Four charities given a funding boost from Aldi Groups to take part in heritage week
A TOTAL of four Wicklow charities have received donations as part of Aldi’s Community Grants Programme across the last 12 months.
The programme has seen Aldi donate a total of €2,000 to charities across Wicklow who provide vital services and make a huge difference within their community.
Purple House Cancer Support, Blessington Day-care Centre, Arklow Cancer Support and Greystones Cancer Support each benefited from a €500 donation from one of Aldi’s four Wicklow stores.
Aldi’s Community Grants programme helps fund local charities and organisations that contribute vital work and services in their local communities.
Each local charity supported is chosen by Aldi employees, enabling them to help the local good causes they are passionate about.
Over €250,000 has been donated to more than 340 different local charities across Ireland since the programme began four years ago.
To mark its 20th anniversary in Ireland in 2019, Aldi staff across its Naas and Mitchelstown regions also voted for two charities, The Society of Saint Vincent De Paul and Pieta House Cork, to receive a further €5,000 in Aldi vouchers late last year.
‘At Aldi supporting the local communities that our stores serve is hugely important,’ said group buying director John Curtin.
‘Each charity selected as part of our Community Grants Programme offers fantastic services to those in need. Their dedicated staff and volunteers offer their time and care and now, more than ever, it is vital that we support them.
‘Our local store staff are an integral part of the selection process for the donations, meaning they are passionate about the charities chosen in their local community.’
LOCAL groups and communities in County Wicklow are being invited to develop projects for National Heritage Week.
The Heritage Council has recently announced plans for a modified National Heritage Week, taking into account ongoing restrictions on events and gatherings due to Covid-19. Rather than focusing on the organisation of in-person public events, local heritage groups and organisers, families and communities are being invited to develop projects around this year’s theme of ‘Heritage and Education: Learning from our Heritage’ and to register these on heritageweek.ie
The new approach is designed to promote the sharing of experience and knowledge and offers the opportunity for groups in Wicklow to showcase their local research and hands-on heritage projects. Many groups in Wicklow have experience of carrying out projects such as developing new walking trails, creating a local wildlife habitat, planting for pollinators, researching their local history, or restoring and reusing old buildings and they may wish to use Heritage Week to highlight that story and showcase their efforts on a national stage.
Accepted formats for showcasing may vary from online talks or exhibitions, to a video, podcast, slideshow presentation or blog, to media coverage, a dedicated website or moderated social media account, or by means of small, restricted social gatherings, which comply with official public health advice. All those interested in participating are encouraged to register their project now on heritageweek.ie. Registered projects will be showcased during National Heritage Week from August 15 to 23 and will be considered for a Heritage Week Award. Deirdre Burns, Heritage Officer with Wicklow County Council, stated: ‘In Wicklow we are very fortunate to already have a community heritage website which is freely available to all to store and share Heritage Week projects .
‘If groups are interested in using our website to publish their project online, they can visitwicklowheritage.org, where they will have the option of contributing to the County Wicklow Heritage site or alternatively, depending on their location, they may wish to contribute to one of the other mini sites: Glens of Lead, Donard- Glen of Imaal, Delgany, Glendalough and Medieval Bray.’
Any groups or individuals seeking advice or guidance in developing a project for Heritage Week are invited to contact Deirdre directly at dburns@ wicklowcoco.ie.