All over Ireland in the past number of weeks we have seen communities come together to look after one another in so many ways – volunteers helping others to get their shopping and medicines, people fundraising for the frontline, everybody obeying the restrictions to help our fellow citizens stay healthy, together in spirit but apart physically.
During crises, like the one being experienced right now, community spirit is more important than ever.
On Friday, May 8th, Intel celebrated community spirit at its best, by reflecting on its 2019 Matching Grant program which sees 278 community organisations and schools from across Ireland receiving grants which total €1,026,895.
7 organisations from the Clare area were part of the 2019 Matching Grant Scheme and thus will receive funding in the total amount of €21,173. The Clare organisations are;
St. Mac Creehys Primary School
Fergus Rovers Ladies Football Club
Banner GAA Club
Claregalway Ladies GAA
Scariff Central NS
Scariff GAA Club
St Joseph’s Doora Barefield GAA Club
The Intel Involved Matching Grant Program encourages Intel employees to engage in outreach and volunteerism in their communities by supporting employees’ giving their time and talent to qualified non–profits organisations and schools. For every hour that is volunteered by an Intel employee, a donation or “match” of $10 is paid from the Intel Foundation directly to the organisation.
In 2019 Intel employees volunteered just over 112,000 hours that were eligible to be matched through this initiative resulting in a payout of €1,026,895 ($1,129,360) for 278 recipient organisations who are spread across 23 different counties.
The Matching Grant initiative first began in 2008 and this year is the first time ever that the program will see more than €1 million donated to organisations in Ireland, an important milestone for us.
The 278 organisations which were part of the Matching Grant initiative included charities such as Age Action Ireland, Inner City Helping Homeless and the Society of the Vincent De Paul, a variety of sporting clubs ranging from GAA to cycling, and various other organisations such as animal sanctuaries, scouting groups and schools.
Click Here to see a full list of the organisations.
The unique nature of this program is that it empowers employees to make a difference not only through their hours but also to reward their organisations with matched funding from the Intel Foundation.
Since Intel first implemented the current grant scheme twelve years ago, more than €6.5 million has been donated to charities, schools, sports clubs, social initiatives and community schemes across Ireland. The total number of hours volunteered by employees during this time is the equivalent of having 36 people working full time in the community for the full twelve years.
Eamonn Sinnott, Intel Vice President, Technology and Manufacturing Group and General Manager of Intel in Ireland spoke proudly of the thousands of hours of volunteering completed by Intel employees in 2019 which resulted in the grants “While the grant, and the impact it can have, is important, what I’m most proud of is what that monetary achievement represents – over 100,000 hours of time given by our employees in the last year. The grant is the added bonus for the thing that makes the most impact – our precious personal time. Our communities, and our society as a whole, is a better place because of volunteers. I am proud to live in a country that values volunteerism and to work for a company that chooses to celebrate it, and to reward the giving of time by our employees”.
Also adding her congratulations on the achievements of Intel volunteers was Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, who added; “The Intel Matching Grant Programme is an excellent example of how Corporate Social Responsibility can be of so much benefit to both companies and communities. I think the fact that over 50% of Intel employees participated in the Programme last year is something the company can be rightly proud of. It demonstrates that the workers have a real connection to their communities. The volunteering aspect is commendable in its own right but the matched funding brings the impact of the initiative to another level. Everybody gains. I would like to congratulate Intel and their staff on 12 years of really making a difference in their communities.