FINGAL HELPING HAND FUND

Press Release – Fingal Helping Hand Fund supports Remember Us
Fingal County Council employees set up The Fingal Helping Hand Fund in 2005 with the objective to provide financial assistance to local, national and international registered charities and for any other suitable charitable purposes. The fund is financed by subscriptions from employees or retired employees of Fingal County Council and other fundraising activities organised by the staff.

On the 10th December 2008, the Helping Hand Fund donated €7,500 to the Fund’s 2008 local charity, Remember Us.

Remember Us is an integrated social youth group for young people with special needs, their families and friends aged 4 to 18. The club caters for members from the North Fingal and surrounding areas.

Remember Us was established as a result of research which identified that no comparable service was available in the North Fingal and surrounding areas for young people with special needs aged 4 to 18.

The club provides an invaluable service to 80 families at present.

Remember us has grown from a once a week social club to providing programmes / outings four times per week for three different age groups offering the members a wide variety of activities and outings where they can learn, form friendships, develop their social and life skills, self esteem and quality of life and integrate into the community. www.rememberus.ie

Remember us not only caters for the young person with special needs but the whole family by providing support, information, talks, Summer programmes, family respite weekends, parents respite weekends, parents social nights and more.

Chairperson of the Helping Hand Fund, Mr Jim Cunningham stated “the staff of Fingal County Council are delighted to be associated with Remember US and are worthy recipients of this presentation”.

Nora Roban of Remember US stated “We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Helping Hand Fund for their generous donation to our group. It is appreciated by all involved especially by our members who will benefit greatly from the various programmes and outings organised with the money”

The Helping Hand Fund’s other charities for 2008 are Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust and Self Help Development International. Presentations to these charities will be made in early January 209.

To date the Helping Hand Fund has given out €37,500 to worthy causes. It recently donated €10,000 to a worthwhile local charity, Prosper Fingal, to assist in the financing of a new IT training facility in their local centre at Rush. The LauraLynn Children’s Hospice’ Foundation also received €10,000 from the Fund earlier this year. A further €10,000 was given to the Niall Mellon Township Trust in October 2007.

The Fund has nominated the following charities/causes for funding in 2009: The Mater Hospital Oncology Research Unit, The Capuchin Day Centre and Oxfam

Presentation to Remember US, left to right are:

Stephen Peppard, Jim Cunningham, Deirdre Sinclair and Brian Murray of the Fingal Helping Hand Fund along with Paul Roban, Stephen Cashell, Stephen Brady, Nora Roban of Remember Us.

ENDS

For further information, please contact me at brian.murray@fingalcoco.ie or 01-8906727

Sept-
Dec
2007
News
Here

Jan-Mar07
News
Here