Santa Strike Force Update

DeVore

Heya all... well this year its been like pulling teeth getting people to take our money (I know, right!?)

So far we have pledged or paid:

Bumblance: €3k Towards fitting the entertainment kit in Bumblances #2,#3,#4

Lakers.ie: €2,300 for an iPhone/pod recharging/security cabinet and freezer for their lakeside venue.

Aoibheanns Pink Tie: €2,188 to fund a Chemo Duck Christmas drive over xmas. (full disclosure, I'm not really sure *what* a Chemo Duck is but they look *adorable* https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Aoibheann's%20Pink%20Tie%20chemo%20duck )

Blossom Kids: €2,357 for Blossom Kids for 8 iPod Touches (6th Gen) to enable their video making groups.



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* WE STILL HAVE MORE MONEY AND NOT ENOUGH PROJECTS!!!!! *
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Who would have thought that giving away money would be difficult but genuinely it is!


I need kid's charities that need money to spend on hard-goods for general use.
Suggestions genuinely welcome because I have approached several charities, been received very warmly, agreed a project with them and then... heard nothing. I ping them an email, get told they will send receipts/details/whatever.... hear nothing.

Its... maddening. And not a little surprising sometimes. I know its only 3k but some charities (like Blossom Kids) are absolutely all over us for 3k.

Failing suggestions, I will go back to the usual stalwarts of Barretstown and Pieta House etc.


THIS IS YOUR CHANCE, DIRECT ME TOWARDS A KIDS CHARITY YOU KNOW WHICH FITS THE BILL!

Outlaw Pete

Two worth considering:

https://www.suzannehouse.ie/
https://lauralynn.ie/

Poochie05

Children in Hospital Ireland http://www.childreninhospital.ie/
Generally they look for volunteers to facilitate play sessions for kids in hospital but also need funds to buy stuff for kids such as crafts materials and books.

whoopsadoodles

This was mentioned on an older thread and got a very good response.

dar100

Does it have to be a children's charity? I know of a place that could really do with a dig out?

It is a woman's homeless accommodation, not sure but there may be some children there too

goldenhoarde

whoopsadoodles wrote: »

This was mentioned on an older thread and got a very good response.

Second this one for consideration

Lucyfur

whoopsadoodles wrote: »

This was mentioned on an older thread and got a very good response.

This. A million times over.

Mam of 4

whoopsadoodles wrote: »

This was mentioned on an older thread and got a very good response.

Would be brilliant if they were considered for help , they help so many people in such a caring way .

s4uv3

Lucyfur wrote: »

This. A million times over.

Two million times over

Boom_Bap

Climb4Clare - http://ladiesgaelic.ie/games-development/climb4clare/

CLIMB®is a programme for children aged 5-12 who are experiencing the impact of a parent’s, other significant adult’s or a brother or sister’s cancer diagnosis.

Riesen_Meal

Jigsaw do great work for kids also :

https://www.jigsaw.ie

DeVore

Jigsaw just been contacted.

Feileacain....
SuzanneHouse
Climb4Clare
National Rehab Hospital Paediatric Unit.

That's awesome girls and guys... I'll get cracking on them. I can spare about 3k each so we'll see where that gets us.

DeVore

Woooaahh... In chasing down the Climb4Clare people (who don't seem to have a residential location as such ) ... I found the people they work with /along side called Children in Hospital ( http://www.childreninhospital.ie/ )

They do all the play rooms and out patient entertainment and stuff for 13 kids hospitals around the country. Talk about a silver bullet solution! Right, I'm on this now!

SuzanneHouse seem very hard to contact and really bizarrely, Twitter has suspended their account.... weird! I've tried their phone but no answer and their Facebook went silent in April. I'm hoping they are still active but I'll keep chasing.

Feileacain and NRH contacted, waiting for reply.

Outlaw Pete

Just seeing that the director of SuzanneHouse was embroiled in some controversy last year and so 'maybe' they have ceased operating for a time as as a consequence of that. Pretty sure though that I seen them on TV recently enough talking about their work, might have been Natiownide or one of those shows. Mad how much some of these charity bosses get paid all the same.

Boom_Bap

DeVore wrote: »

Woooaahh... In chasing down the Climb4Clare people (who don't seem to have a residential location as such ) ... I found the people they work with /along side called Children in Hospital ( http://www.childreninhospital.ie/ )

They do all the play rooms and out patient entertainment and stuff for 13 kids hospitals around the country. Talk about a silver bullet solution! Right, I'm on this now!

SuzanneHouse seem very hard to contact and really bizarrely, Twitter has suspended their account.... weird! I've tried their phone but no answer and their Facebook went silent in April. I'm hoping they are still active but I'll keep chasing.

Feileacain and NRH contacted, waiting for reply.

You should be able to get in touch with CLIMB through the Dublin Ladies Gaelic Football Association. If you've no joy, PM me and I can get you in contact with them, I've done a bit of fund raising with them in the last couple of years.

Poochie05

DeVore wrote: »

Woooaahh... In chasing down the Climb4Clare people (who don't seem to have a residential location as such ) ... I found the people they work with /along side called Children in Hospital ( http://www.childreninhospital.ie/ )

They do all the play rooms and out patient entertainment and stuff for 13 kids hospitals around the country. Talk about a silver bullet solution! Right, I'm on this now!

SuzanneHouse seem very hard to contact and really bizarrely, Twitter has suspended their account.... weird! I've tried their phone but no answer and their Facebook went silent in April. I'm hoping they are still active but I'll keep chasing.

Feileacain and NRH contacted, waiting for reply.

I suggested Children in Hospital above. In spirit of full disclosure I am not involved with them but a friend is and up until then had never heard of them. They seem like a small enough charity just plugging away and getting on with it. Most of the play sessions are done through volunteers but as you said, they do the play rooms in 13 hospitals around the country and also need materials for crafts and stuff.

DeVore

Ah sorry Poochie, that's where I saw them (got confused with so many tabs open).

As for full disclosure, that's cool and all but even if you were involved directly with them, I wouldn't mind! We've had charities suggest themselves in fact! One of the nice things about SSF is that because we buy and deliver the goods in situ usually, we know for a fact that the money "went up on the walls" as they say. So it doesn't really matter who suggests a charity. 

Boom_Bap, I'll PM you but I have to see how Climb fits with us as we need them to have some sort of residential element (ie: somewhere for the project to live and get used).... but if we can sort that then I'll add them to the list and hopefully get a project going with them).

D0NNELLY

fold out beds for the common room in children's ward of Sligo general.

midsker

Hi all,

I worked for a charity that benefited from SSF before (c.3 years ago and equipment still being used daily!) and can testify to how much good this yearly event does.

Whilst I'm here, if you're still stuck for ideas, may I suggest www.loffa.ie They do trojan work with young people with autism in the midlands area.

M.

p.s by the way, I suggested my own charity before when I worked for them

DeVore wrote: »

Ah sorry Poochie, that's where I saw them (got confused with so many tabs open).

As for full disclosure, that's cool and all but even if you were involved directly with them, I wouldn't mind! We've had charities suggest themselves in fact! One of the nice things about SSF is that because we buy and deliver the goods in situ usually, we know for a fact that the money "went up on the walls" as they say. So it doesn't really matter who suggests a charity. 

Boom_Bap, I'll PM you but I have to see how Climb fits with us as we need them to have some sort of residential element (ie: somewhere for the project to live and get used).... but if we can sort that then I'll add them to the list and hopefully get a project going with them).

ED E

Only learned of this condition this week. Seems like a niche condition that really hasn't been served by the HSE. No connection personally buy maybe worth a look.

Imagine your own child eating their hands because they falsely believe themselves to be hungry.

https://pwsai.ie/

DoozerT6

As someone mentioned above, if there's a bit of spare money in the pot and you're prepared to look beyond just children's charities, could I suggest ALONE? (The other end of the age spectrum for SSF, so to speak! ) They do great work helping lonely and vulnerable elderly people who may have nobody else to turn to.

There are also any number of smaller animal charities just crying out for funds - Animal Heaven Animal Rescue (AHAR) for one....

DeVore

Ok, Jigsaw.ie were right off the starters gun... working with them to provide a platform for young adults to explore options for treatment in an app... they need some iPad minis for them to use in the clinics... its not as "quality of life / entertainment" as we usually do but I know from my own experience that its pretty tough to enjoy anything when your mental health is poor. They are looking for 5-7 iPad minis and 5-7 Android Tablets to trial the program in Tallaght.

I've got the feelers out now to several of the first suggestions and I'm going to stick with them for the moment. Now you will start to see why this gets frustrating because I have ear marked money for each which means if I approach other charities I'm risking over-promising from our funds. BUT if those first charities dont respond or go silent, then I will have to do another round of "offers"... if I do, I'll start with the ones suggested here.

frash

DeVore wrote: »

Lakers.ie: €2,300 for an iPhone/pod recharging/security cabinet and freezer for their lakeside venue.

Big thanks for this one as it was me who suggested them (my son attends).

DeVore

NRH (National Rehab Hospital... NRH.ie) were straight back to me today like kids in a sweetshop! So nice when you get those phonecalls when they start babbling about all the stuff they might be able to buy and this and that and maybe one of thoooooose and .. and..
So many "thank yous" which I feel obliged to pass along.

CeilingFly

https://sensationalkids.ie/

I attended one of their fundraisers last year. Very passionate about giving educational aids to special needs children.

Bridge21 is a super unit organised by Trinity College for young students to promote learning through technology

http://bridge21.ie/about-us/about-bridge-21/

sullivlo

DeVore wrote: »

NRH (National Rehab Hospital... NRH.ie) were straight back to me today like kids in a sweetshop! So nice when you get those phonecalls when they start babbling about all the stuff they might be able to buy and this and that and maybe one of thoooooose and .. and..
So many "thank yous" which I feel obliged to pass along.

Just on this - they're absolutely over the moon about this. I cannot explain how much this means to them and the difference it will make!

DeVore

Fieldog wrote: »

Jigsaw do great work for kids also :

https://www.jigsaw.ie

Jigsaw just got €2,935 for 12 tablets to enable a mental health activity program they have wanted to do for a while but were struggling to fund. More details/pics on this when they send them on. Great crowd to deal with and very on the ball...

Boards.ie: Niamh

Amazing - I know someone whose son uses their services and has come on in leaps and bounds since

juneg

There are also any number of smaller animal charities just crying out for funds - Animal Heaven Animal Rescue (AHAR) for one....[/quote]
The above mentioned charity has been the subject of alleged financial mismanagement for several years now. They were featured on an RTE investigation and have many opponents in public and online.

DeVore

While I have a rescued dog myself and support animal welfare, thats not the conditions the money was collected under so I dont feel its right to divert it after collection.

One of the nice things about SSF is that is is (deliberately) set up to basically bypass financial irregularities because unless someone really want a bunch of craft paints, or is willing to thieve a publicly donated iPad then we are safe. We dont give money into "funds", we only pay on receipt or more usually directly to the suppliers and have the goods delivered.

Please please be careful about making allegations about financial irregularities, lets just not get into that legal minefield.