Focus Ireland

We hope you all had a very spooky #Halloween - this year we took part in 'Focus Pocus' which featured a number of competitive games to raise funds for Focus Ireland. For the competitive amongst us, the winners were Declan (Best Dressed), Mairead (Best Carved Pumpkin), Samuel Oyenuga (Pin the Spider on the Web), Prineeth Abraham Sabu (Guess the number of Eyeballs in the Jar) and Chris Markham (Quiz). A big thank you to Ricky Small for organising the fun and games and to Monica Mc Elhinney for liaising on behalf of Focus Ireland. Also a big thank you to some local #Sligo businesses who very kindly looked after us with sponsored prizes on the day - Blend, Lough Gill Brewing Co., Flipside, Funke Caribbean Restaurant, Otto Pizza and our good neighbours, Tósta. 

Click to hear Mike Allen, Focus Ireland Director of Advocacy, on RTE 🔊 With an election due in a few weeks, Focus Ireland says that the next Government needs to make a radical shift in housing policy to tackle the ever-deepening homelessness crisis. Current Government had failed to use the progress in building social homes into opportunities for families to exit homelessness. Any new Government’s immediate first step must be to reform social housing allocation to give a fair share of opportunities to the most vulnerable. The number of people who are homeless has increased to a record figure of 14,760 for September 2024. This is an increase of 274 individuals homeless, 142 more children and 34 more families compared to August 2024. #EndHomelessness

Proud to have complete the Dublin Marathon 2024 yesterday and raise over €1,800 for Focus Ireland in memory of my friend, John Fitzsimons. Thank you to everybody for your support.

Focus Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy were delighted to unveil the #UnseenButNotForgotten mural by renowned street artist Sarah Bracken Soper, aiming to #ShineALight on the unseen issue of family homelessness. According to recent figures, there were 2,099 families, including 4,419 children, living in emergency accommodation in Ireland. If you would like to help these families, donations are still open to provide vital supports across the country: https://lnkd.in/eMZS3WHx Thank you to the incredible people who made this piece possible, including Sarah (artist), Johnny Savage (photographer) and The Brill Building (PR).

Are you free on Friday, November 8?? Focus Ireland is hosting a charity comedy night in Voodoo Rooms in Cork City, with all proceeds going towards the vital services that we provide in the fight against homelessness. I am looking forward to this event, which will be my first for the charity in Cork 😁 thanks to Denis Finbarr Cronin for the guidance and generosity with the venue 🙌 So, come shake off those post-Halloween and Jazz Weekend blues and have the craic with Laura O’Mahony (CCCahoots, Red Raw Podcast), Cornelius O’Sullivan ( A Bird in the Hand) and Pat Fitzpatrick (Ask Audrey, Reggie from Blackrock Road) 😂 Tickets: https://lnkd.in/g6tW4dfd

Love to see where ideas and images end up.. I worked with The Brill Building to create this important campaign to highlight Ireland's Hidden Homelessness for Focus Ireland & Bord Gáis Energy. Lovely to see the key image become a three story high mural in Temple Bar. Mural by Sarah Bracken Soper Creative Direction by Laurence O'Byrne & Peter Snodden with Brill team Roisin Keown & Eleanor McCarthy.

Recently, our team of Bord Gáis Energy engineers upgraded the heating systems at 11 homes in the Focus Ireland Aylward Green Family Supported Accommodation. This work included installing state-of-the-art boilers and smart heating controls. In total, we have upgraded a total of 24 homes at this facility, providing families with more energy-efficient and comfortable living conditions, while helping to lower their utility bills. This initiative - where we are using our expertise to support communities in need through our charity partner, Focus Ireland - is just one way we're living our purpose to energise a greener, fairer future. #CommunitySupport #Sustainability #EnergyEfficiency #FamilyHomelessness

"I've never done something like this before and if I can contribute in some way then I'm happy to do it at a personal level, as well as a professional level." Aidan Cahill (Specsavers) joined our #SleepOutAgainstHomelessness to support families experiencing homelessness in Ireland. There's still time to donate and join us in the fight to #EndHomelessness for over 14k people. Over €1million raised so far: https://lnkd.in/ekM96M_h #ShineALight is proudly supported by Bord Gáis Energy 🌙✨

🌟 Last Friday, our Deloitte team gathered for Focus Ireland's 10th Shine A Light Night, raising awareness and funds for those facing homelessness. Homelessness is a crisis, and Shine A Light calls us to action, showing that we haven’t forgotten those in need. Focus Ireland, founded by Sister Stan in 1986, is driven by the belief that homelessness is wrong and preventable. Their work challenges society to change perceptions, tackle root causes, and find real solutions. Let’s continue the fight together to end homelessness! #ShineALight #LifeAtDeloitte #ImpactThatMatters

A huge thank you to Clare O'Donoghue Velikić from ODV Digital for a great talk on TikTok, and Connor Murphy from Focus Ireland and his talk on Website Accessibility. A key take away for me was, TikTok is increasingly is increasingly becoming an important channel for charities running advocacy campaigns- raising awareness - but to a lesser extent so far for fundraising. Also, how accessible is your charities website for people with disabilities? Our next digital forum is the 14th January 2025, if you are member of the Charities Institute Ireland and would like to speak, please let me know.! Last but not least, thank you Kinjal Ranpura for all your hard working making today happen! https://lnkd.in/e_z48RAZ