As part of the Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation, Aer Lingus and its staff support UNICEF Ireland as its international charity partner.
This year marks Aer Lingus’ 20th anniversary supporting UNICEF Ireland. Senior Cabin Crew Member and Aer Lingus UNICEF ambassador, Carena Caffrey, from Sixmilebridge has been working with Aer Lingus for 19 years and has just returned from a field trip to Rwanda along with a team of Aer Lingus ambassadors who launched a brand new Early Childhood Development Centre in Ngororero, Rwanda.
Aer Lingus invested over €126,000 in this new education centre for children which was funded through passenger donations on Aer Lingus transatlantic flights via the ongoing ‘Change for Good’ campaign.
In addition to serving as an educational hub for children in Ngororero, Rwanda, this new centre will act as a support for the entire community where parents can come together to learn a wide range of skills from planting food to cooking for their families. The centre will also teach children basic hygiene skills to promote better health and limit common but avoidable illnesses.
Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation is the overarching corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme for Aer Lingus, which encompasses all of Aer Lingus’ charity and corporate social responsibility activities.
This includes continued work with chosen charity partners, UNICEF Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland as well as a number of charity initiatives undertaken by Aer Lingus staff and volunteers, initiatives to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), supporting Culture and the Arts, and a new Charity of the Year Programme.