Olympic medal-winning hero Annalise Murphy took some time out from her busy training schedule to help announce the winners of the 2018 Dublin Bus Community Spirit Awards.
85 voluntary and community groups from across Dublin have been awarded with €1,000, €2,000 or €5,000, which will allow them to develop new projects, improve their locality and help raise community spirit.
Each year five groups win the top coveted award of €5,000. This year’s top five winning groups are:
- Cooking for Freedom - a group set up by asylum seekers living in Direct Provision who have a passion for food which finds cooking spaces where they can cook their own food and in doing so empower, improve mental health and encourage friendships.
- CARI - a leading voluntary organisation with a proven record of accomplishment in providing child centred specialised therapy and support services to children, families and groups affected by child sexual abuse.
- Acquired Brain Injury Ireland - Ireland’s leading provider of community based neuro-rehabilitation services for people who have acquired a brain injury and which has centres across Dublin.
- Genesis Psychotherapy and Family Therapy Service - a community based psychotherapy and family therapy service supporting residents of Dublin 15 which offers child and adolescent therapy, adult therapy and family therapy to the local community.
- Children in Hospital Ireland - the only charity of its kind which manages a volunteer led play facilitation service across four hospitals in Dublin and who will use their Community Spirit Award to pilot an activity programme specifically for teenagers.
Speaking about the announcement of this year’s Community Spirit Awards winners, Annalise Murphy said: “Voluntary and community groups create so much positive change in their local communities. It is truly inspiring and empowering to see these local heroes creating real change in and improving people’s lives across Dublin. I’m in awe of those people behind these groups who dedicate so much of their time to making other people’s lives and their communities better. They are the foundations which hold our city together.”
The Dublin Bus Community Spirit Awards is open to voluntary and community groups that are based in the Greater Dublin Area. Groups that are eligible can apply for a grant of €1,000, €2,000 or €5,000.
The full list of winning groups is available at www.dublinbus.ie.
