St. Michael’s House have officially launched a new and innovative programme that will be of interest to companies large and small. The new programme provides employers with an opportunity to release staff from their normal duties for a day to undertake a worthwhile project in one of the organisations 170 centres located across Dublin City and County and Navan Co Meath.
The programme has been piloted for the past two years and to date over 1,000 volunteers from companies such as Ulster Bank, Accenture, Boots and Bank of Ireland have undertaken tasks ranging from providing expert advice to gardening.
KPMG have generously agreed to officially sponsor the programme for 2011 and 2012. Staff from KPMG have also participated in the programme and have painted a new mural in St. Michael’s House Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool at Belcamp as well as helping out at a fun day for service users
The official launch of the programme took place in St. Michael’s House Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool and was attended by Gavin Duffy, Entrepreneur and Dragon on the TV programme Dragons Den, Karina Howley, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, KPMG, David Kenefick, Deputy CEO, St Michael's House.Cole Dowd and and Teresa Emerson pupils in St. Michael’s House SNS Ballymun and Michael Stokes who lives inSt. Michael's House Lar Foley House.
Announcing the sponsorship of KMPG, Karina HowleY said: “We had our employees volunteer time with St. Michael’s House in the past and the response back was always positive. We are delighted to support the 2011/2012 Volunteer Programme as we see how much our staff enjoyed the opportunity to have some hands-on involvement and make a small difference to a very worthwhile. Donating money is one thing, but giving time and getting to know an organisation like St Michael’s House and its service users really gets to the heart of community work.”
David Kenefick, Deputy CEO commented “We are very grateful to KPMG for coming on board to support this Programme and look forward to building a valuable relationship with KPMG during the 2011/2012 programme. The Corporate Volunteer Programme has helped us to increase the awareness of the valuable contribution people with an intellectual disability can make to society, encourage volunteering activity and inform the corporate environment about the community based services provided by St. Michael’s House. With the support of KMPG we will reach out to the wider business community and we look forward to an increase in corporate volunteers in the years ahead.”
To find out how to get involved with the St Michael’s House Corporate Volunteer Programme contact Barbara Wiseman on 01 8840200 / Barbara.Wiseman@smh.ie. or John Lawless on 01 884 0334 / John.lawless@smh.ie
