Six Offaly charities set for AIB funding boost

AIB branches in Offaly have come together to support six local charities and help provide direct funds to local community efforts. 

€200,000 has been made available to branches across the county (€1,000 per branch) as part of AIB Together, the bank’s community investment programme.

The Offaly charities which received support from this fund in include; Birr Tidy Towns, Dochtas Offaly Cancer Support, Friends of Birr Nursing Home, Offaly Domestic Violence, Offaly Hospice and St Vincent De Paul.

Speaking about the donations, Ann Marie Freyne, Head of AIB Kildare, Laois and Offaly said: “AIB’s charity initiative has made a difference for many local charities in Kildare, Laois and Offaly and some national charities where the benefit is even more far-reaching such as Jack & Jill, Pieta House and St Vincent de Paul.

"Our Branch staff know how challenging it has been for charities to raise money during Covid times so they thought long and hard about how they could make a positive impact in their own community supporting domestic abuse support services, meals on wheels, homelessness and support for children with special needs. The gratitude and good-will we received was heart-warming and we will continue in our endeavours to raise much-needed funds over the course of the year ahead and contribute to our communities as best we can.”

Separately, AIB has also launched a fundraising initiative to further support communities impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. As part of the AIB Together programme, partnering with AIB’s long-standing Community partners FoodCloud and Soar, in addition to Alone & Pieta House, staff can fundraise or donate directly into a dedicated AIB Together Fund. AIB will then match the fund for final disbursement to the chosen charity. 

AIB has set itself a target of raising €1million from colleagues which will be matched by €1million from the business – creating an overall ambition of giving €2million to communities most in need right now. Over €337,000 has been raised so far, including the matched funding.

The bank has also recently made a donation of €2.4million to help with the research for a Covid-19 vaccine in conjunction with Trinity College Dublin, as well as entering a partnership with Trinity to ensure that 450 laptop devices were delivered to second level students who were unable to attend school due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Tech2Students initiative was begun by Trinity’s Access Programme in association with the charity Camara Education Ireland.

Founded in 2018, AIB Together provides a platform for staff to support charities and causes across Ireland.  Each AIB employee is entitled to two volunteering days per year to support their chosen cause as part of the programme and can volunteer or fundraise for a charity of their choice or one of our core community partners