.

David Lane continued: “Ecclesiastical Insurance is not like any other insurer as we have a bigger purpose at our core – the purpose of having a positive and transformative impact on communities. We bring this approach to life by using all our available profits to support good causes and have proudly contributed towards over €9 million in grants and donations to churches and charities across the island of Ireland since 2019.
This generosity has been expressed in a variety of ways, including the Movement for Good, but also through Benefact Trust (our owner), which independently awards all Ecclesiastical Insurance’s available profits to causes making a positive and transformative impact on communities.”

This year alone, Ecclesiastical has provided support to various Irish-based organisations, ranging from smaller and volunteer led organisations like Bat Rehabilitation Ireland, Shannon’s Hopeline, EC Rapid Response, Drogheda Animal Rescue, to larger charities and non-for-profit organisations such as Jigsaw, Irish Red Cross, Kid’s Own and Irish Baroque Orchestra.

The full list of the 120 charity winners is available to view online at www.movementforgood.com/12days