Fourteen organisations from Dublin have been named amongst the thirty-six community groups, sports clubs and organisations from all over Ireland who were today announced as finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards. They are the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice, Children in Hospital Ireland, Focus Ireland, BeLonG To Youth Services, Age Action Ireland, Immigrant Council of Ireland, Kilbarrack Coast Community Project, Irish Deaf Society, Shankill Tennis Club, South Dublin Taekwondo, Children’s Books Ireland, International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival and Dance Theatre of Ireland.
The Awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities. Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes all over the country.
In the health and wellbeing category; LauraLynn is Ireland’s only Children’s Hospice. They provide specialist palliative care to children with life limiting conditions and aim to make the most of the children’s precious time. The funding received was beneficial for the LauraLynn@Home service which aims to support families by providing respite care for children with life-limiting conditions and their caregivers. During Covid, a number of their services have had to move online but the LauraLynn End of Life care service has stood out as it has been able to accommodate families in the hospice so that parents and siblings can be together with the child during their final days and hours.
And in the sport category; South Dublin Taekwondo are a Tallaght based club with between 60-80 members. At the beginning of 2020, the club found out that one of their members, Jack Woolley, had qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The club is home to many other young athletes who hope to follow in Jack’s footsteps. Through the funding received, the club has been able to invest in equipment, such as electronic scoring equipment, which has been particularly beneficial during Covid as the equipment allows members to train without contact.
Speaking at the announcement, the CEO of the National Lottery, Andrew Algeo, congratulated the 36 finalists who have reached this final stage of the awards process. He said: “The Good Causes Awards allow us to shine a light on the outstanding work being done in our communities by extraordinary groups. Our aim is to recognize the exceptional contributions of our finalists and show the people of Ireland exactly what their participation and support in the National Lottery is achieving within their communities. We are all aware of how difficult the past year has been and how important sports clubs, organisations and groups are to our wellbeing. This truly is our chance to show our appreciation for keeping our communities going during such uncertain times.”
The judging of the National Finals of the Good Causes Awards will take place virtually this year in February. At this stage, representatives from each of the 36 finalist groups will be asked to do a short presentation remotely to the judging panel and respond to any questions that may arise. The judging panel will be chaired by Lotto presenter & weather presenter, Nuala Carey. Fergus Finlay, Columnist and Author, will join the panel as an independent judge at this stage.
Fergus Finlay spoke candidly about his involvement with the Good Causes Awards: “It is such an honour to be involved in the Good Causes Awards as the event really is a unique opportunity to highlight the array of remarkable groups and organisations doing great things in communities all over the country. I am looking forward to meeting the 36 finalists and hearing about the inspirational work that they have continued to do – even during Covid times. It feels even more heartening to be involved considering the difficulties that have been faced by so many during the past year.”
Each national category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will get an additional €25,000 on top of this. The winners will be announced on Saturday 29th May at the Mansion House in Dublin (subject to Public health measures in place at the time). The event will alternatively take place virtually depending on the guidelines in effect.
