Out on top for Wexford good cause projects
TWO Wexford community projects were selected for the National Lottery Good Causes Awards which took place in the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin on Saturday and honoured inspiring work and achievements of Irish clubs, projects and individuals who are making an impact in their communities.
Family Carers Ireland, Wexford and St Patrick’s Snooker Club in Gorey, both impressed the judges to get to the final of the competition and each received a trophy.
The awards aim to honour projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who have an extraordinary impact on their local communities, and on the night the Liquid Therapy group from Donegal came out as good cause of the year.
Family Carers Ireland is the national voluntary organisation of carers in the home, representing carers’ interests and giving one national voice to represent fairness for carers.
Through the Wexford centre on Henrietta Street, local carers in the county can avail of information on rights and entitlements, education and training, support groups, home respite services, advocacy and lobbying as well as emotional support.
The awards have six categories and Family Carers Ireland made it to the final in the community category, while St Patrick’s Snooker Club made it to the final of the sport category.
St Patrick’s Snooker Club is an iconic landmark in the town of Gorey and has been part of the fabric of life within the town since its foundation in 1918.
The club has been a haven for generations of young people from Gorey and the surrounding communities as a place to enjoy cue sports and friendship in a safe, alcohol and drug free environment.
Each national category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year getting an additional €25,000 on top of this.
How this is funded is that nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes all over the country all year round.
Awards chairperson and broadcaster Norah Casey said the judging panel had an incredibly hard job deciding on the winners for the awards.
‘We were blown away by the 36 presentations as each of the groups we met are doing amazing work in their communities and were all winners in their own rights. The work is truly humbling and outstanding,’ she said.
In total more than €5.4 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 32 years ago and last year more than €228 million was raised.
This year’s competition was launched in February and was open to community projects and organisations who received Good Causes funding in the years 2016 and 2017.
From an original pool of more than 488 entries, 36 regional winners were narrowed down over the months that followed.