Offaly firm's Christmas campaign raises substantial funds for Midlands Simon

Noel Greene from the Midlands Simon Community collected a cheque for €600 for the homelessness charity from KMK Metals Recycling, following its Christmas lights recycling campaign, staff Christmas jumper coffee morning and company donation.

Every year in the run up to Christmas, KMK Metals Recycling places specially-designed trolleys in Tullamore’s Bridge Shopping Centre, Harbour Place Shopping Centre in Mullingar and Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone to give shoppers the opportunity to recycle old and broken Christmas lights for free. Any money raised goes directly to the charity, which supports homeless people across the midlands.

KMK Metals Recycling employees held a coffee morning in December which raised further funds, which were topped up to €600 by management.

Noel Greene, Community Fundraising Coordinator at Midlands Simon Community, commented: “We are breaking new records every month and not in a good way, as the homelessness numbers in the state continue to climb. While we wait for the Government to take serious positive action to combat and prevent homelessness, donations such as this one from KMK Metals Recycling are vital to ensure we can keep helping those in the midlands who are really struggling. I encourage any companies, groups or individuals to consider the Midlands Simon Community when deciding where to donate to in 2023.”

Midlands Simon Community offers many services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to help get them back on their feet as quickly as possible. The charity offers services and support to people in the Midlands region of Offaly, Westmeath, Laois and Longford and aims to help users of the service to rebuild their lives and move out of homelessness into a permanent home.

KMK Metals Recycling Ltd. provides for the environmentally sound management of waste metal in all its forms and collects 80% of Ireland’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), bringing it to two state-of-the-art facilities in Tullamore, Co. Offaly and Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath, where it is processed by a team of highly-qualified staff using the best available technology. The company employs approximately 150 local people.