back-to-school for Children in Direct Provision
Hi Friends
The Back2School campaign will help provide approximately 1300 children living in Direct Provision with essential back-to-school items. This year we are seeing a higher demand for supplies due to COVID-19 causing tremendous financial strain on many more families. With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, our usual fundraising dinner event is impossible, so we have set up this Donation platform to share our purpose with you in the hopes that we can still raise the much-needed funds that will help us to continue this important service that we provide
How can you help?
1. We are looking for donations of bookstore gift cards, this will facilitate the purchase of workbooks and textbooks (where book rental is not available)
2. Donations of specific New Uniform items OR Uniform store gift cards (this could include Dunnes stores, Tesco, and One4All), an updated list of items can be found on our website.
3. Donation of stationery items, including New Backpacks.
4. Financial donations that will go towards the purchase of items listed above and the payment of book rental fees.
5. You can opt to sponsor a child, please contact us for more details.
All items can be posted or dropped off in person at any of our drop-off points around the country.
People living in Direct Provision are not entitled to any social welfare payments, the once-a-year back-to-school allowance is a small drop in the ocean to cover all back-to-school-related costs. It is a huge burden and challenge for parents living in Direct Provision as they must manage these expenses on a living allowance of €38.80 a week. The average cost for a secondary school child can average €1,400 and almost €950 for a primary school child (Barnados, 2020). According to a survey from the Irish League of Credit Unions. Parents said that to afford the basics, two-thirds will drop extracurricular activities, while 30% will not be able to give money for school trips. Under the best of circumstances, back-to-school expenses are challenging for families.
Thank you for your support, it all goes a very long way.
Fundraising team (2)
