One For Ireland to tackle youth homelessness

ONE for Ireland is a charitable movement created to challenge youth homelessness in Ireland by raising €1m in one day – Friday April 29.

This will be done by asking everyone in Ireland to give €1 and people can donate by text, social media, online or add €1 to their shopping bills in participating shops such as Spar, Londis, Mace, Applegreen, and some independent retailers.

The day will include a record breaking attempt for the most text donations in a day, most individuals to take part in a fundraiser and largest ever 24-hour fundraiser.

David Henry from Durrow is one of seven graduates organising the One For Ireland fundraising drive. They are working on a volunteer basis, which will ensure that 100pc of the funds raised will go directly to the causes. “We’ve been working on this for just over a year.

We’re all just out of college and we’re trying to alleviate youth homelessness,” says David, who works for a Dublin based consultancy company.

David managed to get local golf ace Shane Lowry to come on board, and he had the One For Ireland logo on his bag during the US Masters.

“We meet twice a week and we’re currently looking for more volunteers to organise the retail side of things, and likewise, we’d like to see more independent retailers coming on board,” he adds. See oneforireland.ie for details of how to get involved.

“Homelessness is nationwide, though the problem is worst in places like Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Emergency shelters are full all over the country, whether that is in Tralee, Sligo or Athlone,” says David.

“If you’re a child who was homeless or in state care, you are nine times more likely to become homeless in your lifetime. This is because their formative years are defined by insecurity and they are unable to develop many social and organisational skills. To put it bluntly, they are the future homeless and we want to stop them and the generation behind them getting there. If we can, this will go a long way towards combating homelessness as a whole.”

• oneforireland.ie